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Who do you need?

You need to identify the gaps in your talent – who you need in your team to help take your mission to an extraordinary level.

Pinpointing the areas where organizations need to modify or enhance their capabilities is a critical step in any strategic effort. This is particularly helpful in times of budget constraints where limited resources must be stretched to close critical competency gaps that prevent organizations from meeting mission objectives. Always look internally first, but be honest - by seeking and acquiring the right talent for the right role, you will be helping everyone in reaching their professional goals by extending and empowering your organization. Do not overlook talent that may readily volunteer time to your mission.

Have you looked at your needs and capabilities recently?

Many programs don’t yield the desired results. One reason is that they are put together with insufficient information of where the gaps in employee skills exist. A Gap Analysis identifies the inconsistencies between the workforce an organization currently has and the talent it will need in the future, based on its goals.  Go to Gap Analysis Resource – 2A

How do you convert this analysis into people?

The analysis points to gaps in competencies that are needed for your growth or just plain survival. It helps you put together clusters of competencies for one or more positions. You will have to look very carefully at existing talent to see if it is feasible to train employees or to redesign their jobs to minimize disruption to careers and services. At the end of this exercise, you should be able to form a composite of a candidate, complete with competencies that you will use for the recruitment, training and development, performance management and succession planning process and beyond.

Designing a position that makes sense

Don’t be afraid to use your judgment, knowledge and good common sense at this stage. The analysis may turn up odd or rare combinations of competencies and/or duties and responsibilities, and you may need to think beyond definitions to visualize this set of knowledge, skills and abilities in terms of what is possible with real people. Consider transferring mismatched tasks to other staff. Example – strong coaching and counseling skills AND advanced database management expertise. Take advice from a human resources professional, or as a quick check, look at similar positions posted online by other organizations for cues. There are excellent online resources that can help you define jobs, competencies and create job descriptions. Go to Competencies Resource – 2B

Could you stay flexibile and lower your costs by filling some gaps with volunteers, temporary workers or independent contractors?

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