And performance gaps can be measured. If you cannot find a performance gap to measure, then you do not have a performance problem to solve. This is a simple concept, but many people try to solve a problem before they actually know what the problem is. A performance gap is the behavioral area not performed to standards when measuring task performance.
Some performance gaps are quite easy to measure.
If the ditch-digger does not know how to dig a ditch two feet deep, then it is a training problem. If the ditch-digger knows how, but did not do it, then it is some other type of performance problem besides training. Some of the more difficult tasks to train and measure are soft skills , which include the affective domain . These address the manner in which we deal with things emotionally, such as feelings, values, appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations, and attitudes. These traits are not observable, therefore a representative behavior must be measured.