You know someone in your team could benefit from some extra support, but what training do they actually need?
It can be tempting to search for a course and hope it solves the problem. But before booking anything, it is worth working out where the skills gap actually sits.
A skills gap is simply the difference between what someone needs to be able to do in their role and what they can confidently do now.
For example, a member of staff might be responsible for managing a small team but have never had any management training. Someone else may have taken responsibility for your social media without knowing how to plan content or work out whether it is bringing in enquiries.
Identifying that gap first makes it much easier to choose training that will genuinely help.
Start With What the Role Requires
Before looking at courses, start with the employee’s role.
What are they expected to do? What skills do they need to do the job well? Has their role changed since they started?
This is also where your wider business plans come into the picture.
You might be introducing new software, growing the team, asking someone to take on management responsibilities or changing the way you market the business.
If somebody’s responsibilities are changing, their training may need to change with them.
Look at Where People Are Struggling
Training needs often become clearer when you look at what is happening day to day.
Are the same mistakes happening regularly? Are customers asking similar questions or raising the same issues? Is a task taking much longer than it should? Is someone avoiding part of their role because they do not feel confident doing it?
You might notice that a new manager finds difficult conversations challenging, for example. Or perhaps someone responsible for marketing spends hours creating content without knowing what is working.
Performance reviews, customer feedback, one-to-one meetings and everyday observations can all help you spot patterns.
But remember, not every performance issue needs training.
Sometimes the real problem is an unclear process, outdated software, limited resources or uncertainty about what somebody is expected to do. Sending someone on a course will not fix those problems.
Speak to Your Employees
One of the simplest ways to find out where someone needs support is to ask them.
Employees often know which parts of their role they find difficult, where they lack confidence and what they would like to get better at.
Try asking questions such as:
- Which parts of your role do you find most challenging?
- Are there any tasks you would like more confidence with?
- Is there anything you feel you have been expected to learn as you go?
- What skills would help you take the next step in your role?
These conversations do not need to wait for an annual appraisal. A regular one-to-one can often tell you far more about where support is needed.
Think About What Is Changing
Training should not only respond to problems that already exist.
Think about what is likely to change in the business over the next 6 to 12 months.
Are you taking on more staff? Introducing AI tools? Using new software? Asking somebody to manage people for the first time? Putting more responsibility for marketing, customer service or project work into an employee’s role?
Planning ahead gives staff time to develop the skills they need before those responsibilities become a problem.
Ask Four Questions Before Booking Training
If you are unsure whether training is the right answer, work through these four questions:
- What does this person need to be able to do?
- What are they currently finding difficult?
- Is the problem caused by a lack of knowledge, skill or confidence?
- What should be different after the training?
The fourth question is particularly important.
Instead of simply saying, “They need management training”, you might decide that the real aim is for them to feel more confident giving feedback, managing workloads and dealing with difficult conversations.
That gives you a much clearer idea of what type of training to look for.
Choose Training That Matches the Need
Once you understand the gap, you can start looking at the right form of support.
That might be a short workshop, an accredited qualification, coaching, mentoring or online learning.
The right choice depends on what the employee needs to learn and how much support they require.
A short session might be enough to learn a specific piece of software. Someone taking on management responsibility for the first time may need something more structured.
Training does not always have to come entirely from your own budget either. Depending on your business, location and the training required, funded or part-funded courses may be available.
Enterprise Made Simple offers training for organisations across areas including leadership and management, digital skills, marketing and workplace skills, with funded training options available for some employers.
Check What Has Changed
Training should not finish when the course ends.
Go back to the reason you arranged it in the first place.
Has confidence improved? Is the employee completing the task more effectively? Have mistakes reduced? Are they using what they learned?
A conversation a few weeks after the training can help you understand what has changed and whether any further support is needed.
Start With the Problem, Not the Course
Identifying employee training needs does not have to be complicated.
Instead of starting with, “What course should we book?”, ask:
What does this person need to be able to do better?
If you have identified a skills gap in your team but are unsure what training would be suitable, explore our training for organisations.