Quick Summary:
A gap analysis compares current performance with desired performance to identify the difference between the two. For instructional designers, identifying the gap is only the beginning. The next step is determining why the gap exists. A knowledge or skill gap may call for learning, while gaps caused by processes, tools, expectations, resources, or motivation may require a different solution.
That distinction matters. Without it, an organization can spend time and money developing training that never addresses the real performance problem.
What Is a Gap Analysis in Instructional Design?
A gap analysis is the process of comparing the current state with the desired state.
In instructional design, that usually means asking:
What are people doing now?
compared with:
What do they need to be able to do?
The difference between those two states is the performance gap.
For example, suppose customer service representatives are expected to resolve 80% of customer issues during the first interaction, but the current first-contact resolution rate is 62%. The 18-percentage-point difference establishes a measurable performance gap.
But it doesn’t tell you what to build.
Before recommending training, an instructional designer or performance consultant needs to understand what is causing the gap.
How Do You Conduct a Performance Gap Analysis?
A useful gap analysis starts with performance rather than content.
1. Define the Desired Performance
Start by determining what successful performance should look like.
Depending on the situation, that information might come from business goals, KPIs, performance standards, job expectations, managers, subject matter experts, or high performers.
Try to get as specific as possible.
Instead of defining the desired state as “employees need to provide better customer service,” determine what employees should actually be doing differently and what business or performance measures should improve as a result.
Creating a Future State Description
2. Determine the Current Performance
Next, establish what is happening today.
Sources might include performance data, observations, interviews, surveys, assessments, work samples, customer feedback, quality reports, manager input, or conversations with the people doing the work.
The goal is to gather enough evidence to understand the current state rather than relying solely on assumptions about the problem.
3. Identify the Gap
Compare the current and desired states.
The gap may be quantitative, such as reducing errors from 12% to 5%. It may also be behavioral: experienced managers consistently conduct effective coaching conversations while newer managers avoid them or struggle to provide actionable feedback.
Once the gap is clear, the more important question begins:
Why does the gap exist?
What Can Cause a Performance Gap?
Performance gaps can have several causes, and more than one may be present at the same time.
Is There a Knowledge Gap?
A knowledge gap exists when employees don’t know information they need to perform successfully.
For example, employees may not understand a new policy, know the features of a newly launched product, or recognize when a particular procedure applies.
Knowledge gaps are good candidates for learning solutions, although the solution doesn’t always need to be a course. Depending on how frequently the information is used, a job aid, searchable resource, performance support tool, or other resource may be more appropriate.
Is There a Skill Gap?
A skill gap occurs when employees may understand what to do but cannot yet perform the task to the required standard.
A new manager, for example, may understand the principles behind giving feedback but still struggle to conduct a difficult feedback conversation effectively.
Skill gaps typically require more than information. Learners may need demonstration, practice, feedback, coaching, simulations, or repeated opportunities to apply the skill.
Is There a Process or Procedure Gap?
Sometimes people have the necessary knowledge and skills, but the process itself gets in the way.
Procedures may be unclear, inconsistent, unnecessarily complicated, outdated, or interpreted differently across teams.
An instructional designer investigating this type of gap might map the existing workflow, observe how employees actually complete the process, and compare that with the intended procedure.
Training employees on a poorly designed process won’t fix the process.
Is There a Motivation or Expectation Gap?
Employees may know what to do and be capable of doing it but still not perform as expected.
The issue might involve unclear expectations, competing priorities, incentives that reward different behaviors, lack of feedback, consequences, or motivation.
For example, managers may have been trained to coach employees regularly but believe meeting operational targets is more important because that is what senior leaders measure and reward.
Additional coaching training is unlikely to change that behavior until the surrounding performance environment changes.
Is There a Technology, Tool, or Resource Gap?
Performance can also suffer because employees don’t have what they need to do the job.
The technology may be difficult to use. Systems may not communicate with one another. Employees may lack access to information at the moment they need it. Staffing levels or time constraints may make the expected behavior unrealistic.
These issues can easily look like training problems from a distance.
That’s why understanding the environment in which performance occurs is an important part of gap analysis.
Does Every Performance Gap Require Training?
No.
This may be the most important conclusion an instructional designer can reach during a gap analysis.
Training is appropriate when people need knowledge or skills they don’t currently have. It is much less likely to solve problems caused by broken processes, inadequate tools, unclear expectations, conflicting incentives, insufficient resources, or other environmental factors.
Sometimes the right recommendation is training. Sometimes it is performance support, process redesign, manager coaching, clearer communication, a technology change, or a combination of solutions.
And sometimes the analysis shows that the performance gap isn’t significant enough to justify an intervention at all.
What Happens After You Identify the Gap?
Once you understand both the performance gap and its likely causes, you can begin evaluating possible solutions.
This is also where it becomes important to consider the size and business impact of the gap.
Ask questions such as:
- How much does this gap matter to the organization?
- Which employees or roles are affected?
- What happens if nothing changes?
- Which causes can realistically be addressed?
- What intervention is most likely to improve performance?
- How will we know whether the solution worked?
Only after those questions have been answered should resources begin shifting toward design and development.
That sequence can prevent one of the most expensive mistakes in L&D: creating a well-designed learning solution for a problem that training couldn’t solve.
Sample Needs Analysis Report
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Frequently Asked Questions About Gap Analysis
What is the difference between a needs analysis and a gap analysis?
A gap analysis identifies the difference between current and desired performance. A broader needs analysis investigates the performance problem, audience, environment, causes, priorities, and potential solutions. Gap analysis can therefore be one part of a larger training or performance needs analysis.
What is an example of a gap analysis in training?
Suppose sales representatives are expected to accurately position three new products during customer conversations, but observation shows that many can explain only one. The gap analysis establishes the difference between expected and current performance. Further analysis would determine whether the cause is lack of product knowledge, insufficient practice, unclear sales messaging, lack of access to information, or another factor.
What data should you use for a gap analysis?
Useful sources include business and performance data, KPIs, assessments, observations, interviews, surveys, work samples, customer feedback, existing procedures, manager input, and conversations with employees performing the work. The best sources depend on the performance problem being investigated.
How do you know whether a performance gap is a training problem?
Training is most appropriate when the root cause involves missing knowledge or skills. If employees already know what to do and can do it, investigate other causes such as processes, tools, resources, expectations, incentives, feedback, and the work environment before recommending additional training.
Who conducts a gap analysis?
Gap analysis may be conducted by an instructional designer, performance consultant, learning strategist, L&D leader, or another professional responsible for improving performance. Depending on the issue, the analysis may also require input from business leaders, managers, subject matter experts, operations teams, and the employees doing the work.
Why should instructional designers conduct a gap analysis before designing training?
Gap analysis helps instructional designers understand what performance needs to change before deciding what learners need to learn. It reduces the risk of developing unnecessary content and helps connect learning recommendations to measurable performance and business needs.
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