Free Skills Gap Analysis Calculator and Team Skills Matrix
Rate your team against the skills the role needs and see every gap at once. The calculator builds a skills matrix heatmap, ranks which skills to close first, and flags any skill where only one person meets the required level. No sign-up, and names never leave your browser.
What does the role need?
List up to 10 skills, named as things people do. For each, set the level the role needs and how much a gap matters.
What do the levels mean?
- 0 None
- No exposure to this skill yet.
- 1 Learning
- Can do it with someone checking the work.
- 2 Independent
- Does it unsupervised at the normal standard and speed.
- 3 Can teach it
- Handles the difficult cases and trains other people.
Impact: 1 is low, 5 is critical. Think about how often the skill is used and how costly a mistake is.
Where is everyone now?
Choose each person’s current level, 0 to 3. Results update as you go, and names stay on your device.
Rows are people, columns are skills. The coloured edge on each choice shows whether it meets the required level.
First line: Name, then one column per skill. Then one line per person: their name, then a level for each skill (0–3, or None, Learning, Independent, Can teach it). Commas or tabs both work, so you can copy straight from Excel. Pasting replaces the current matrix.
Team skills coverage
18 of 36 ratings meet the required level.
Focus first
Everyone against the required level
Priority score by skill
Priority = the gap between the required level and the team average × impact. Pink bars are the focus-first skills.
Cover risks
Each person’s top development need
| Person | Below | Top development need |
|---|
Recommendations for your team
Want this matrix to stay current as skills grow? See skills and development in StaffCircle →
How the skills gap analysis calculator works
- Set the skills. List up to 10 skills the role needs, named as things people do. For each, choose the required level and a business impact weight from 1 (low) to 5 (critical).
- Rate your team. Give each person a current level from 0 to 3 in every skill, or paste a grid from your spreadsheet. Agree the required levels before anyone is rated.
- Read the results. The heatmap shows every rating against the requirement. Each skill gets a priority score: the gap between the required level and the team average, multiplied by its impact weight. The highest scores are where to start.
How to read your results
The headline is the share of ratings that meet the required level. The bands below are suggested starting points, not published benchmarks. Read them together with the priority list: a small gap in a critical skill can matter more than a large gap in a minor one.
A skill nobody meets is a gap you may need to hire for or buy in as well as train. A skill only one person meets is a single point of failure: one absence or resignation can leave nobody able to do the work to the standard.
| Result | Band | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to <50 | Significant gaps | Fewer than half of the person-skill ratings meet the level the role needs. (suggested starting point) |
| 50 to <75 | Patchy coverage | The team meets the required level in at least half of the ratings, with clear gaps in some skills or people. (suggested starting point) |
| 75 to <100 | Mostly covered | Most ratings meet the required level; the remaining gaps are narrower and easier to target. (suggested starting point) |
| 100 | Fully covered | Everyone meets the required level in every skill you entered. (definition) |
Method and sources
Levels use StaffCircle's four-level scale: 0 None, 1 Learning, 2 Independent, 3 Can teach it. The gap for each rating is the required level minus the current level (never below zero). The team gap for a skill is the required level minus the team's average level, and the priority score is that gap multiplied by the 1-5 impact weight. Skills are ranked by priority score, then impact.
Scales vary between frameworks: SFIA uses seven levels of responsibility, and O*NET rates level on a 0-7 scale and importance on a 1-5 scale. Pick one scale and define each level in observable terms before you rate anyone. The coverage bands and the single-point-of-failure rule are StaffCircle's suggested starting points.
Sources
Close skills gaps with live skills data
StaffCircle links competency frameworks, skills-gap analysis and personalised development plans, so skills gaps become development plans every employee can see and every manager can act on.
- AI-built competency frameworks with role-based proficiency levels
- Visibility of skills gaps and single-person dependencies
- Personalised, employee-led development plans
- Training linked to skills, objectives and development plans
Skills gap analysis: common questions
What is a skills gap analysis?
A skills gap analysis compares the skill level a role needs with the level the people in that role have now, so you can see where the shortfall is and how big it is. It produces a required level, a current level, a gap and a priority order for closing it.
How do you calculate a skills gap?
Subtract the current level from the required level. For a team, average everyone's current level for the skill and subtract that from the required level. A negative result is a surplus, not a gap. To rank skills, multiply each gap by a business-impact weight from 1 to 5 and start with the highest score.
What is the difference between a skills matrix and a skills gap analysis?
A skills matrix is the grid: people in rows, skills in columns and a level in every cell. A skills gap analysis compares that grid with the levels the role requires and ranks the shortfalls. This calculator does both: you fill in the matrix and it works out the gaps.
What rating scale should a skills matrix use?
There is no single standard. This tool uses four levels, from 0 None to 3 Can teach it. SFIA uses seven levels of responsibility, and O*NET rates skill level on a 0-7 scale. Whichever you choose, write each level as something you can observe, and agree the required levels before anyone is rated.
What is a single point of failure in a skills matrix?
It is a skill where only one person meets the required level. If that person is off sick, on leave or leaves, nobody else can do the work to the standard. A common fix is to cross-train a second person and write down how the work is done.
How often should you redo a skills gap analysis?
There is no fixed rule. When you agree the actions, set a date to re-score so you can check they worked, and re-run it sooner after a change such as a new starter, a leaver or a new system.
Is my team's data stored anywhere?
No. The calculation runs in your browser. Skill names and levels are kept in the page link so you can share or bookmark it, but people's names are never put in the link or sent anywhere. If you request the PDF, only the details you type into the form are sent to StaffCircle.
See StaffCircle in action
Book a personalised demo and see how StaffCircle drives performance, engagement and development.