It seems skills gaps grow wider every year as technology advances. According to one study, around 43% of businesses were experiencing skills gaps in 2020. These gaps can negatively impact performance, retention and job satisfaction. People who feel they’re continuously not meeting management’s standards start to lose motivation and may feel less dedicated to their work. As a result, their organization can be negatively impacted, potentially missing targets and not hitting key performance indicators (KPIs).
The Importance of Ongoing Skill Development
Ongoing skill development is essential in a fast-paced business environment. As the market shifts and consumer demand evolves, it’s up to training and development professionals to prepare their employees.
Fortunately, most people are eager to upskill or reskill. In fact, 68% of employees are willing to retrain regardless of the circumstances — it’s up to training professionals to identify and address employees’ skills gaps.
Using AI to Identify Employee Skills Gaps
L&D professionals should seriously consider leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) because it can streamline their current processes. It can process and analyze massive amounts of data in seconds — few other business technologies compare.
AI provides unique insights because it recognizes patterns and trends humans can’t. Since it works incredibly fast and analyzes data objectively, it can help reduce operational costs while enhancing the decision-making process. Training and development professionals can use it to get better results while saving money.
While AI is a beneficial tool, regardless of how businesses utilize it, it also has useful features. The main one is personalization. Algorithms can have multiple unique interactions simultaneously — meaning they can offer a custom skill-building plan to every employee.
Adaptive learning is another beneficial feature. Machine learning models can evolve as they receive new data, so trainers don’t need to retrain them. They constantly adjust to current industry trends to offer relevant skills.
AI can even bridge language and cultural barriers. Natural language processing algorithms can understand speech and writing — even slang and industry jargon — which can help employees learn faster and build a more positive relationship with the algorithm.
How Does AI Differ From Conventional Methods?
Usually, managers and L&D professionals only identify skills gaps during annual reviews or when employees stop hitting their KPIs. The traditional process is reactive — it can only happen after the business is negatively affected.
Traditional methods of identifying employee skills gaps are unreliable. Even though L&D professionals measure performance with quantifiable metrics, the results are still subjective. Also, self-reported surveys often contain minor errors and plenty of bias.
Frankly, even two people in the same role will define their talents and responsibilities differently. After all, work is more nuanced than a double-spaced document can depict. Traditional methods of skills gap identification are lacking.
AI has an advantage because it is purely data driven. It can rapidly analyze industry trends, historic workplace statistics and current employee details to come to a logical conclusion. It can quickly recognize potential areas for improvement.
AI has a clear advantage over traditional methods. According to one study, 57% of businesses have already adopted it because it’s a valuable investment. Managers who use it to identify employee skills gaps end up with an accurate, constantly adapting database.
Considerations for AI-Driven Skills Gap Identification
Before adopting AI for employee skills gap identification, consider the technical, ethical and legal requirements that must be met. While using an algorithm is simple, deploying it is a relatively involved process.
Technical Requirements
It’s impossible to have AI without the infrastructure to back it up. Training professionals must ensure their network, storage systems and hardware enable them to deploy and utilize their algorithm.
Security Measures
Security is a concern whenever personally identifiable data is involved. Employee information must be stored in a safe, secure place that meets legal regulations. Where companies collect and store employee details determines the regulations they’re subject to. For example, those in the European Union must follow the General Data Protection Regulation — meaning they’d have to get consent before collecting information.
Ethical Considerations
Although ethical considerations aren’t necessarily a requirement, having them would be beneficial. Going above and beyond can grant a competitive edge as AI regulations tighten and public scrutiny increases. Learning leaders should consider privacy, bias and transparency — regular audits can ensure their algorithm remains accurate and trustworthy.
Steps to Identify Employee Skills Gaps With AI
L&D professionals can use AI to identify employee skills gaps with these steps:
1. Collect Employee Data
Data collection is the first step toward identifying skills gaps. L&D professionals should use past performance reviews, observations and KPIs to build a custom historical profile for each employee. Then, they should collect current data.
2. Clean and Classify Data
Data cleaning involves filling in missing values, matching formats and removing outliers. Once learning professionals finish this, they can move on to classification. These processes will accelerate analysis and improve the AI’s output.
3. Use Data-Driven Insights
The training team can leverage the AI’s analysis to address employees’ skills gaps in numerous ways. They can address everyone individually or as a group since algorithms can offer personalized or workplace-wide insights.
4. Leverage Predictive Analytics
L&D teams should use predictive analytics — a method for predicting future outcomes — to work on potential skills gaps preemptively. Employers’ and customers’ expectations will change as time passes. AI can use market and sector data to forecast how staff will need to upskill to adapt alongside them.
5. Evaluate Employee Progress
How can you tell if employees improve after receiving AI-driven insights? Skills gap identification is most effective when combined with proper evaluation methods. Management should implement additional assessment and monitoring procedures.
How to Resolve Skills Gaps Identified by AI
Upskilling and Reskilling Programs
Comprehensive upskilling and reskilling programs address identified skills gaps across a variety of training modalities such as workshops, on-the-job training, eLearning modules, mentorship and peer learning opportunities. Regardless of how it happens, employees receive custom training sessions that reflect their individual needs.
Most expect these upskilling and reskilling opportunities to pay off: 66% of businesses believe they will see a positive return on investment within one year of upskilling and reskilling their staff. By focusing on targeted skill development through diverse methods, trainers can enhance the overall competency of the workforce. Continuous feedback loops within these programs help measure progress and adjust training methods accordingly, leading to more successful outcomes.
Personalized Learning Paths
AI-driven insights enable the creation of personalized learning paths for each employee. By analyzing individual skills gaps, learning preferences and career goals, L&D professionals can design customized development plans that cater to the unique needs of each staff member.
This personalized approach not only increases engagement but also accelerates the learning process and ensures that employees acquire the skills most relevant to their roles and career progression. Regular monitoring and adjustments to these learning paths can further enhance their effectiveness and ensure continuous development.
Performance Evaluations
L&D teams can enhance performance evaluations to better track and support employee development. Regular evaluations provide an opportunity to monitor employees’ progress, make suggestions on how to improve and offer tailored resources for further development. Implementing more frequent and detailed evaluations can help trainers provide more relevant development opportunities, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and development.
Use AI As the Steppingstone to Success
While AI is a remarkable technological advancement, managers should remind themselves it’s only the first step of the process. Once they identify skills gaps, they must develop or restructure workplace systems to support employees. Addressing a lack of talent or expertise is an ongoing process.
