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What an IDP gap actually is
An IDP gap is not a weakness. It is a measured delta between two numbers: the competency level an employee demonstrates today, and the competency level their current role (or their next role) requires. Both numbers come from the same framework, on the same scale, evaluated the same way across the organisation.
The gap is the load-bearing input for the individual development plan. Everything downstream (the 70/20/10 action plan, the KPI, the quarterly review) is shaped by it. If the gap is vague, the plan is vague. If the gap points at the wrong competency, six months of development move the needle on the wrong thing.
- 1Not a perception A gap is calibrated data, not a manager's hunch. A self-rating plus one other rater is the minimum. A 360 is better.
- 2Not a weakness A gap is a distance to travel. Some gaps are tactical (skill-up in 90 days); some are strategic (close over 18 months). Both are legitimate.
- 3Not every gap becomes an IDP target The biggest gap is not always the one to close first. Priority is about business impact, role criticality, and effort, not gap size alone.
What goes into the gap calculation
Three inputs produce a defensible gap. Skip any one and the gap becomes anecdotal, and the IDP that follows becomes a request for training courses instead of a plan for capability growth.
- 1A role profile with target levels Every competency in the role has a target level (for example, Talent & Career Management = 4). Without targets, there is no 'expected' number, so there is no gap. Role profiles live in your competency framework, not on a single HR manager's spreadsheet.
- 2A current-level assessment At a minimum: self-rating. Better: self plus manager. Best: 360 with peers, direct reports, and cross-functional raters. Self-only assessments overstate ability by roughly half a level on most competencies.
- 3A consistent proficiency scale We use Dreyfus 0 to 5 (novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, expert, master). The scale is not the point. Consistency is. Levels on different scales cannot be subtracted to produce a gap.
- 4A priority rule Gap size alone does not pick the IDP target. Combine gap size with business impact and role-criticality. In the table above, Talent & Career Management is P1 not because the gap is biggest, but because it is the competency the role most depends on.
360 assessment results
HR Manager
Talent & Career Management
L2L4−2.0P1Stakeholder Communication
L2.5L3.5−1.0P2Data-Driven Decision Making
L2L3−1.0P2Change Management
L2.8L3✓—Workshop Facilitation
L3.5L3+0.5P3
Auto-generated
Top 2 gaps seed the IDP. Lower-priority gaps go on the watch list.
Same view HR sees inside Huneety after a 360 or competency assessment closes. The priority column is the cue for which gaps become IDP targets this quarter.
From gap to 70/20/10 action plan
Once a priority gap is named, the 70/20/10 action plan writes itself (or at least draws itself with far less effort). The gap tells you what capability has to form. The 70 percent is a real assignment that requires exercising that capability under pressure. The 20 percent is the feedback loop that lets the employee see themselves doing it. The 10 percent is the vocabulary that lets them name what is happening.
For a gap of 2 levels (for example Strategic Thinking 2 to 4), the 70 percent is one sustained stretch assignment across two quarters, not two small assignments in one quarter. Depth beats breadth. The 70/20/10 framework subtopic covers why the ratios hold and what goes wrong when the 20 percent gets skipped.
Strategic Thinking
Gap detected
−2 levels · soft skill
IDP action plan
70 / 20 / 10 framework
Lead a cross-team Q3 project
by Jul 15
Own the next quarterly business review
by Sep 30
Bi-weekly 1:1 with VP Strategy
ongoing
360° feedback debrief with manager
by Aug 15
Strategic Leadership 101 (4h video)
by Jun 30
Decision Frameworks (book)
by Aug 31
Gap becomes plan. One competency, one priority, one set of 70/20/10 actions with dates.
Skip the reconciliation, keep the gap analysis
Role profile + 360 + IDP in one pipeline. Priority gaps become draft 70/20/10 plans the manager approves. No cross-spreadsheet lookups.
Four mistakes that corrupt the gap analysis
A clean gap is harder to produce than it looks. These are the four failure modes we see most often on our first assessment cycle with a new customer.
- 1Self-only assessment A self-rating alone is not a gap, it is an opinion. Self-ratings cluster half a level above observed ability on average. Pair every self-rating with at least one other rater before the number becomes a gap.
- 2No role profile Without target levels on the role, the 'gap' is measured against the assessor's private expectation. Different assessors produce different gaps for the same employee. Make the target level a property of the role, not of the reviewer.
- 3Treating the biggest gap as the top priority The biggest gap is often the lowest-criticality one, because big gaps tend to show up on competencies that were neglected for a reason. Priority combines gap size with business impact and role centrality.
- 4Too many IDP targets Pick one or two gaps per cycle, not five. Development requires sustained attention over weeks. A five-target IDP has five partial attempts instead of one capability that forms.
Gap analysis inside Huneety
Running gap analysis once by hand is tractable. Running it across 50 people, twice a year, with role profiles that change as the organisation evolves, is a job that quietly consumes two HR days per cycle. The data is not complicated. The reconciliation is.
Huneety ties the role profile, the 360 assessment, and the IDP generator together. Gaps are computed on the fly, priority is surfaced, and the P1 gap becomes a draft 70/20/10 plan the manager edits rather than writes. Same mental model, no reconciliation work.
QUICK ANSWERS
Quick answers
- What is the minimum to produce a defensible IDP gap?
- A role profile with a target level on every competency, plus an assessment with at least two raters (self and manager). One rater produces an opinion, not a gap. The bigger the stakes of the development plan (succession, performance improvement), the more raters you want.
- Do I need a 360 to run gap analysis for an IDP?
- No. Self plus manager is a workable minimum. But self-only is not. The value of a 360 is triangulation: peers and direct reports see behaviours the manager does not, and self-ratings stabilise when they are anchored against multiple observers.
- How many gaps should I target in one IDP?
- One or two. Not five. Development requires sustained attention over weeks. A plan with five targets is five partial attempts instead of one capability that forms. The other gaps go on a watch list and become targets in the next cycle.
Continue learning
70/20/10 Framework
The history, the research, and a practical guide to balancing the three categories in real plans.
Read the guide
IDP Templates
Free downloadable IDP templates by role — manager, IC, technical leader, first-time manager.
Read the guide
IDPs for Managers
Writing development plans for people who manage people. Scorecards, execution dimensions, and the link to succession planning.
Read the guide