4 Steps to Boost Performance Output and Close Skills Gaps

It's Monday morning and you've just been tasked with increasing employee performance output without spending any additional time or resources. But don't panic - you can do it! All you need is the right approach to pinpoint and close skills gaps. Here are four steps to get started: link employee competencies to the process, benchmark skills based on the performed tasks, identify and address any potential competency gaps, and measure success against key performance indicators. With these strategies in your back pocket, you'll have your organization running like a well-oiled machine in no time!
Step 1: Link Employee Competencies to the Process
Before you can identify and address potential skills gaps, you need to understand what competencies are already at play within your organization. To do this, map out the different roles and tasks in your organization, then link these to employee competencies. This will help you gain insight into which areas of expertise are most critical for job success.
Step 2: Benchmark Skills Based on Performed Tasks
Now that you know which areas of expertise are essential for success, benchmark employees' current skills against those required by the process. You can use surveys, interviews, and observation techniques to measure how well employees perform specific tasks. This will give you an idea of who needs additional training or coaching in certain areas.
Step 3: Identify and Address Potential Competency Gaps
Once you have a better understanding of how well employees are performing specific tasks, review each individual's competency levels against performance benchmarks. This will allow you to pinpoint any potential gaps that could be preventing them from achieving their goals. From there, you can identify appropriate interventions such as training or coaching programs that can help close these gaps without taking up extra time or resources.
Step 4: Measure Success Against Key Performance Indicators
The last step is measuring success against key performance indicators (KPIs). Track employee performance over time to see if your efforts have translated into improved output. If so, great! If not, consider revisiting any underlying causes that may be holding back progress.
By following these four steps, learning and development leaders like yourself can increase employee performance output without spending additional time and resources on training or other initiatives. So take the plunge today and get started on increasing productivity throughout your organization!