It’s not just the end of the year, but also the close of the decade, and what better time to take those workplace New Year’s resolutions to the next level by conducting a skill gap assessment.immigration labor advertising, PERM recruitment ads, immigration advertising
This test in the general sense, will help employers get a comprehensive picture of not just what they are doing right, but also those areas where they are lacking so that they can start the decade off right by getting out there and start recruiting for those positions that they need to take their productivity to the next level.
By identifying skill gaps, employers will be able to zero in where a current workforce isn’t able to fill the skills required to complete an objective efficiently and effectively, and thus can pinpoint exactly where there is room for improvement. Needless to say, performing this type of test will provide recruiters with the information that they need to specifically target the type of workforce that they really need to have on board.
Keep in mind that sometimes skill gaps don’t just apply in terms of the company itself, but also in relation to the local or domestic workforce. If this is the case, posting immigration labor advertising may be a useful avenue for anybody recruiting for a position that requires a specific set of skills or educational requirements that tend to be harder to come by in America. However, if this is the case, they will also want to potentially prepare themselves to post PERM recruitment ads as well, and working with an agency that specializes in meeting these types of specific requirements is the best way to ensure that a green card will be successfully obtained in the most timely and efficient manner possible.
Now, with all that in mind, let’s get down to how to conduct a proper skill gap assessment in the first place. This is a crucial first step when it comes to nailing down better productivity, quality and output in the years to come, and can be the type of tool that will give a business a competitive edge long term edge in terms of hiring and training alike, so be sure to take notes!
Step One: Lay Out the Company’s Main Objectives as Whole
When it comes to identifying skill gaps, employers also need to have a clear set of big-picture goals already in place in terms of not only what they are striving to accomplish, but also in terms of how they would like to grow their business in the future.
This means sitting down and making a concrete list of attainable objectives to be achieved in the years to come. It may seem tedious or obvious, but without a clear, agreed-upon set of goals, it will be almost impossible to identify the specific positions or skills that need to be added or modified in order to foster future growth.
Step Two: Break Down the Skill Requirements
So now the goals are in place and it is time to look at the actual skills that will be needed to achieve those goals. Keep in mind that this exercise is meant to identify the skills that will be actually best suited to making needs to happen, happen, and it is important to avoid biasing these idealized skill sets in favor of the ones that their current workplace already has.
Start by grouping relevant job titles together and then create a prioritized list of skills for each of these titles. This will not only help identify which skills are necessary and which are only desirable but also help determine where training and recruiting resources should be spent first.
Step Three: Figure Out What is Working and What Isn’t
Now that the ideal list is in place, it is time to see how it measures up in terms of the skills that those respective teams already offer. This is where it is time to drop the theorizing and focus in on the skills that employees are actually exercising.
A crucial mistake here can also be assumed that employees have already had skills in place just because they are working under a certain type of job title. It is a big mistake to rely on credentials here. Look instead at the actual performance.
Job assessments or training needs analyses are generally the best way to get an accurate picture. These can be conducted via old-fashioned monitoring techniques as well as targeted online surveys and tests, paper questionnaires, interviews, customer satisfaction surveys or by using specialized online assessment tools. Different workplaces will be better suited to different methodologies, so try to zero on the tools or the set of tools that is most likely to generate accurate and reliable results.
Step Four: Analyze the Data
Now, it is time to compare the real-world data to the ideal set of skills that a given workforce actually has. By comparing the data results up to the list generated earlier, employers are now going to have a clear picture not only of those priority areas where their team is excelling but also those areas that they could afford to invest less in training.
Meanwhile, they should also have an accurate assessment of where the most pressing skill gaps lie so that they can now mobilize extra resources toward training and recruitment in order to fill those skill gaps pronto.
The Takeaway: Moving Forward
Many skill gaps can easily be filled through updated training programs, but when it comes to highly specialized skills or hard to fill positions, comprehensive training may not be enough. In these cases, it is probably time to start recruiting in order to create a more diverse and more multifaceted workplace environment.
If this is the case, working with a firm that specializes in immigration advertising can help employers fill those gaps quickly and efficiently so that they can get back on track and enter the new decade truly prepared to take on the future.
