Are you struggling with skills gaps in your organisation? Whether you're onboarding new staff, restructuring or preparing your senior team to lead the business into its next phase of growth, a well-crafted training plan is key to success.  

“You need to address those skills gaps and create a clear training plan,” says Impellus Training Manager David James. “A career progression programme for your employees will ensure they can grow with your organisation and help your organisation grow.”  

What are skills gaps? 

A skills gap is a mismatch between the skills that an organisation needs its employees to have and the skills that the employees actually have. A good way to identify skills gaps within your organisation is to create a competency framework that identifies the core skills required within your organisation.  

For example, required core skills for team managers could include building good relationships, promoting teamwork, collaborating, effective delegation, mentoring and coaching, effective communications, managing change and staff appraisals. 

Did you know: most managers in the UK believe they are not up to the task of managing and feel overwhelmed and underequipped. Find out more. 

Key skills for senior managers 

More senior managers may need to develop strategic and decision-making skills, the ability to inspire and influence, the confidence to challenge established thinking and champion change, and the ability to support, enable and empower others  

Hard or soft skills? 

Many key skills are ‘soft skills’, but you will also need to consider specific technical and practical knowledge plus the experience required to successfully carry out particular roles within your organisation. 

Discover the difference between soft skills and hard skills – and why soft skills are so important. 

Employee morale, engagement and loyalty 

As well as addressing skills gaps, a training plan is also crucial for employee morale, engagement and loyalty, says David. “If your employees feel valued as individuals who are worth investing in they will be far more likely to commit to your organisation which will in turn increase staff retention. This is especially important when it comes to your key employees whose skills and experience may be in demand across your sector.” 

Create a clear training plan 

Use your competency frameworks as outlined above to create your training plan. Make sure you prioritise the training that is required to close skills gaps and address the most pressing challenges your organisation is facing. 

When creating your training plan, you will need to consider: 

  • The needs of the organisation as a whole. 
  • Each team’s or department’s needs. 
  • Individual training needs. 

Follow-up and measuring ROI  

Your training plan should include the methods you will use to follow-up on training and measure the return on your investment in the short, medium and long-term. 

Here are some key questions you can ask your team members immediately following a training course: 

  • Was the course useful and what were your key takeaways? 
  • Is it appropriate/useful to share your learning with your team? 
  • What support or resources do you need to implement the improvements you have identified? 
  • What do you expect the outcome of your improvements will be and do you know how you will measure and monitor them? 
  • Do you see any roadblocks preventing you from introducing new ideas and techniques? 
  • Have you identified any further training needs for yourself or your team? 

You should also stay alert to what is happening in your organisation and any step changes that occur as a result of the training your staff have been through. For example: 

  • Are previously unproductive and counterproductive behaviours and ways of working being dropped? 
  • Are new and more efficient methodologies being introduced?  
  • Are the old ‘that’s the way we’ve always done things’ mindsets disappearing?  
  • Is productivity on the rise?  
  • Is staff turnover stabilising? 

Find more detailed information about follow-up and measuring return on investment in our expert guide to maximising the impact of training and harnessing the power of essential leadership and management training. 

Are you ready to close those skills gaps and future-proof your business? Explore our training courses for line managers and senior managers.