HR Gap Analysis Template: How To Conduct Your Analysis in 10 Steps

A well-structured HR gap analysis template is a strategic necessity for all forward-looking HR leaders who are facing a paradox: You must prepare your organization for an unpredictable future while simultaneously solving immediate people challenges that grow more complex each day. When done well, a gap analysis helps you navigate this. It provides the structure, clarity, and momentum HR needs to operate with confidence and purpose.

The payoff is significant. For instance, organizations that realign HR processes to meet skill needs and bridge gaps can see up to 50% increases in employee engagement, halve their training and development costs, and lift productivity by as much as 40%.

In this article, we offer a practical, step-by-step approach to HR gap analysis and explore how it can address three of HR’s most pressing priorities: leader and manager development, strategic workforce planning, and HR technology alignment.

Contents
What is an HR gap analysis?
When to conduct an HR gap analysis (and why)
HR gap analysis examples
How to conduct an HR gap analysis
HR gap analysis template

What is an HR gap analysis?

An HR gap analysis helps HR leaders identify the difference between the current state and a desired future state in any area of Human Resources.

While it’s most commonly used to assess skills gaps, its application is much broader. HR teams can use it to evaluate gaps in workforce capacity, organizational structure, HR technology, policies, compliance, and more. By measuring the difference between how things currently operate and how they need to perform to meet strategic goals, organizations gain valuable visibility into performance blockers and opportunities for improvement.

Whether you’re planning for growth, responding to change, or improving workforce effectiveness, an HR gap analysis supports more informed decision-making, aligns leadership around clearly defined priorities, and enables the development of targeted strategies to close gaps effectively.

When to conduct an HR gap analysis (and why)

According to Harvard Business School, carefully identifying and understanding your gaps lets you refine processes, exceed performance expectations, and address common organizational challenges. Although multiple factors come into play during a gap analysis, each one provides clarity and brings you a step closer to bridging the divide and reaching your goals.

An HR gap analysis is especially valuable during key moments of change or planning. Here are the common scenarios:

• Annual workforce planning: To align current talent and resources with strategic goals for the coming year.
• Organizational restructuring or mergers: To assess how well people, roles, and processes fit the new structure.
• New leadership or strategic direction: To help evaluate whether your current capabilities support new priorities.
• Implementing new HR technology or tools: To check if your systems and teams are ready for the shift, both technically and operationally.
• Compliance audits or regulatory changes: To flag outdated or missing policies and training, reducing legal risk.
• DEI initiatives: To identify where representation, equity, or inclusion efforts aren’t meeting stated goals.
• Talent development or succession planning: To highlight gaps in readiness, skill sets, or leadership pipelines.

An HR gap analysis lets HR leaders stay strategic rather than reactive by clearly mapping out what’s in place versus what’s needed. It supports informed decision-making about where to focus efforts, helps prioritize high-impact actions, and guides the efficient allocation of resources, whether that’s hiring, training, system upgrades, or policy development. Ultimately, it turns assumptions into actionable insight, supporting a more proactive and aligned HR function.

HR gap analysis examples

According to McKinsey, future-ready organizations share three defining characteristics. They:

• They are clear on who they are and what they stand for
• Operate with a focus on speed and simplicity; and
• Unlock scale by continually learning and innovating.

HR sits at the heart of enabling these qualities, but to unlock this potential, HR teams need to identify where current capabilities fall short of future requirements, whether that’s at the individual, team, process, or systems level. This is precisely where HR gap analysis becomes invaluable: it provides the structure to assess where you are, define where you need to be, and map the most effective route to get there.

This is particularly critical given Gartner’s top priorities for HR leaders. Leader and manager development has risen to the top of the agenda, yet 75% of HR leaders say their managers are overwhelmed, and 70% believe their current leadership programs aren’t fit for future demands.

Strategic workforce planning is another urgent need, but just 15% of organizations are actually doing it meaningfully. Meanwhile, 55% of HR leaders say their current tech stack is falling short, and over half can’t measure the ROI of their HR tech investments. These aren’t just operational snags; they’re barriers to agility, engagement, and growth.

HR gap analysis provides a clear and practical way to tackle these challenges. It helps HR leaders move from gut feel to evidence-based planning and ensures investments in people, systems, and strategy are properly aligned with business needs.

Here are seven examples that explore how different types of HR gap analysis can be used to build the capabilities, culture, and systems needed to future-proof your workforce.

1. Skills gap analysis

This assessment measures the difference between the current skill set of employees and the skills needed to meet future business demands. HR maps current capabilities (through skills inventories, performance reviews, or self-assessments) against required skills based on upcoming goals or strategic shifts.

When to use it:

• During annual planning cycles
• Before rolling out new technologies
• When roles are evolving, or automation is changing job scopes.

In action: If your HR team lacks data analysis or digital acumen, a skills gap analysis can surface where upskilling is needed. Tools like AIHR’s Competency Model can guide this process and help identify appropriate learning paths.

→ Try this: Use this not only for enterprise-wide roles but also internally in your HR team.

2. Process or policy gap analysis

A review of existing HR processes or policies can identify inconsistencies, inefficiencies, or outdated practices. HR compares current practices (e.g., onboarding, performance reviews, exit procedures) with desired standards or benchmarks.

When to use it:

In action: Inconsistent onboarding across departments could lead to poor new hire engagement, but a process gap analysis would identify where standards differ and enable HR to roll out a consistent, scalable onboarding experience.

→ Try this: Engage with line managers and employees to gather feedback on process pain points. Remember, not all gaps are visible from the top down.

3. Leadership gap analysis

This is an evaluation of current leadership capability and pipeline readiness, which is used to identify future leadership shortfalls. The analysis compares the current leadership bench (including potential successors) to future leadership needs based on strategic direction or attrition forecasts.

When to use it:

• When planning for succession
• After identifying high turnover in key roles
• Before expanding into new markets or regions.

In action: You may find that you have no “ready-now” successors for a critical executive role, and the insights from a leadership gap analysis help you to accelerate development or adjust succession timelines.

→ Try this: Go beyond job titles and assess leadership traits, emotional intelligence, and decision-making under pressure to find true leadership potential.

4. Workforce planning gap analysis

Workforce planning gap analysis is a forward-looking analysis that assesses the gap between the current workforce and what will be needed in the future to meet operational demands. To complete this analysis, HR needs to compare current staffing levels and workforce demographics with projected business needs based on growth forecasts, product launches, or seasonal demands.

When to use it:

• During expansion planning
• When entering new customer markets
• In response to high turnover or hiring freezes.

In action: Forecasting shows a need for 25% more customer service reps within six months, but recruitment timelines show a projected shortfall in qualified candidates. A gap analysis lets you adjust hiring strategies early and proactively.

→ Try this: Model multiple scenarios (best case, expected, and worst case) to assess risks and develop contingency plans.

5. Technology and tools gap analysis

An assessment of HR’s digital tools and platforms against current and future needs can be used to review your current HR tech stack (e.g., ATS, LMS, HRIS) against what’s required for efficiency, scalability, or new strategic capabilities.

When to use it:

• When hiring or onboarding processes are slow or manual
• During digital transformation
• When introducing remote or hybrid work models.

In action: If you’re still using spreadsheets to track applicants, it may be slowing down hiring. A tech gap analysis would highlight the need for an applicant tracking system (ATS) or recruitment automation tool.

→ Try this: Map technology gaps alongside skills gaps, as new tech often requires upskilling to be fully effective.

6. Compliance and regulatory gap analysis

This is a review of HR policies, contracts, and practices to ensure alignment with current labor laws, industry regulations, or equity targets, and the HR team audits policies and practices against legal standards or internal compliance goals (e.g., EE targets, pay equity, data protection).

When to use it:

• After legislation changes (e.g., updated employment equity laws)
• During external audits
• When expanding into new jurisdictions.

In action: A gap analysis may reveal that some employee classifications are outdated, risking non-compliance with minimum wage or classification laws.

→ Try this: Make it a collaborative effort with Legal and Compliance to ensure the analysis covers all necessary regulatory angles.

7. Culture or engagement gap analysis

Culture or engagement gap analysis compares the current employee experience and culture to the desired values or behaviors a company wants to nurture. To conduct this analysis, HR teams use engagement surveys, exit interviews, and focus groups to identify gaps in trust, communication, inclusion, or morale.

When to use it:

• After major organizational changes
• When engagement scores drop
• During diversity and inclusion initiatives.

In action: Your DEIB goals call for psychological safety, but surveys show employees don’t feel safe speaking up. A gap analysis can uncover where the disconnect lies, whether it’s leadership behavior, lack of training, or unclear escalation processes.

→ Try this: Don’t limit your metrics to survey scores. Pair quantitative and qualitative data for a fuller picture.

How to conduct an HR gap analysis

To conduct an effective HR gap analysis, you need a structured and strategic approach that turns broad observations into clear actions. Below is a step-by-step process you can follow, whether you’re analyzing skills, systems, policies, or workforce capacity.

1. Define the focus area

Start by clarifying what you’re analyzing. Are you investigating a skills gap, a leadership pipeline issue, a compliance matter, or something else? The more focused you are, the easier it will be to collect the right data and draw meaningful conclusions.

HR tip: Avoid trying to analyze too many areas at once. Narrow your scope to what’s relevant for current business priorities.

2. Use a structured template

Using a framework or template can help keep your analysis consistent and clear. This ensures you document each stage logically (from current state to action plan) and makes your findings easier to communicate with stakeholders.

HR tip: Use or customize a downloadable gap analysis template that includes sections for the current state, future state, identified gaps, root causes, impact, and recommendations.

3. Describe the current state

Gather data on what’s happening now. This could involve reviewing policies, assessing workforce metrics, running surveys, conducting skills assessments, analyzing HRIS data, or interviewing stakeholders.

HR tip: Use both qualitative and quantitative inputs. Remember, numbers tell one side of the story, but lived experience often reveals what’s missing or broken.

4. Define the desired future state

Clarify what “good” looks like. This could be based on business goals, industry benchmarks, internal standards, or future capability needs. For example, if your business is going digital, your desired state might include a fully data-literate HR team or automated onboarding.

HR tip: Make your desired state measurable. Define what success looks like in terms of behaviors, capabilities, systems, or outcomes.

5. Identify the gaps

Now, compare your current state to your future state and identify what’s missing. Gaps might include missing skills, underused technology, unclear policies, poor adoption of processes, or leadership deficiencies.

HR tip: Don’t stop at listing gaps, but understand their root causes. Ask why each gap exists and what’s contributing to it.

6. Prioritize the gaps

Not all gaps are equally urgent. Prioritize based on impact, risk, strategic alignment, and resource availability. Focus on what will deliver the greatest value or prevent the biggest risks.

HR tip: Use criteria like business impact, cost of inaction, and alignment with strategic goals to rank the gaps.

7. Create an action plan

For each priority gap, outline what needs to happen, who will own the action, what the timeline is, and how success will be measured. Your plan should be realistic but also ambitious enough to drive change.

HR tip: Break large goals into smaller, actionable steps. Assign clear accountability to individuals or teams, not just departments.

8. Communicate the findings

Share your insights with leadership and other key stakeholders. Use visual aids like charts or dashboards to illustrate key gaps, priorities, and plans. Make a clear business case for why each action matters.

HR tip: Tailor your message; executives want business impact, HR wants operational clarity, and employees want to know what’s changing and why.

9. Implement and monitor progress

Start executing your plan, but remember: a gap analysis isn’t a one-and-done exercise. Track progress, measure outcomes, and adjust the plan as needed. Some gaps may close faster than others, and new gaps may emerge.

HR tip: Build progress reviews into your regular HR reporting cycles. Use them as checkpoints to keep momentum going.

10. Revisit and refine regularly

Business needs evolve, and so should your gap analysis. Make it part of your annual planning or review cadence, turning the exercise from a reactionary fix into a core element of proactive HR strategy.

HR tip: Use technology where possible to automate parts of the process, especially data collection and dashboarding.

HR gap analysis template

This downloadable HR gap analysis template is designed to help HR teams systematically identify and close gaps in skills, processes, tools, leadership, or workforce capacity.

Use the template to guide you through each key element of a successful analysis, starting with the current state, where you document what’s happening now, and the desired state, which outlines where you want to be. You’ll then define the gap between the two, assess the impact of that gap, and assign a priority level to focus on what matters most.

From there, you can build a clear action plan, assign an owner to ensure accountability, and set a timeline to track progress.

Over to you

HR gap analysis is a leadership tool that supports strategic clarity, operational alignment, and people-focused decision-making. In a world where change is constant and expectations on HR continue to grow, having a structured way to assess current capabilities against future needs gives you an undeniable edge. Whether you’re trying to fix inefficiencies, plan for growth, or build a more resilient workforce, HR gap analysis ensures your actions are data-driven, prioritized, and aligned with what matters most to the business.

Now it’s your turn. Use the HR gap analysis template to guide your next analysis. Start small if you need to, focus on one function, team, or challenge. The important part is to start. With the right insights, tools, and intent, HR can shift from firefighting to future-shaping.

Nadine von Moltke was the Managing Editor of Entrepreneur magazine South Africa for over ten years. She has interviewed over 400 business owners and professionals across different sectors and industries and writes thought leadership content and how-to advice for businesses across the globe.