Conducting a Skills Audit

Conducting skills audits allow you to not only identify skill gaps in a company, but also highlight training needs amongst your staff. This information allows for more targeted training and development opportunities for your staff, which in turn helps to highlight any gaps you may need recruitment to fill.

Identifying the skill gaps

Firstly, make a list of all the role types within the company. This doesn’t have to include all the job titles; roles can be grouped together if the skill set is very similar.

Secondly, from your list of role types you need to state the skills required of those roles in order to support company growth and adapt to the changing marketplace. These could be behavioural or technical dependant on the company or role.

(You should keep your business objectives in mind during this phase to ensure you are highlighting areas of the business that may be growing/changing in the)

Once you have this information you can start to match your employees against the list and systematically highlight areas needing development within your company.

Bridging the skill gaps

There are three main routes you could consider after a skills audit.

1. Some of the ‘gaps’ could be developed through internal training, with the use of knowledge transfers.
2. You could invest in external training, exploring qualifications, system, or personal development courses.
3. Recruitment; look to hire someone with the skills you are missing from your company.

Continuing development

Conducting a skills audit may sound like a lengthy process you don’t think would benefit your company but done properly can be used as a tool to not only increase staff retention but make recruitment investments more profitable long-term. Ensure you undertake the process a minimum of once a year to ensure you are responding the changing needs and requirements of the company and marketplace and avoid any prolonged skill gaps.