Gap Analysis

Page updated: 02/07/2026

Gap analysis involves working out the difference between supply and demand – what workforce you have available and what it will need in the future. It is important to be clear about the gap and the challenges facing your division and department. Simply put, a gap analysis is comparing what you currently have with what you ideally need.

This is important because it helps you identify gaps (or surplus) between your current situation and the future state.

What you can do.

When carrying out a gap analysis, ask the following questions:

  • What are the current gaps between supply and demand and how are you managing these gaps? For example, are you using more contractors or drafting in resource from elsewhere?
  • What are your future gaps between supply and demand and how are you managing these? For example, are you increasing hiring or training more people?

Areas that you may need to address with advice from your HR Business Partner once you have carried out a gap analysis include:

  • Availability lower than need: gaps where the likely availability of people is lower than your needs, so more staff need to be brought in, upskilled, or developed. You are struggling to recruit enough people to fill vacancies or need to place current people into gaps via secondments.
  • Negative gaps: where there is a surplus, or more people in certain groups or locations than needed. You may need to consider retraining, relocation, redeployment or as a last resort redundancy if you have too many people and the work has ceased or changed.
  • Skills gaps: where there are critical skill gaps or areas where you need to develop, train, or reskill your workforce you are employing over time.
  • ‘Business as usual’: what are the primary areas where recruitment, staff development and redeployment will be required to keep current needs in line with emerging changes in business requirements?
  • Resource challenges: workforce groups where recruitment, retention or both present challenges and alternative resourcing options may therefore need to be considered. These gaps may cover all jobs in a particular group, or they may apply especially to some locations or teams.
  • Change in people and skills needed: change in the departmental or corporate strategy could lead to change in people and skills needs.

Stage 2 of the workforce planning critical role analysis spreadsheet will guide you with this analysis.

Downloads

Learning and Development planning Tool.docx

HR

Behaviour and Standards

Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence

Employee relations

Employee Support

Equality & Diversity

Flexible Working and Job Share

Jobs & Careers

Leave and absence

Leaving the council

Directory

Pay & benefits

Recruiting an Agency Worker

Recruitment

ResourceLink / MyView

Restructuring

Sickness Absence

Volunteering

Whistleblowing

Workforce and succession planning

Close Personal Associations and Relationships Guidance

More from HR