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action items the employee wanted to implement and acknowledge them
if the employee is successful in regular coaching sessions or through
informal conversations.
Overall, addressing the skills gap comes down to a blend of these techniques.
A mix of formal and informal training methods is what leads to the individual
employee bridging their own gap. Again, it begins with the individual assessment
of what skills are lacking and need to be developed, whether technical or
behavioral. This process of assessing and addressing growth areas needs to be
something that is consistently done throughout the employee’s career, not just
in the beginning. This way they will constantly be growing and changing as the
industry and technology rapidly evolve as well.
Remember, the more tailored and customized the training is to each specific
employee, the better they’ll retain it because it is more relevant to them. To begin
accessing and addressing the skills gap in your organization, here are some
action items to take away from this article:
• Set up regular meetings with the employees you manage to begin
the coaching process.
• Develop an individual development plan for each employee so both parties
know what skills need to be addressed.
• Identify an educational partner that can provide the in-person and online training
tools for your organization.
• Encourage employees to begin taking an active role in assessing their own skills
gap so they can inform you of what areas they want to grow in.
• Follow up with employees who take training to make sure they have identified
one to two action items after each training session.
HR
> “When it comes to bridging the
skills gap, the best method is to use
a combination of different training
formats based on the needs of the
supervisor and employee.“
Melissa Asher is head of CPS HR Consulting’s Training & Development Division and coordinates a training operation that serves over 15,000 training customers through the delivery of
over 500 courses per year in twelve different topic categories. In her role she also coordinates and works on needs assessment, coaching, team building, and facilitation. She manages
a staff of over 50, including instructors and office staff. More recently Melissa has been managing and working on projects involving learning management systems and the conversion
of in person training to an online format. She has a strong background in project management, training and development, and accounting. She is a certified Project Management
Professional through the Project Management Institute and has her Senior Professional in Human Resources Certificate from the Society for Human Resource Management.
