Far too often business owners overlook the need for new, skilled employees to join their teams. This often leaves the current team overworked, stressed, and unable to work to the best of their ability — not good.
Hiring shouldn’t be a one-in-one-out process. Instead, smart hiring decisions should be made based on the skills your business needs, filling gaps in areas where your business can thrive, and creating a high-performing culture that’s always evolving.
Need help identifying gaps in your business? Here’s all you need to know about making informed hiring choices for ongoing success!
1. Conduct a skills gap analysis
The best way to start identifying hiring gaps is to conduct a skills gap analysis. This is an assessment of the disparity between the skills you require and those you already have in the business.
Begin by creating a comprehensive list of the skills and competencies required for each role or team. This criteria will vary between different industries and businesses but should include technical skills, for example, proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite or wider design skills, as well as soft skills like problem-solving or critical thinking.
Score each team or individual role against this criteria, and ask employees for their input to fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of the business as a whole. Once complete, compare the skills of your current employees against the skills identified as necessary for each role, and identify any gaps.
This comparison will help pinpoint any disparities in skills, allowing you to explore potential solutions, such as hiring new talent or upskilling existing team members.
2. Seek employee feedback
As a business owner or manager, it’s essential to recognize that while you oversee the organization as a whole, you may only have a granular understanding of each team’s dynamics. Individuals within teams might be shouldering additional responsibilities that fall outside their designated roles or may require additional support that goes unnoticed — but you won’t know until you ask!
Their firsthand experiences offer valuable perspectives on where the organization may be falling short, and where additional hires or support may be necessary. This is why communication is key. Creating an open environment between all hierarchies in the business makes it easier for you to have honest conversations that, in the long run, will help your business make the best decisions for growth.
Let’s not forget that filling gaps in the business benefits your employees too. When gaps are left unfilled, someone has to pick up the slack, and constantly taking on extra responsibilities can be frustrating. However, when you’re constantly gathering employee feedback, you can ease pressure and ensure that gaps do not widen in the business in a way that negatively affects your employees.
3. Analyse workload and productivity
Another good way of finding gaps in your business is by monitoring workloads and productivity levels across different departments. If you’re using a task-tracking tool like ClickUp, this can make it easier to track productivity such as assessing how much time is spent on productive tasks compared to the total available work hours.
Additionally, indicators such as staff members consistently working overtime, missed deadlines, or excessive time spent on non-productive activities can signal potential gaps within workload management. These signs often suggest that bottlenecks are causing delays in task completion, highlighting areas where additional support or expertise may be needed.
In these cases, hiring new team members who can alleviate the workload or contribute specific skills in particular areas can be a straightforward solution to bridge these gaps effectively.
4. Review business objectives and growth plans
You might have big plans for your business, but do you have the resources and skill sets available to make them a reality? Evaluate your business objectives and growth projections to identify areas where you may require additional talent — if you want to reach your goals then everything needs to be aligned.
For example, if you’re aiming to ramp up your PR efforts but find that your current team lacks experience in this realm while excelling in SEO, there’s an evident skill gap that requires attention. Leveraging international hiring platforms like Remote can be an effective strategy for broadening the talent pool within your business, especially when seeking specialized skill sets aligned with your objectives.
If you want to make changes then you need experienced team members who can move things forward in the right direction. You can’t expect to see progress when your team isn’t equipped, but filling gaps in your business will ensure that the right knowledge and experience are available.
5. Benchmark against your competitors
It’s important to know how your business compares to competitors within your industry in terms of staffing levels, skill sets, and organizational structure.
By benchmarking against competitors, you gain valuable insights into where your business stands relative to others in the market and which gaps need filling. Furthermore, maintaining a culture of innovation can enhance your reputation, making hiring top talent easier in the long run!
Strengthening your workforce in areas where competitors excel can give your business a competitive edge and ensure long-term success in the marketplace. But equally, use these comparisons to think outside of the box, too. Identifying gaps in your hiring international remote talent can also present an opportunity to develop roles that competitors haven’t yet explored, positioning your business as a pioneer and thought leader in the industry.
6. Conduct an employee turnover analysis
The reasons and frequency behind your employees leaving the business can indicate underlying problems in your business, such as gaps in hiring. Sometimes it’s not enough to just hire one person to directly replace another – what about the gaps that remain? This is something you’ll only understand if you investigate!
Research has found that 70% of employees would leave an organization for one with better resources to reduce burnout. This is one of the most common reasons for people leaving their jobs, which is why it’s so important that gaps are filled within a business so employees aren’t left feeling overworked, uninspired, or with little time to develop their skills.
A good way of starting your employee turnover analysis is by conducting exit interviews. These interviews offer insights into why employees choose to leave your organization, often highlighting deficiencies in team dynamics and, consequently, gaps in hiring practices — information you can use to improve your business.
Gaps in your business for hiring represent more than just filling a role. It’s about finding new ways to grow, maintaining a healthy work culture, and ensuring that your business is well equipped with the right skillset to remain innovative — happy hiring!
