Your team knows the product. They’ve completed onboarding.

But somehow, customer complaints keep climbing at certain locations while others hit their targets consistently. The difference often comes down to specific skills that some employees have and others don’t—gaps that are invisible until you look for them and directly impact team performance.

A skills gap analysis gives you a systematic way to find those gaps, measure them and close them before they affect performance. This guide walks through the complete process, from defining what you’re measuring to implementing interventions that actually move the needle.

What is a skills gap analysis

A skills gap analysis is a process for identifying the difference between the skills your workforce currently has and the skills your organization requires to meet its goals. The analysis helps you plan targeted training, hiring or development to close those gaps. Think of it as a diagnostic tool—one that shows where your team is strong and where they could use support.

The term “skill gap” refers to the measurable difference between what employees can do now and what they’re expected to do. When you conduct a skills gap analysis, you’re uncovering these discrepancies across individuals, teams or your entire organization.

• Skill gap: The difference between current employee capabilities and the skills required for a role or business objective
• Skills gap analysis: A systematic process to identify, measure and prioritize gaps so you can take action

Skills gap analysis vs competency gap analysis

You’ll often hear these terms used interchangeably, though they’re not quite the same. A skills gap analysis focuses on specific, teachable abilities—things like software proficiency, product knowledge or customer service techniques. A competency gap analysis takes a broader view, encompassing behaviors, knowledge and attributes that define overall job performance.

Factor	Skills gap analysis	Competency gap analysis
Focus	Specific, teachable abilities	Broader behaviors, knowledge and attributes
Scope	Task-oriented	Role or career-oriented
Best for	Targeted training needs	Leadership development, succession planning

For frontline teams where consistent execution matters most, skills gap analysis typically delivers faster, more actionable insights.

Why skills gap analysis matters

Why invest time in this process? Guessing at training needs wastes resources and leaves performance gaps unaddressed, with 70% of executives saying their businesses are suffering financially because their workforces lack the right competencies. A structured analysis connects learning investments directly to business outcomes.

Workforce-wide performance visibility

Analysis reveals strengths and weaknesses across your entire organization, not just individuals. For multi-location businesses, this visibility is critical. You can spot which locations excel at customer service and which struggle with product knowledge, then address inconsistencies before they affect the customer experience.

Targeted learning and development

According to the World Economic Forum, six in ten workers will require upskilling by 2027, yet only half have access to adequate training. A skills gap analysis focuses your L&D budget on training that addresses actual gaps rather than generic programs everyone sits through regardless of need.

Strategic workforce planning

Skills gap insights connect directly to hiring, promotions and succession planning. When you know exactly which capabilities are missing, you can make smarter decisions about whether to train existing employees or recruit new talent.

▶️ Also read: Skill development examples – 15 essential skills to build

Reduced turnover and faster ramp time

Employees who receive relevant skill development feel more supported and reach productivity faster—workers who received needed training were three times more likely to describe themselves as highly productive. Research shows that frontline workers want more training, particularly in areas like conflict resolution, but often don’t receive it. Closing that gap improves both retention and performance.

Measurable business outcomes

Organizations that systematically close skill gaps see real results. Axonify customers have achieved a 127% increase in sales KPI performance and a 20% boost in frontline productivity by connecting gap analysis to targeted training delivery.

How Russell Cellular closed frontline skill gaps at scale

When Russell Cellular, a leading Verizon retailer with 600+ locations and 2,300 employees, set out to modernize frontline training, the goal wasn’t more content. It was consistent skill development that fit into daily work.

By shifting from a static LMS to bite-sized, mobile-first training embedded into onboarding and everyday workflows, Russell Cellular gained clear visibility into skill gaps, and the ability to close them quickly.

“When we looked at the numbers, we saw that the employees who logged into Axonify every day demonstrated marked improvements in sales and productivity.”

– Director of L&D at Russell Cellular

How to conduct a skills gap analysis

This is where theory becomes practice. Each step builds on the previous one, so resist the temptation to skip ahead.

Step 1. Define scope and objectives

Start by determining what you’re analyzing. Are you assessing one employee, a team, a department or your entire workforce? Your scope depends on your goals.

• Individual skill gap assessment: Useful for performance improvement plans or career development
• Team or department-level analysis: Helps identify collective training needs
• Organization-wide workforce skills gap analysis: Reveals systemic gaps affecting business performance

Align your scope to specific business objectives. If you’re launching a new product line, focus on the skills required for that rollout. If safety incidents are climbing, prioritize safety-related competencies.

Step 2. Identify critical skills for each role

List the technical and soft skills required for each role you’re analyzing. Job descriptions are a starting point, but don’t stop there. Talk to managers and high performers to understand what actually drives success on the floor.

Distinguish between “must-have” skills (essential for basic job performance) and “nice-to-have” skills (valuable but not critical). This prioritization matters when you’re deciding where to focus resources.

Step 3. Assess current skill levels

Now you’re measuring what employees can actually do. Multiple data sources improve accuracy:

• Performance reviews and manager evaluations
• Self-assessments and skills surveys
• Knowledge checks and quizzes
• On-the-job observations

For frontline workers with limited time, assessment methods that fit into daily workflows work best. Short, mobile-friendly knowledge checks embedded in the workday generate better data than lengthy annual evaluations.

Step 4. Analyze the gaps

Compare required skills against assessed skills to identify discrepancies. Not all gaps are equally urgent—prioritize by business impact. A gap in safety compliance training demands immediate attention, while a gap in advanced selling techniques might wait until next quarter.

Create a simple matrix showing each skill, the required proficiency level, the current level and the gap score. This visualization makes it easier to communicate findings to stakeholders.

Step 5. Design and implement interventions

With gaps identified and prioritized, you can choose the right intervention for each situation:

• Upskilling: Training existing employees to strengthen current role capabilities
• Reskilling: Teaching new skills for different roles or responsibilities
• Hiring: Recruiting external talent for gaps that cannot be closed internally
• Mentoring or coaching: Pairing employees with experienced colleagues

Match the intervention to the gap type. A knowledge gap responds well to training. A practice gap might require coaching or job shadowing.

Step 6. Measure results and iterate

Skills gap analysis is an ongoing process. Track whether interventions actually close gaps by reassessing skills after training. Connect training completion to performance outcomes like sales metrics, customer satisfaction scores or safety incident rates.

Schedule regular reassessments. Quarterly check-ins work well for fast-changing roles, while annual reviews may suffice for more stable positions.

Skills gap analysis examples

Abstract concepts become clearer with concrete examples. Here’s what analysis looks like at different organizational levels.

Individual skills gap assessment

Consider a retail associate assessed on product knowledge, customer service and point-of-sale system proficiency. The assessment reveals strong customer service skills but gaps in product knowledge for a newly launched category. The resulting development plan includes targeted microlearning modules on the new products, delivered in 3–5 minute sessions during shifts.

Team-level skills gap analysis

A distribution center team undergoes analysis focused on safety protocols and equipment operation. Results show that while experienced workers score high, recent hires have significant gaps in forklift safety procedures. The intervention: mandatory safety training for new hires plus refresher content for the entire team, with knowledge checks to verify retention.

Organization-wide workforce skills gap analysis

A hospitality brand with 200+ locations discovers through analysis that guest complaint resolution skills vary dramatically by property. The company implements standardized training across all properties, uses consistent assessment methods and tracks improvement through guest satisfaction scores.

How to identify skill gaps in the workplace

Step 3 introduced assessment methods briefly. Let’s go deeper into the techniques that actually work for frontline teams.

Performance data analysis

Your existing data tells a story. Sales metrics, quality scores, safety incident reports and productivity numbers all point toward skill deficiencies. If one location consistently underperforms on upselling, that’s a signal worth investigating.

Manager and peer feedback

Structured feedback from supervisors and colleagues provides qualitative insight that numbers miss. A 360-degree review might reveal that an employee knows the product but struggles to explain it clearly to customers, a communication gap that wouldn’t show up in a knowledge quiz.

Self-assessments and skills surveys

Employees often know where they could use help. Self-assessments work best when combined with other data sources, since people tend to overestimate or underestimate their abilities.

Knowledge checks and assessments

Short quizzes, scenario-based questions or practical demonstrations objectively measure skill levels. For frontline teams, brief assessments embedded in daily work—taking just 3–5 minutes—generate consistent data without disrupting operations.

Customer feedback and quality metrics

Customer satisfaction scores, complaint data and mystery shopper results reveal skill gaps in customer-facing roles. If complaints cluster around a specific issue, you’ve identified a training opportunity.

Skills gap analysis challenges and how to solve them

Even well-designed analysis efforts hit obstacles. Here’s how to overcome the most common ones.

1. Inconsistent data across locations

Challenge: Multi-location organizations struggle to gather comparable data when each site uses different assessment methods.

Solution: Standardize assessment tools and use a centralized platform that delivers the same questions and scoring across all locations.

2. Low participation in assessments

Challenge: Employees skip assessments or rush through them, producing unreliable data.

Solution: Make assessments short, mobile-friendly and integrated into daily workflows. When a knowledge check takes two minutes and happens on a device employees already use, participation improves.

3. Difficulty connecting gaps to business outcomes

Challenge: Leadership questions the ROI of closing skill gaps because the connection to results isn’t clear.

Solution: Track performance metrics before and after interventions. Align each gap to specific KPIs so you can demonstrate impact.

4. Analysis that does not lead to action

Challenge: Data gets collected, reports get filed, but nothing changes.

Solution: Build action planning into the process from the start. Assign ownership for each gap and set deadlines for interventions.

5. Maintaining momentum after initial analysis

Challenge: The first analysis generates enthusiasm, but the process fades over time.

Solution: Schedule regular reassessments and integrate analysis into ongoing talent management.

Skills gap analysis best practices

1. Start with business outcomes

Align analysis to specific goals like improving customer satisfaction, reducing safety incidents, increasing sales conversion rather than conducting analysis in a vacuum.

2. Make assessment part of the daily workflow

For frontline teams, embed short assessments into existing routines. A 3–5 minute microlearning session with built-in knowledge checks generates ongoing data without requiring separate training time.

3. Use multiple data sources for accuracy

No single assessment method tells the whole story. Combine self-assessments, manager input, performance data and knowledge checks.

4. Prioritize high-impact gaps first

You can’t close every gap at once. Focus resources on gaps that most directly affect business outcomes.

5. Close the loop between analysis and training

Gap identification can directly trigger relevant training delivery—ideally automated and personalized.

6. Communicate results transparently

Share findings with employees and managers so everyone understands development priorities.

Skills gap analysis tools and templates

Essential components of a skills gap analysis template

A good template includes:

• Role and skill inventory
• Proficiency rating scale (e.g., 1–5)
• Current skill level vs. required skill level columns
• Gap score calculation
• Priority ranking
• Action plan and owner assignment

What to look for in a skills gap analysis tool

When evaluating software, consider:

• Mobile accessibility: Frontline employees can complete assessments on devices they already use
• Automated gap-to-training recommendations: The system connects identified gaps to relevant learning content
• Real-time dashboards and reporting: Visibility into gaps across locations and roles
• Integration with existing systems: Works with your HR and learning platforms
• Scalability: Handles growth without requiring a complete rebuild

How to close skills gaps across your workforce

Identifying gaps is only valuable if you act on what you find. The real work is closing those gaps consistently, across every location and every shift.

• Deliver targeted microlearning: Short, focused training that addresses specific gaps without disrupting work
• Reinforce through spaced repetition: Revisit key concepts over time to ensure retention
• Align communication and training: Ensure employees understand why skills matter and how they connect to daily tasks
• Track progress continuously: Monitor skill improvement and adjust training as needed
• Standardize across locations: Use a centralized platform to ensure consistent skill development everywhere

For organizations with large frontline workforces, the challenge isn’t just identifying gaps—it’s closing them at scale while maintaining consistency. Platforms that integrate training, communication and task management make this possible by turning analysis insights into daily actions.

Ready to see how this works in practice?

Explore how Axonify helps frontline teams close skill gaps and execute with consistency.

FAQs about skills gap analysis

How often should organizations conduct a skills gap analysis?

Annual analysis works for stable roles, but fast-changing industries benefit from quarterly or even continuous assessment. The key is building analysis into your regular talent management rhythm rather than treating it as a one-time project.

Who should be responsible for leading a skills gap analysis?

Typically HR, L&D or operations leaders take the lead, with input from managers closest to the work. For frontline teams, operations involvement ensures the analysis reflects real job requirements.

How long does a typical skills gap analysis take to complete?

Individual assessments can wrap up in days. Team-level analysis might take a few weeks. Organization-wide analysis across multiple locations often requires one to three months, depending on scope and data collection methods.

Can skills gap analysis be automated with software?

Yes. Modern platforms automate data collection, gap identification and training recommendations. Automation is especially valuable for large, dispersed workforces where manual analysis would be impractical.

What is the difference between a skills gap analysis and a training needs assessment?

Skills gap analysis identifies what skills are missing. A training needs assessment determines how to deliver learning to close those gaps—what format, what content, what delivery method. The two processes are complementary and work best together.