These are the six signs of a knowledge gap

Is technology outsmarting your employees? More than 70 percent of all management sees a knowledge gap appear in their organization, Global Knowledge research points out. In this article we name six signals that point out a knowledge gap is developing in your organization.

A lack of knowledge can be stressful for employees, 62 percent of all managers notice, according to Global Knowledge research. Most of the time, a knowledge gap has already started to appear in these organizations.

When we talk about a knowledge gap, we're referring to technology getting ahead of your employees. A gap starts to exist in between your employees and the technology they are meant to work with. We call this gap a knowledge gap.

There are multiple signs you can spot to recognize a knowledge gap. In this article, we name six of these.

1. Projects and deployment are subject to delays

Are you still waiting for the delivery of an application that was promised to you six months ago? Are projects and deployment always subject to massive delays in your organization? You might be dealing with a knowledge gap, if this is the case.

For example - if your organization migrates to the cloud but only one team member has followed a training course. He might know what he's doing - but the rest of the team has no idea. And the migration to the cloud will probably take place but along the way all sorts of things will go wrong that didn't have to go wrong in the first place.

The project will not only be flawed but delayed too, because the knowledge to finish the job perfectly is lacking.

2. Your employee refuses to part ways with an outdated system

Are your employees refusing to start working with Office 365? If you're employee is anxious, he'll try to hold onto existing Office applications. He'll claim he doesn't have the time to learn new skills. That fear to let go of older technology usually comes from a lack of knowledge of the new technology. As soon as the new technology gets implemented, the employee knows he's out of his league. This behavior affects your organization too - you'll get behind on the competition.

3. Management is getting frustrated about the lack of skills of their employees

If employees are lacking skills and knowledge, management will eventually become frustrated. Why does it take so much time before a project or deployment is finished? The competition is always outsmarting your organization - how is this possible?

Frustrations will start to run higher and higher. Management will blame employees for their lack of knowledge and skill - why aren't they faster? In organizations where the skillset of employees is up-to-date, these frustrations don't exist. Management in these organizations is less worried about the competition too.

4. Unnecessary mistakes are being made

Is the software your team developed full of mistakes that didn't have to be made? Why didn't development or operations take the mistake out during testing? Was the software even tested? Once employees start making mistakes that really shouldn't have to be made, you could say there is a knowledge gap. With more knowledge of the technology or the software life cycle, you could make sure these mistakes won't happen in the future.

Some employees lack skills and if you don't have the skills to do the job right - you make mistakes. By investing in these skills you make sure these mistakes won't happen.

5. Employees are dissatisfied

Are employees complaining about pressure? Are they dissatisfied with the way things are? If you feel you're not trained enough to preform your duties, you'll get dissatisfied with your work pretty quickly.

A lack of knowledge can turn people sour pretty quickly. And if you're cranky, you won't start putting more effort into you job.

6. Employees are getting replayed at a fast rate

Is your organization swapping out employees constantly? If your employees never get through their first couple of months at the job, it might be time to investigate a possible knowledge gap. There is no point to endlessly replace your employees because the lack of knowledge will remain.

Is your organization struggling with these issues?

Can you relate to the signals we previously pointed out? If so, there might be a knowledge gap in your organization. You can solve this lack of knowledge by making sure your employees up their knowledge and skillset. But how do you do this, exactly?

For this purpose, Global Knowledge wrote the e-Book, Mind the Gap: A Six Step Guide to Organizational Success. In this whitepaper you'll find useful tips and tricks for your organization.