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Gap analysis is a strategic planning tool that is used by businesses to evaluate their performance by comparing their actual and desired performance. The ‘gap’ in gap analysis refers to the existing differences between the actual and desired state of an organization. By identifying the gaps in an organization’s processes and performance, managers can create an action plan that can be used to bridge the gaps effectively. Therefore, gap analysis functions as a tool that accelerates organizational growth and helps businesses attain their idealised state.
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A gap analysis report is a comprehensive document that outlines the existing gaps between the current and ideal future state of an organization. This report also elaborates on the strategies that must be executed to achieve organizational goals and objectives in the most efficient way possible.
An effective gap analysis report must be able to answer the following questions:
There are four main components of a gap analysis report:
In this part of your report, you must clearly establish your “areas of focus”; the areas of your business that you want to work on and improve in an attempt to meet organizational goals more effectively. Once you’ve clearly established your areas of focus, you must clearly expound your current state in these areas. For instance, if CX (customer experience) is your area of focus, you can use different metrics to measure and track the current state of customer experience. In this case, metrics such as Net Promoter Score®, Customer Satisfaction Score, and Customer Effort Score can be used. By using metrics to measure the current state of your organization, you can establish a clear benchmark with which future performance can be evaluated.
In the second part of your gap analysis report, you must outline your desired state in your areas of focus. Continuing with the aforementioned example about customer experience; let’s assume you used NPS® surveys to track current customer experience. The surveys reveal that your organization has an NPS® score of 40. After finding this score, you can set a goal for your ideal state: perhaps a score of 45 or 50, in this case. It is a good idea to use the SMART criteria while creating goals (smart, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based).
This part of your report should clearly touch on all the different gaps identified in your area(s) of focus along with potential solutions to bridge each gap. In this section, you must also evaluate each solution by weighing its costs and benefits so that you can determine which solutions and measures will be best suited to address the gap(s).
Once you’ve developed a thorough understanding of all the identified gaps and have evaluated all potential solutions, you can begin creating your action plan. This is the final part of your gap analysis report and it should clearly mention every step, in order of priority, that must be taken to bridge the gaps. The action plan should go beyond identifying solutions and must also substantiate why these solutions are appropriate.
All effective plans include a realistic schedule and a gap analysis action plan is no different. It is therefore important to include the necessary target dates of completion for each step.
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Gap analysis is a strategic planning tool used for the performance evaluation of organizations. It involves comparing actual performance with projected/desired performance to identify gaps and the ways in which these gaps can be eliminated.
A gap analysis report is a document that outlines the gaps that exist within an organization’s current and desired state, as well as the strategies using which these gaps can be filled to meet set goals and objectives.
Some tools that may be included in a gap analysis report are;
Some key elements that must be included in a gap analysis report are:
Net Promoter®, NPS®, NPS Prism®, and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld. Net Promoter Score℠ and Net Promoter System℠ are service marks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.
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