Gap Analysis Template

What a gap analysis is

A gap analysis sits between where someone is performing today and where they need to be. In a workplace setting, you use it to assess an employee's current performance, identify the goals to be achieved, and pinpoint the gaps and risks between the two. It is used where a role, a team member's contribution, or a set of objectives needs a clear-eyed comparison rather than a general impression. The template frames that comparison directly. It records the **Job description**, the **Current state** — the level of performance at this moment — and the **Desired/target state** — the objective to be achieved. Against those, it asks you to set out the **Identified gaps and risks: areas for improvement**. Once the gaps are visible, they become something you can act on rather than something you only sense.

Why it matters

A goal without a starting point is hard to reach. Gap analysis matters because it turns a vague sense that something is short of the mark into specific, named gaps that can each be assigned, prioritised, and dated. It separates the two halves of the problem: what performance looks like right now, and what it needs to become. It also builds in accountability from the start. Every identified gap or risk is checked against the question **Is a corrective action required for each identified gap and risk?**, so nothing is left as an observation without a decision attached to it.

What a good gap analysis covers

A complete analysis holds three things together: the baseline, the target, and the route between them. - **The baseline.** The current state describes performance at this moment — not an aspiration and not a memory of last quarter. - **The target.** The desired or target state is the objective to be achieved, stated plainly enough that you would know when you reached it. - **The gaps and risks.** Areas for improvement are recorded as distinct items, each one a gap or risk in its own right. From there, a good action plan gives each gap four things: 1. the **gap or risk addressed by this action**, so the link back to the finding is explicit; 2. the **corrective action to be taken**; 3. a **priority level** — **High**, **Medium**, or **Low** — so effort goes where it is needed first; 4. a **target completion date** and an **owner of the corrective action**. Closing the loop matters as much as opening it. Record a corrective action with an assigned owner, a priority level, and a target completion date so the gap can be closed and progress tracked.

Regulations and standards

This template is a general-purpose gap analysis and does not reference any specific regulation or standard. If you are using it in a context governed by OSHA requirements, ISO management system standards, HACCP, or any other framework, the applicable requirements come from those sources and from your own organisation — not from this checklist. Treat the template as the record of your assessment and action plan, and check it against the obligations that apply to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

A gap analysis carried out with this template assesses an employee's current performance, identifies the goals to be achieved, and pinpoints the gaps and risks between the two. A job description and a written definition of the current state and desired target state sit alongside fields where you record identified gaps and risks.

Record a corrective action for each gap or risk you identify, with an assigned owner, a priority level, and a target completion date. The template asks whether a corrective action is required for each identified gap and risk, and lets you rate priority as high, medium, or low.

Log the location and the dates the analysis was conducted and prepared, gather the job description, and compare the current and desired states before moving to the action plan. The final section records a corrective action for each gap, its priority, its target completion date, and its owner.

Each recorded gap or risk needs a corrective action with an owner, a priority level, and a target completion date. Setting those three things at the point of recording is what allows the gap to be closed and progress to be tracked over time.

Written by

Arne Reis

Founder

Process optimizer with 25 years of expertise, focused on operational excellence in quality, maintenance, EHS, and commissioning. Emphasizes innovative solutions and top-quality standards.

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