How do you identify the skills gaps of your employees?

Keep your findings simple and clear. Consider costs and time for each initial finding or recommendation so that buy-in from key stakeholders is ensured. Any report that falls out of this stage should have sections that can be expanded upon when a full TNA is conducted- if that is the recommendation of the initial scoping study.

KSA may also be referred to as Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes but better described as 'Behaviours'- in that this means HOW role holders apply the knowledge and skills they have. A detailed skills audit that captures each job in terms of duties, tasks, sub-tasks and even task elements, in terms of the performance, conditions and standards (technical, legislative etc.) required for each should show each task with a performance statement based on an appropriate verb according to Bloom's taxonomy. Make sure you are not asking warehouse shelf stackers to analyse processes and determine specifications! They should be 'identifying', 'operating' and similar practitioner based performances. Managers should be 'assessing' and 'determining'.

Analysing the needs of the training audience allows you to identify the most suitable training media to deliver the desired effect- transfer of knowledge or skills. Once the most suitable solution is identified (hopefully several options) a decision can be made on cost benefit and practicality.

One thing I found helpful as a previous step related to the desired KSAs is the definition of grades of each level based on the job description, for example in the competences dictionary, then these grades should be included in the appraisal model, for example in BARS. As a result we can identify gaps and design effective solutions, according to the job needs.

Total openness from all parties is essential in determining what the current skills and knowledge are that are required to conduct whatever roles are under analysis. All stakeholders must acknowledge where gaps exist if the future capability is to be fully delivered by the proposed solution. The components current state and desired state are then compared. Cost efficiency in delivering a new training solution is only achieved by accurate identification of the training gap. Solutions should be assessed in terms of not only their effectiveness but also their practicality- can existing systems or processes be re-purposed with little effort, or do new approaches need to be invested in? Keep the spending appetite of the organisation in mind.

Over-training, both in terms of obliging workers to 'suffer' training events they do not need for their role, and waste of money by employers on Off The Shelf solutions that deliver more than the trainees really need, is avoided by a good clear skills audit that results in a formal Performance Statement and/or competence framework.

When proposing a training solution you must consider the audience and also their managers/employers. What is the culture of the organisation? What is the local/national culture? What is the spending appetite? How modern is the organisation in its attitude to imaginative and stimulating training options?

Besides the conventional process of identifying gaps in KSA and imparting the long-drawn process, one should be mindful of aligning the learning needs with Individual goals. This can be documented in Career Development Program. The important aspect is to fit individual goals with the corporate objectives.