10 Examples of Skills Gaps in the Workplace

By the next few years, an estimated 85 million jobs will be vacant due to skill gaps, resulting in a loss of $8.5 trillion. This statistic, combined with various other surveys, highlights the importance of addressing skill gaps in your organization as a top priority. Bridging skill gaps is important for organizations to continue their productivity and for employees to remain competitive in the marketplace and valuable to their employers. With the modern workplace constantly changing with new technologies, businesses need employees with the right skill set to stay ahead of the curve. 

With so many examples of skill gaps in the workplace, such as technical, analytical, communication, and many more, it becomes imperative for company leaders to help their employees upskill and remain employable in this highly competitive market. So, in this blog, we have talked about the various types of skill gaps and the reasons for their cause, followed by a case study that will help you understand the importance of bridging skill gaps in your organization.

Skill Gap Examples that Prove to be Most Counterproductive

Let’s explore the common examples of skill gaps in the workplace.

1. Not Having Data Analysis Skills

The demand for data analytic abilities is rising dramatically. According to Forbes, the US might lose $162 billion by 2030 due to lacking data analytic skills. Without data analysis, businesses overlook trends, misunderstand client preferences, and fail to assess campaign performance. Without these skills, companies may rely on intuition or outdated methodologies, resulting in poor decision-making and missed possibilities for development and optimization.

How Do We Bridge This Skill Gap?

To upskill your workforce, you can offer training programs in tools like SQL, Excel, and data visualization software. You can cultivate a data-driven culture by encouraging employees to understand basic data concepts and how data can be used for better decision-making. You can also consider partnering with an external corporate data analytics training courses provider.

2. Insufficient Marketing Skills

Marketing talents are no longer limited to creating memorable slogans and producing brochures. Today's marketing world needs a varied skill set to adapt to rapidly evolving technology, customer behaviours, and data-driven strategies. However, many employees lack expertise in navigating digital marketing channels like social media, search engine optimization (SEO), and content marketing, as highlighted by the latest report, which states that the attrition rate of marketers is close to 27.3% in a year. Impact of these workplace skills gaps? Businesses struggle to reach their target audience effectively, missing out on potential customers and engagement.

How Do We Bridge This Skill Gap?

To address this gap, you need to invest in employee training programs focused on digital marketing training, data analysis, content creation, and automation tools. Fostering a learning culture and providing resources for personal growth ensures teams stay ahead of the curve.

3. Absence of Soft Skills

While technical skills grab attention when discussing skill gaps, the lack of soft skills is another example of skill gaps in the workplace. With almost 69% of managers lacking proficiency in communication, the absence of soft skills is increasing every year. These interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, like communication, teamwork, problem-solving and critical thinking, are building blocks of successful teamwork and client relationships.

Despite its importance, many employees lack the necessary skills, especially in a remote or multicultural workforce, creating a gap that negatively impacts personal and organizational success. This gap can lead to misunderstandings, customer dissatisfaction,  less employee engagement and inefficiency.

How Do We Bridge This Skill Gap?

Regularly assess team soft skills through 360-degree assessments and invest in corporate training programs that equip employees with practical tools and strategies to improve communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence. Also, you can provide coaching and mentorship training to address specific skill gaps and support skill development.

4. Inadequate Project Management Skills

Do you know that almost 39% of projects fail due to lack of planning and insufficient work activities? This is why bridging this skill gap in the workplace is crucial. Effective project management skills are essential for effectively completing projects in all industries. This requires project managers who adapt, think strategically, and manage project complications. However, the common examples of skill gaps in the workplace are efficient planning, execution, and monitoring of projects. These skill gaps can delay the project, cause budget overruns, and cause scope creep. Ultimately, the organization's ability to deliver on its objectives can be compromised.

How Do We Bridge This Skill Gap?

You can provide opportunities for project managers to learn new skills through workshops, certifications, and mentorship programs. Encourage continuous learning and knowledge sharing within the organization. Hire or promote candidates with the necessary skills and experience or invest in training high-potential employees to close this workplace skills gap. Utilize project management software and collaboration tools to streamline processes and improve communication.

5. Missing Creativity and Innovation

In an age of rapid technology breakthroughs and increasing customer expectations, organizations want employees who can think outside the box, discover creative solutions, and adapt to new challenges. This requires a combination of divergent thinking, which explores various options, and convergent thinking, which chooses the most effective answer. According to Adobe, 94% of hiring managers consider creativity when hiring a candidate, highlighting its importance in the workplace. Many employees, however, find it difficult to leave traditional ways in favor of creative ideas. Companies with these skill gaps may struggle to adapt to changing markets, develop new products, or attract and retain customers.

How Do We Bridge This Skill Gap?

To address this example of a skill gap in the workplace? You can implement training programs, encourage experimentation, recognize and reward innovation, promote collaboration and invest in leadership and management training programs.

6. Lack of Selling Skills

In today's competitive business landscape, where almost 46% of salespeople are unsatisfied with their sales target, acquiring these skills is more crucial than ever. However, a significant skill gap exists between what employers need and what many salespeople possess. Many salespeople struggle to truly understand their customers' needs, pain points, and buying motivations.

This leads to ineffective approaches and missed opportunities. Also, the rise of digital sales channels requires salespeople to adapt to online tools and platforms for prospecting, lead generation, and closing deals. However, many sales employees lack the digital literacy and comfort with technology to excel in this space. 

How Do We Bridge This Skill Gap?

To close this workplace skills gap, you can provide them with learning opportunities like sales-specific training programs, CRM training courses, role-playing and simulations to enhance their sales skills.

7. Not Honing the Negotiating Skills

In a study, 80% of companies around the globe do not have negotiation processes, which prevents them from earning more. Negotiating skills play a crucial role, especially for salespeople. Strong negotiation skills allow employees to secure better contract terms, partnerships, and service agreements. However, many employees pose these workplace skills gaps, leading to client dissatisfaction, damaged client relationships, negative brand perception and missed opportunities. 

How Do We Bridge This Skill Gap?

The solution to address these workplace skills gaps is to invest in negotiating skills training and workshops, promote a culture of open communication, and reward successful negotiation outcomes to reinforce positive behaviours. 

8. Absence of Teamwork and Collaboration Skills

With almost 86% of employees in leadership positions blaming lack of collaboration as the top reason for workplace failures, bridging this skill gap is of utmost priority. Teamwork and collaboration skills are at the heart of any successful organization. The most common examples of skill gaps in the workplace include communication, active listening, conflict resolution, and empathy. However, they often present significant skill gaps in the modern workplace. The rise of remote work, diverse teams, and complex projects demands a new level of cooperation and communication.

How Do We Bridge This Skill Gap?

You can invest in training programs focusing on communication skills, conflict resolution, active listening, and emotional intelligence. Encourage open communication, celebrate teamwork successes, and create opportunities for employees to connect and build relationships.

These are the most common examples of skill gaps in the workplace that your organization must address for success.

9. Lack of Technological Skills

A new report from the National Skills Coalition finds that nearly 1 in 3 workers lack basic digital skills, making technological skills gaps another common example of skill gaps in the workplace. The IT landscape is constantly evolving, and the skills employees need to stay relevant are changing just as fast. This mismatch between current abilities and required knowledge creates an IT skills gap. To bridge this gap and grow in the ever-changing tech world,  you can provide training on coding, cloud technology, cybersecurity, mobile application development, artificial intelligence, machine learning training and network virtualization. 

How Do We Bridge This Skill Gap?

Investing in these in-demand skills allows your employees to stay relevant in the ever-changing IT field and enhance your employee's IT capabilities to align with the evolving industry needs.

10. Adaptability and Flexibility

In an evolving work environment, being adaptable and flexible is a crucial requirement for employees to stay at their companies. A recent report from McKinsey & Company states that 40% of employees regard workplace flexibility as a top motivator for not resigning. This resistance to change can slow down a company's ability to shift focus and capitalize on new opportunities.

How Do We Bridge This Skill Gap?

By addressing these examples of skill gaps in the workplace, organizations can enhance their workforce's capabilities and ensure their teams are equipped to meet the demands of the modern workplace.

Reasons for Skill Gaps at Workplace 

Understanding the root causes of the skills gap can help organizations craft effective strategies for attracting and retaining the appropriate talent, ensuring continuous growth and success. Let’s see the reasons:

1. Rapid Technological Advancements: In the modern era, fast technological advancement regularly introduces new tools and platforms that reshape industry landscapes. This ever-changing business environment necessitates a workforce proficient in current technology and capable of rapidly learning and adapting to innovations.

2. Evolving Industry Standards and Regulations: As industries grow, the standards and rules that govern them change. This continual evolution requires a team that follows established norms and is prepared to adapt to future changes. It necessitates an anticipatory approach to professional development, pushing employees to constantly refresh their knowledge to stay up with changing trends and regulatory requirements.

3. Inadequate Training: Ongoing training and development are critical for developing a skilled workforce. Companies without adequate training may be at an edge in a competitive environment. Thus, creating a continual learning and growth culture is critical to ensuring that people have the skills required to prosper in their roles.

So, how could you close this skill gap in your workplace? Simply start by conducting a workplace skills gap analysis, upskilling and reskilling your employees with the training program, collaborating with training providers, providing learning opportunities to your team, and encouraging your team members. These initiatives will keep your team members engaged and motivated. The results? It will boost productivity and ROI.

Case Study - How Well Fargo Implemented Blended Learning Program to Bridge its Skill Gaps?

This case study describes how Wells Fargo, a large financial services company, used a blended learning program to address a skills gap among its audit managers. 

Wells Fargo is a diversified financial services firm offering banking, insurance, investments, mortgages, and consumer and commercial finance worldwide through over 9,000 shops, 12,000 ATMs, and online. While the team possessed strong theoretical knowledge, they lacked practical experience and confidence in applying their skills in real-world audit scenarios. 

Challenge: Wells Fargo audit managers are highly skilled individuals who operate in demanding environments. They handle multiple tasks, tight deadlines, and complex technical situations while leading and collaborating effectively. However, their career advancement requires them to adapt to new challenges like managing change, navigating technological shifts, and leading virtual teams in a dynamic and regulated industry. This gap posed a potential risk to the effectiveness and efficiency of their audit processes.

Solution: To address this issue, Wells Fargo implemented the "Audit Leadership Experience" program, a blended learning initiative. First, the learning team launched "Audit Services University" (ASU), a program with role-specific learning paths to train skilled auditors. ASU teaches them to assess risks, plan audits, evaluate controls, and challenge management within their assigned business area.

Second, they formed the "WFAS Learning Council" with subject matter experts. This council ensures the learning strategy aligns with current business needs and is relevant for teams. It complements the ASU program by providing audit managers with a safe space to practice tackling complex work scenarios specific to Wells Fargo's technical audit processes.

Outcome: The results? The audit managers significantly improved their understanding of audit methodologies and best practices. They reported feeling more confident in applying their skills to real-world audit situations.

Key Takeaways: The Wells Fargo ALE program demonstrates the effectiveness of blended learning in addressing workplace skills gaps within organizations. By combining online and in-person elements, the program provided a comprehensive and engaging learning experience that resulted in measurable improvements in participants' knowledge, skills, and confidence.

Conclusion!

The landscape of the modern workplace is always changing, with technological advancements and changing market dynamics continuously shaping the skills required for success. However, skill gaps can significantly impact an organization's productivity, growth, and competitive edge. By proactively identifying and understanding the common examples of skill gaps in the workplace and addressing these gaps, businesses can eliminate these risks and secure opportunities for innovation and development. If you’re looking to partner with organizations to analyze your organization’s skill gaps, then Edstellar is the right choice.

Their comprehensive Skill Matrix tool lets you visualize your team’s competencies accurately. It provides a detailed report free of cost to boost your business’s productivity by bridging potential skill gaps.