How to Use Talent Mapping to Identify Skills Gaps in Your Team

In today’s fast-changing business landscape, staying competitive requires more than just having a solid team – it requires ensuring that your team possesses the right skills to tackle both current and future challenges. According to a 2024 report by Jobs and Skills Australia, the gap in recruitment challenges between high-skilled and low-skilled jobs continues to grow with high-skilled positions being harder to fill. 

So how do we identify the skills needed to take on these challenges?  

Through talent mapping! 

Talent mapping is a strategic process that helps to identify the skills present in your workforce and highlights the gaps that need to be addressed. It provides a clear view of your organisation’s skills and capabilities, enabling informed decisions about hiring, training, and development.  

In this blog, we’ll explore what talent mapping is, how it works, and how it can be used to identify and address skills gaps in your workforce. 

What is Talent Mapping? 

Talent mapping is a workforce planning process that: 

• Evaluates your current talent pool,
• Identifies the skills and competencies needed to achieve your business goals, and
• Maps out exactly where those skills gaps are 

This approach helps you anticipate future needs and ensure your workforce is prepared to meet them. 

So, how do you get started with this process? Strategic talent mapping requires some planning, and by doing so, we can effectively and accurately pinpoint where your next hire should come from. Start by following the steps below. 

Key steps in talent mapping 

1. Assessing Current Talent: Evaluate the skills, experience, and potential of your team. 
2. Identifying Future Needs: Determine what skills are necessary to meet long-term business objectives. 
3. Mapping Skills Gaps: Compare your current talent against future needs to identify where gaps exist. 
4. Developing Action Plans: Create strategies to fill those gaps through hiring, training, or development. 

Why is Talent Mapping Important? 

Talent mapping is essential for staying competitive and future ready. Here’s why: 

• Proactive Workforce Planning: Talent mapping enables you to anticipate skills shortages and address them before they become critical issues, rather than reacting to them as they arise. 
• Aligning Talent with Business Goals: Talent mapping ensures that your workforce is aligned with your strategic objectives because it identifies the skills and competencies needed to achieve your organisation’s goals. 
• Supporting Succession Planning: By identifying high-potential employees through talent mapping, you can decide who to train for future leadership roles, rather than hiring externally. Succession planning opens career development opportunities for your employees, leading to a more engaged workforce.  
• Enhancing Employee Development: Pinpointing skills gaps through talent mapping provides insights for employee development programs, helping you invest in the right areas to build a more capable and engaged workforce. 
• Improving Recruitment: With a clear understanding of the skills gaps in your organisation, you can target your recruitment efforts more effectively, ensuring that you hire candidates with the necessary skills. 

How to Use Talent Mapping to Identify Skills Gaps 

Implementing talent mapping involves a systematic approach to evaluating your workforce and identifying areas for improvement. By identifying skills gaps, you create a clear picture of your team’s strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to plan how you’ll close those gaps and improve its performance. When done comprehensively, a talent map can set your team up for future challenges and help them stay ahead as the market changes. 

Here’s how you can use talent mapping to identify skills gaps: 

1. Assess Your Current Workforce 

Assess your current workforce by evaluating the skills, experience, and potential of your employees. 

• Conduct Skills Inventories: Develop a comprehensive list of the skills and competencies each employee possesses. This can be done through self-assessments, manager evaluations, and performance reviews. 
• Use Competency Frameworks: Implement a competency framework outlining the key skills and behaviours required for each role in your organisation. This framework provides a clear benchmark for evaluating employees. 
• Identify High-Potential Employees: Identify employees who show promise for leadership or more significant roles. Consider their performance, leadership qualities, and eagerness to learn and develop. 

2. Identify Future Skills Needs 

Next, look ahead and think about what challenges and opportunities your organisation plan to take on. This will help you identify the skills and competencies required to achieve your strategic goals. 

• Align with Business Strategy: Work closely with senior leadership to understand your organisation’s strategic objectives and the skills needed to achieve them. Consider technological advancements, market trends, and industry shifts. 
• Conduct a Job Analysis: Analyse key roles within your organisation to determine the specific skills and competencies required for success. Look beyond technical skills to include soft skills, such as communication, leadership, and problem-solving. 
• Forecast Future Trends: Stay informed about emerging trends in your industry and how they might impact the skills your organisation needs. For example, the rise of automation may necessitate new technical skills, while shifts in consumer behaviour could demand new marketing competencies. 

3. Map Skills Gaps 

Once you have assessed your current workforce and identified future skills needs, the next step is to map the skills gaps. This involves comparing your current talent pool with the skills required for the future and identifying where there are deficiencies. 

• Conducting a Gap Analysis: Perform a gap analysis by comparing the skills and competencies your workforce currently possesses with those required for future success. Identify areas where there are significant gaps or where skills are lacking entirely. 
• Prioritising Skills Gaps: Not all skills gaps are equally urgent. Prioritise the gaps that are most critical to achieving your objectives and will have the most significant impact on your organisation’s performance. 
• Visualising the Gaps: Create a visual representation of the skills gaps in your organisation, such as a skills matrix or heatmap. This helps you quickly identify areas needing attention and communicate the gaps to key stakeholders. 

Below are some examples of how your business could visualise skills gaps: 

• Skills Matrix for Manufacturing Companies 

A skills matrix can be used to map out the technical abilities of production staff. The matrix would list employees on one axis and the essential skills (e.g., machine operation, safety protocols, quality control) on the other. The matrix is color-coded to show skill levels (e.g., red for beginner, yellow for intermediate, green for advanced). This instantly reveals where training is needed, helping management ensure that their team is fully capable of meeting production demands. 

• Skills Gap Radar Chart for Finance 

A radar chart can be used to assess gaps in critical skills like data analysis, risk management, and client relationship management. The chart compares the current skill levels across teams to the desired competencies for upcoming business goals, such as regulatory changes or market expansion. This makes it easier to prioritise training or identify new talent needs. 

4. Develop Action Plans to Address Gaps 

After identifying the skills gaps, develop action plans to address them. Decide how you will fill the gaps through hiring, training, development, or outsourcing. Here are some strategies to address skills gaps: 

• Hiring: Recruit new employees who possess the skills currently lacking in your organisation. Focus on attracting candidates who can fill critical gaps and contribute to your long-term goals. 
• Training and Development: Invest in training and development programs to upskill your existing employees. This could include workshops, online courses, mentoring, or on-the-job training. 
• Internal Mobility: Encourage internal mobility by offering employees opportunities to move into roles that align with their skills and career aspirations. This helps to fill gaps while retaining valuable talent. 
• Succession Planning: Implement succession planning to ensure a pipeline of talent ready to step into key roles as they become available. Identify and develop high-potential employees for future leadership positions. 
• Outsourcing or Partnering: In some cases, it may be more efficient to outsource certain tasks or partner with other organisations to access the skills you need. This can be a viable option for specialised skills that are not core to your business. 

Talent mapping is a powerful tool that helps you stay competitive by aligning your team’s skills with your business goals. By taking a proactive approach, you can better develop your workforce, improve recruitment efforts, and ensure your organisation is equipped to handle future challenges. 

At Fuse Recruitment, we understand the impact talent mapping can make in today’s competitive business environment. Our team of experts can help you implement effective talent mapping strategies to identify skills gaps and build a workforce that’s prepared for the future. 

Take the first step towards optimising your workforce and contact us to schedule a 1:1 consultation with our team. We’ll walk you through creating a talent map designed for your business’s needs.