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Gap Analysis Templates: How to Mind the Gap

Learn how to implement gap analysis in your organization to increase teamwork, productivity, and revenue. Use a digital tool to help employees improve performance with the help of Lumiform’s free online platform.

Why Gap Analysis Templates?

A gap analysis specification serves for the early detection of weaknesses. Often planned targets are missed due to different operational circumstances and developments. A gap arises between the planned target value and the target value achieved. A gap analysis identifies this gap and takes targeted countermeasures.

For these cases there are gap analysis templates, which are used by the managers of a company to identify gaps or deficiencies between the actual and the target state and to document the action steps necessary to achieve the goal.

This article deals with the following topics:

1. What is gap analysis

2. The 4 steps of a gap analysis

3. The 6 Advantages of gap analysis

4. A digital solution for gap analysis templates

What Is Gap Analysis?

We already know companies use gap analysis to evaluate how efficiently they are using their resources (labor, time, materials, technology) and to set goals. Based on the data they collect, they can then determine whether or not they have reached their objective and, if they have, how they can continue to use their strategy to reach future goals. If not, then it’s back to the drawing board to work ceaselessly until they conduct a root cause analysis to uncover the root cause behind the obstacle standing in their way of success.

But what does the gap in gap analysis really mean?

The gap is just a directional term that represents the space between how things currently are and how things are desired to be. This could incorporate anything that prevents the business from reaching its goals, whether that be they didn’t reach their monthly sales quota or they went over budget.

Sometimes the problem exists as a skills gap. What skills are employees currently lacking? Maybe employees are currently using a paper-based filing system when it would be more efficient and productive to switch to a digitized system. In this case, retraining employees in the new computer program would be an appropriate action plan.

The success of this method largely depends on how well the performance gap is defined within a company’s occupational, digital, or physical framework. For example, goals are often set as a direct result of a problem and the desire to resolve it. The first step to closing the gap would be to do a gap assessment.

This assessment aims to gather the relevant data so companies can analyze how and where they went wrong. A fit-gap analysis assessment is often used in connection to root cause analysis, failure modes and effects analysis, and the five whys method. How to do a gap analysis will be explained in further detail in the next section.

The 4 Steps in Gap Analysis Templates

By filling out the gap analysis template, the following questions are answered: “What do we want to achieve”, “Where are we now?”, “Why are we not yet at the desired point?”, and “How will we fill in the existing gaps? These are four steps on how to perform a gap analysis with a template:

1. Analyze the Actual Atate of Affairs

Describe the current status:

1. What is the employee’s performance today?

2. Are the needs of the employee met?

This will help you decide what problem you want to focus on. It can be any area within your company that isn’t meeting its current or desired goals or is underperforming. Once that’s been established, the following steps can begin in earnest.

2. Describe the Target Status

Think about the future goal and what it should look like. These goals should be realistic and quantifiable. It’ll just be a waste of everyone’s time, money, and effort if the goals being set are unattainable. For example, don’t set a quota of stitching twenty sweaters in eight hours if the employees consistently only produce ten in any given day. Start small and then work your way up to bigger and loftier goals.

3. Identify the Gaps and Risks

Gaps show the difference between where you are and where you want to be analyze the cause of the current challenge and describe the conditions under which the desired result can be achieved. A distinction is made here between operational and strategic gaps.

  1. Identification of the strategic gap
    The strategic gap can be closed by various strategic measures. For example, by increasing the market share of existing products.
  2. Identification of the operational gap
    The operational gap is closed by the exhaustion of all resources. When closing the gap, the aspects of the performance gap and the competitive gap must be taken into account.

4. Development of Strategic Measures

Define the exact steps in order of priority to fill the gaps. These actions should include the solutions, the reasons why they are appropriate, and the necessary target dates for completion. A continuous review and handling of the gaps is very important for the long-term success of your company.

Example of How to Fill Out a Gap Analysis Template

For the sake of continuity, the following will be a continuation of the previous example that outlines a gap that is inherent to the textile industry: increasing the daily quota of output.

Audit

Name of Auditor
John Smith

Date
14-10-2021

Gap Analysis

Description: Current State:
Currently, employees are only sewing 10 sweaters a day. However, this is not enough to keep up with current demands and corporate doesn’t want to hire more workers.

Description: Target State: (must be quantifiable)
Each employee will be able to sew 11 sweaters per day without compromising quality.

Add some factors in the following (repeat this section to add multiple factors):

Describe the work:
Sewing knitted wool sweaters. Five red, two orange, two brown, one purple.

Current completion state at the moment:
10 sweaters per day.

The goal/state you want to obtain:
11 sweaters per day

Identified holes and hazards, ranges for development:
The concern is reduced quality for larger quantities. The current goal is to increase production by one sweater per employee per day. Eventually, corporate would like to slowly increase the number as solutions are identified and the sewing process streamlined.

Strategic Gap-Analysis

Description: Current State:
Employees currently complain of their sewing machines constantly jamming. The time it takes to unjam the machine, tie the hem, and rethread the needle is estimated to be a total of one hour a day—time that could be taken to make one extra sweater.

Description: Target State:
Reduce the number of times the sewing machines jam per day.

What measures are necessary?
Implement a regular cleaning routine of the sewing machines to reduce dust, cloth, thread, and other materials from clogging and jamming the machine.

Operational Gap-Analysis

Description: Current State:
Currently, the machines are only cleaned once a week.

Were all resources fully utilized?
Yes   No   N/A

Have the company’s potentials been fully exploited?
Yes   No   N/A

Description: Target State:
Employees will now be required to clean their machines at the end of each shift.

What measures are necessary?
Employees will need to be retrained on proper cleaning procedures, and an extra ten minutes per day must be allotted for this task.

Completion

Do you have any recommendations?
My recommendation is to revisit current plans and procedures in two months’ time to see if further improvements can be made.

Full name and signature of the employee:
John Smith

Full name and signature of the manager/supervisor:
Terry Brown

What Are the Six Advantages of Gap Analysis?

It’s easy enough to complete checklists and analyze data, but when it comes to finding and implementing solutions that work, it’s not always a walk in the park. Today’s work culture has seen an uptake in time pressure. As soon as a problem arises, we want it to be fixed right away and see immediate improvements. But how do you solve problems you didn’t know you had in the first place? That’s why businesses perform gap analysis: to try to constantly improve.

Below, you’ll find six benefits of the needs analysis in business:

  1. Evaluate Current Business Performance
    The need gap analysis allows companies to perform audits of troublesome business practices that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. Maybe the business isn’t doing as well as it could. An in-depth analysis will uncover any underlying issues.
  2. Identify Problematic Areas
    Problems that go unnoticed won’t stay that way for long. Make the necessary changes in operations before a little headache turns into a migraine.
  3. Set Goals to Achieve Desired Outcome
    Only once a problem has been identified can the troubleshooting begin. With the help of a thorough analysis, you can prioritize the to-do list. It can also help businesses discover which direction they want to go and how to expand their business operations. With that unveiled, businesses can then plan how funds should be divided and which business ventures get the highest priority. After all, setting a goal is the first step to achieving it.
  4. Unviel Perception Vs. Reality
    It will reveal the discrepancies between perception and reality. Things might be looking good from the corner office, but in reality, the business might be stagnating for any number of reasons. It could be that the managers are hiring the wrong people or that there’s a lack of capital to keep them.

  5. Get the Most Use Out of Company Personnel and Resources
    The gap analysis will help make your business more efficient by identifying ways to reduce waste and lean down labor-intensive activities. Less manpower and more output will increase net profit and free up funds to grow your business.
  6. Increased Profit Margin
    Because this method aims to increase productivity and efficiency while reducing man-hours for specific tasks, the outcome will naturally benefit the pocketbook. An audit doesn’t take a lot of time, money, or personnel, but it will uncover ways to make higher-quality products. In this way, it’s a small investment that can reap great rewards.

Gap analysis is a useful tool to add to your repertoire. Not only is it good for business, but it will ultimately lead to better organization, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. It provides focus to employees and helps decision-makers make the decision that will best help the company on the way to its goals. This is one diagnostic approach that can grow a business from its infancy to reach its highest potential.


Use a Digital Tool to Create Gap analysis templates


A paper-based template for a Gap analysis questionnaire is inefficient and time-consuming because it requires duplication of work, and there is a risk of data loss. Lost Gap analysis reports can prevent employees and managers from correcting gaps on time. Try Lumiform’s free template today.

  • We offer ready-made Gap analysis templates to help companies get started digitally in no time.
  • Save time by performing paperless Gap analysis evaluations online with your mobile device.
  • Use the Gap analysis dashboard to easily track and view the completion of employee commitments and their target dates.
  • Define a workflow that automatically generates Gap analysis reports that are sent to key recipients (e.g. managers and external reviewers).
  • Facilitate digital signatures to verify agreements between employee and evaluator.
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