How to Identify Skill Gaps in Remote Distributed Teams

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Keep your workforce operating at their best and optimize their performance by knowing how to identify skill gaps in remote distributed teams.

Addressing skill gaps in remote distributed teams is not just a strategic move; it maintains high productivity and team cohesion. Yet, many organizations either avoid this process or find it challenging.

With remote teams, the lack of face-to-face interaction often leads to a significant blind spot — managers lose visibility into daily workflows. This makes it hard to assess who needs additional training or support in order to perform at their best.

Without this visibility, identifying skill gaps becomes a reactive process, where issues only surface once they’ve already impacted performance. However, a combination of structured performance reviews, continuous feedback systems, and technology tools can proactively uncover and bridge these gaps.

The result? A more agile and capable workforce, regardless of location.

That’s why, we’re sharing how to identify skill gaps and bridge them efficiently.

How to identify skill gaps in remote distributed teams

Addressing skill gaps requires a strategic approach. So, include these 10 strategies in your plan:

1. Conduct regular performance reviews

Implementing structured performance reviews can provide a formal setting to evaluate individual progress and areas for improvement. These assessments should be based on clearly defined key performance indicators (KPIs) and measurable outcomes to avoid subjective biases that may arise without face-to-face interactions. A good practice is to align performance reviews with project milestones or quarterly goals. 

With a feedback cycle, you’ll gain deeper insights into team members’ capabilities over time. In addition, focus on specific technical and soft skills so employees understand where they stand and what’s expected of them.

For example, Microsoft conducts 360-degree performance reviews. This includes:

• Performance journals
• Performance goals
• Performance reviews

Source

They’ve transitioned to a feedback-driven culture where ongoing evaluations let team leaders identify underdeveloped skills quickly. This system has been especially useful in ensuring consistent performance and skill development across the board.

2. Use employee self-assessments to gather insights

Addressing skill gaps in remote distributed teams requires input from the employees themselves. Why? It allows team members to reflect on their strengths and areas for improvement. 

Self-assessments are especially useful in remote settings where leaders don’t have the same visibility into day-to-day activities. These assessments provide employees with a structured opportunity to highlight their perceived skill gaps and professional development needs.

You can implement this by creating a standardized self-assessment form focusing on key competencies and specific project goals. Remember to encourage honesty and assure employees that their input will guide future training and development initiatives.

One example is Google’s self-assessments in their performance review process. Employees rate themselves on a 5-point scale as part of the 360-degree feedback. Based on the self and peer review, employees are rated:

• Needs improvement
• Consistently meets expectations
• Exceeds expectations
• Strongly exceeds expectations
• Superb

This practice has been critical in helping Google pinpoint individual skill gaps and craft targeted training plans for remote teams.

3. Implement 360-degree feedback processes

A 360-degree feedback process is ideal for identifying skill gaps in remote teams. Why? Because it gathers feedback from various sources, namely, managers, peers, and subordinates to create a well-rounded view of an employee’s performance. Moreover, over 85% of Fortune 500 companies use this method.

For remote teams, where daily visibility is limited, this approach helps provide a more accurate and balanced assessment of skills, work habits, and interpersonal effectiveness. Plus, it limits cognitive biases coming into play that may happen in an office setup. 

Here’s how you can do it:

• Select a diverse group of reviewers across hierarchies for balanced feedback.
• Use anonymous surveys to encourage honest, unbiased responses.
• Focus on specific skills, targeting technical abilities and soft skills like communication and teamwork.
• Summarize the feedback into a clear, actionable report highlighting strengths and areas for improvement.
• Follow up with personalized development plans to address identified skill gaps through coaching or training.

GE is a great example here. They use an app developed in-house called PD@GE to avoid the annual feedback system. They’ve created a system that helps employees grow in areas that may otherwise go unnoticed by using voice notes, text, and handwritten feedback to keep the dialogue frequent.

This change has boosted their Glassdoor rating to a solid 4 out of 5 stars in over 14,000 reviews and an 82% recommendation rate.

4. Analyze productivity data to find inefficiencies

You uncover inefficiencies that may point to underlying skill deficiencies when you track key metrics like project completion rates, time spent on tasks, and communication patterns. Productivity tools such as Asana, ClickUp, Teamhood, or Hubstaff can help monitor task progress, deadlines, and workload distribution to give managers clear insights into performance trends.

Start by establishing clear KPIs that align with team objectives and regularly review the data for patterns. Are certain tasks consistently delayed? Is there a drop in output from specific team members? What are the outliers (and are they manageable)? These can be signs that additional training or support is needed in specific areas.

IBM uses predictive analytics to enhance decision-making across various HR functions, including identifying skill gaps. With it, they could pinpoint areas where performance lagged or workflows were bottlenecked and address these issues promptly. Thanks to this data-driven approach, IBM’s workforce still remains competitive and leaders can identify specific skill gaps that need to be filled through targeted interventions. 

5. Leverage project outcomes for skill assessments

Every project is a practical test of an employee’s skill set, from technical proficiency to teamwork and time management. When you analyze the results of completed projects, you can evaluate whether objectives were met and how effectively team members applied their skills to achieve those outcomes.

Here you should conduct detailed project debriefs where they examine deliverables, timelines, and collaboration processes. 

• Did the project meet its goals? 
• Were there avoidable delays or quality issues? 

Recognizing patterns in these areas can show underlying skill gaps. If employees consistently struggle with certain tasks, try targeted training or support.

So, after every project, conduct detailed reviews to assess the processes followed and the outcome achieved. It will help uncover skill gaps and let you refine internal processes for continuous improvement in their distributed teams. 

Chris Masanto, the CEO and co-founder of PetLab Co., said, “As we rapidly scaled, one of the biggest challenges we faced was ensuring that our remote teams, spread across different time zones, had the right skills to handle the increasing demands of our product launches and campaigns. It wasn’t always easy to spot skill gaps from daily interactions, and by the time issues surfaced, they often impacted deadlines or the quality of work. We found the solution by closely analyzing project outcomes. After every major launch or campaign, we conducted thorough debriefs to assess where our teams thrived and where bottlenecks occurred. This insight helped us identify skill gaps early and allowed us to implement focused training where it mattered most. Over time, this process not only improved the efficiency of our teams but also ensured we consistently delivered a high-quality experience to our customers, no matter how fast we were growing.”

6. Record and review meetings for insights

Meetings often highlight how well employees communicate, collaborate, and contribute to problem-solving in real-time. Reviewing these recordings can help managers observe interactions that may not be evident in daily workflows, such as how team members present ideas, respond to feedback, or handle difficult conversations.

Using a meeting recorder to capture key discussions can help here. Afterward, managers can review these recordings to assess employee performance in soft skills like communication, leadership, and decision-making. 

While it’s not a typical way to gauge skills, it can provide a unique, unfiltered view into how team members operate in a collaborative setting, which can help pinpoint gaps that traditional assessments might miss.

For example, introducing a Slackbot can automate this for distributed teams. 

7. Monitor individual and team KPIs

We know KPIs provide quantifiable metrics that let leaders objectively evaluate performance. When you track metrics such as task completion rates, customer satisfaction scores, or sales targets, you can quickly spot areas where performance falls short, potentially signaling a need for skill development.

To put this into practice, 

• Start by defining specific, measurable KPIs for individual roles and team objectives. 
• Review this data regularly and look for trends that indicate underperformance. For instance, additional training may be needed if a team consistently misses deadlines or struggles with certain technical tasks.
• Conduct one-on-one meetings with employees to discuss progress and identify support areas or skill development.
• Use the insights gained from these discussions to adjust workflows or offer personalized training for continuous improvement.

8. Offer targeted training programs and track progress

After following the above steps, you’ll identify specific areas for improvement. Next, provide tailored training that directly addresses those gaps. This could be via online courses, mentorship, workshops, or certification programs focused on the skills employees need to develop.

For effective training, 

• Set measurable goals and regularly track progress. 
• Use learning management systems (LMS) to offer flexible, on-demand training while tracking completion rates and improvements in performance metrics. 
• Conduct regular check-ins and feedback sessions to understand whether the new skills are applied to daily tasks.

Think your employees are performing better due to the training? 

Try to help them upskill further by introducing programs like Amazon’s A2Tech program, wherein they mentor associates to move to more technical roles. Such initiatives can help employees commit to the company since you offer robust learning offers and a chance at better pay.

Holger Sindbaek, serial entrepreneur and the founder of the brain training platform Online Solitaire, says, “In a lean remote team like ours, the biggest challenge is ensuring that our designers and developers have the right skills to keep the product evolving without missing a beat. Early on, we faced issues where design inconsistencies or technical bottlenecks would only surface once they started affecting the product experience. To avoid this reactive approach, we introduced targeted training programs specifically tailored to each role, tracking progress using key metrics like design revisions and code quality. This proactive strategy allowed us to address skill gaps before they could impact the product, keeping our user experience seamless and our team agile. We’ve maintained high product standards by constantly upskilling the team, even with a small, distributed group.”

9. Send customized rewards for skill achievement

What’s a powerful motivator at the workplace? Offering customized rewards. 

Employees who successfully close skill gaps can help reinforce a culture of continuous improvement. These rewards can range from personalized gifts and vouchers to company-branded items that acknowledge an individual’s effort and progress.

So, establish a system where employees are recognized when they complete targeted training programs or significantly improve performance in key areas. Pair them with public recognition in team meetings or company-wide updates to enhance the sense of accomplishment.

It doesn’t have to be difficult. Use HubSpot’s integration to send gifts to employees who achieve certain skill development milestones.

10. Use competency mapping tools

Competency mapping tools help identify the skills and competencies required for specific roles and simplify spotting gaps and areas for development. 

Here’s how you can do it:

• Start by outlining core competencies for each role, including technical skills, soft skills, and behavioral traits.
• Use tools to map these competencies and compare them against the current skill levels of your team members.
• Create visual competency matrices to easily see where gaps exist and prioritize development needs based on strategic goals.
• Update the competency maps regularly to reflect changing business requirements and growing skill sets to ensure the team’s capabilities align with organizational needs.

Here’s a template by Venngage:

Start addressing skill gaps today

With the right strategies in place, superiors can bridge these gaps and foster a culture of continuous learning and growth. Using performance data, feedback, and targeted training can equip teams with the skills needed to thrive in a remote environment.

So, if you’re wondering how to identify skill gaps in remote distributed teams remember to:

• Regularly evaluate individual and team performance using data-driven approaches to identify areas for improvement.
• Implement ongoing training programs that are flexible and tailored to specific skill gaps.
• For employee engagement and motivation, recognize and reward employees for their skill development.