Is It Really a Skills Gap? How to Find the Truth | 2-Minute Video

When employees or whole teams fall short, we often blame a skills gap.

But how do you know if it really is a gap? And how do you fill the gap if it exists?

What’s Up in This Episode: Finding, Fixing Skills Gap

In this episode of HRMorning’s 3-Point, our expert, John Deal, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Phenom, walks us through a great way to pinpoint and rectify your skills gaps.

Click, watch and listen for more details on uncovering and solving skills gaps.

Transcript (edited for clarity):

When employees just don’t get it, or whole teams fall short, we often think, “They don’t have the skills we need.”

We blame it on a skills gap.

Easy conclusion. But here’s the problem with identifying skills gaps: It isn’t always obvious because most employees are where they’re supposed to be … on paper!

John Deal, Senior Director of Product Marketing, Phenom: “When you look at just job titles or roles, it’s hard to ascertain, ‘OK, well I need this skill, but does this job title actually have this skill? Or does it just say it in the job description and that person has actually never leveraged that skill in their job.” 

See the disconnect now? Lots of people in lots of roles do things they supposedly aren’t expected to. And some roles call for skills that aren’t included in the job description. So you have to look elsewhere to identify the gap.

Where’s that?

Deal: “I think the managers are probably the loudest because they usually have an immediate need. But I certainly think there’s an analysis going on at a higher level from a workforce planning perspective and from a talent management perspective where they’re digging into the data a little more.” 

But it’s not always easy to pinpoint the problem, the gap. Sometimes HR pros need to nudge a little.

Deal: “If you reach out to a manager and say, ‘Tell me what you need,’ it’s very hard for them to do because they have to come up with the idea of all the skills they could possibly need. But if you reach out to them and say, ‘Hey, we believe these are the skills that you need today, that you’re going to need in the future. Do you agree?’ It’s much easier for them to be like, ‘Yes, OK.’” 

There you have it. Skills gaps aren’t always obvious. But when you recognize something’s missing, you can get to the root of the gap if you:

• Listen. Front-line managers might not say there’s a “skills gap,” but they’ll be squeaky wheels about productivity problems.
• Analyze. Your workforce planning and talent management tools will help detect the problems.
• Nudge. Armed with what you’ve heard and uncovered, tell managers what you think they need and see if they agree.

The best part: You’ll fill the gap and become the skills gap hero in your managers’ eyes!

Skills Gap Realities, Resources

We aren’t wrong to blame a skills gap when teams or employees fail. In fact, the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs Report found 59% of employees will likely need to reskill or upskill over the next five years to stay at work.

More specifically,  of the employees who need training, 29% could be upskilled in their current roles. Nineteen percent could be upskilled and moved into different positions within their organization. But 11% won’t likely be reskilled or upskilled — whether it’s because they don’t have the opportunity or can’t or don’t want to do the training — will likely put their employment prospects at risk.

You can check out these other resources to help fill skills gaps:

• 7 Ways to Make Skills-Based Hiring Work.
• Fix the Skills Gap: 4 Keys to Get Apprenticeships Started at Your Company
• Creative Ways to Fill the Skills Gap | 2-Minute Video, and
• Is Fair Chance Hiring the Solution to the Skills Gap?