Turn underperformance into high performance

Identify skills gaps holding you back

Once you've identified the key factors that lead to success in your sector, you can think about the skills required to improve the performance of your business in these areas. For instance, if exporting to the rest of the EU is important, then you may need staff with language skills.

A training needs analysis (TNA) is a systematic way of assessing the gap between the skills you have and the skills you need or will need. You will find useful information on TNAs on yourpeoplemanager website.

Specific skills needs will differ between businesses, but certain skills are required by all modern customer-focused businesses:

• IT - are staff making the most of your hardware and software systems?
• Sales and marketing - are sales staff reaching the clients that matter, building relationships and closing sales?
• Finance - are your records being kept in order so you can monitor performance and meet your tax and other obligations?
• Customer service - are your staff trained to deal with customers so that you're likely to retain and increase the business you do with them?
• Management - can your senior managers, yourself included, motivate and get the best out of your staff? See our guide on skills and training for directors and owners.

Once you've identified any skills gaps in your business you can start to plug them. This might involve recruiting new employees, but it makes good business sense to see if your existing staff have untapped potential you can utilise. Developing the skills of existing staff improves their job satisfaction and can be a cost-effective way of meeting your skills needs.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Benchmark the performance of your business
• Identify skills gaps holding you back
• Make the most of the skills your staff already have
• The importance of leadership
• Use staff training to improve performance
• The benefits of qualifications and accreditations
• The new Investors in People Standard
• Practical considerations

 

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