8 min read

Bridging the Gap: Skill Assessments for New Hire Onboarding

Onboarding skill gaps occur when new hires lack certain job-specific skills despite having the right background. RefHub’s skill assessments help identify these gaps early, allowing for targeted training and faster, more confident performance.

Starting a new job is a bit like jumping into a moving train. The wheels are already turning, people know where they are going, and there is a rhythm to how things get done. For a new hire, keeping pace can be tricky—especially if they arrive with a few missing pieces in their skills puzzle. This is where onboarding skill gaps show up, sometimes in the most unexpected places.

If you are responsible for hiring, training or managing people, you have probably seen it before. Someone joins the team, they have the right background, they passed the interview, but they are still struggling to find their feet. It is not because they lack potential. More often, it is because there is a mismatch between what they know and what they need to succeed.

At RefHub, we focus on helping you find and fix these gaps before they turn into bigger problems. Let us talk about how skill assessments can support new hire development, address training needs, and build up competency where it counts.

Why Do Onboarding Skill Gaps Happen?

You hire someone based on their resume, interview answers and maybe a reference check or two. But none of these tell you how they will handle the systems, tools and expectations specific to your workplace.

Some common reasons for onboarding skill gaps in Australian workplaces include:

Different industry standards – especially if they come from overseas or a different sector.
Outdated training – not all training keeps pace with current methods.
Job description drift – the role has changed since it was advertised.
Unclear onboarding processes – new hires are not always told exactly what is expected.

These gaps are not deal-breakers, but they can slow things down, frustrate both sides and eat into productivity if not addressed early.

How Skill Assessments Make a Difference

A skill assessment is like a map. It shows you where someone is right now, where they need to be, and which route might get them there fastest. This is not about testing intelligence or weeding people out. It is about supporting success.

By running skill assessments during the onboarding process, you can:

Identify training needs before they affect performance.
Tailor development plans to match real skill levels.
Support learning and development without guesswork.
Set realistic expectations for both managers and new staff.

Want to see how this works in practice? Take a look at RefHub’s assessment platform.

The First 90 Days: Make Them Count

New hires are usually eager to impress. But when they are missing key knowledge, their confidence can take a hit. They may ask fewer questions, avoid tasks they do not understand or even think they made a mistake joining the team.

You do not want that. You want them to feel like they belong—and fast.

Using skill assessments during the first 90 days gives you a chance to:

Catch gaps early, before they affect long-term performance.
Check progress, so you know if the training is working.
Give feedback, based on real data, not just impressions.

In other words, you are not just throwing someone in the deep end and hoping they swim. You are giving them swimming lessons, a floatie and someone watching the pool.

Types of Skill Assessments That Work

Different roles call for different tools. The key is choosing assessments that are:

Relevant to the job tasks.
Fair across all applicants and new hires.
Practical to apply during onboarding.

Some common examples include:

Technical tests – for roles that use specific systems, platforms or coding languages.
Communication tasks – such as report writing, phone scripts or email responses.
Problem-solving challenges – especially useful in customer service or operations.
Situational judgement questions – great for roles with complex decision-making.

RefHub offers a wide range of skills assessments tailored for Australian businesses. You can learn more about them here.

Training Needs: From Guessing to Knowing

Training is only useful when it matches the actual needs of the learner. A generic course might cover some basics, but it is unlikely to fix specific onboarding gaps.

Skill assessments give you:

Hard evidence of what needs to be taught.
Data-driven decisions for training priorities.
Better use of time and resources, focusing only where needed.

Instead of sending everyone through the same induction pack, you can customise parts of the onboarding experience to match their skill level. You might find that one person needs help with data entry, while another needs coaching on conflict resolution. Now you can deal with both—with the right tools in hand.

Competency Building Takes Time (But Not Forever)

Nobody expects a new hire to be perfect on day one. But you do want them to become reliable and confident fairly quickly.

Building competency means:

Learning the right skills.
Applying them correctly.
Doing it consistently under real conditions.

This takes time, repetition and support. But you can speed it up by giving clear feedback, setting small goals and tracking progress. Skill assessments are not just for day one—they can be reused after 30, 60 or 90 days to measure growth and guide further support.

Support for Managers and Teams

New hires are not the only ones affected by onboarding skill gaps. Teams may carry extra work, cover mistakes or spend time explaining things that should already be known.

By assessing skill levels early:

Managers know what to expect and where to focus coaching.
Team leaders can assign tasks more fairly.
Coworkers are not left picking up the slack.

It is about building trust across the board—starting from day one.

Australia-Specific Considerations

If you are working in Australia, you already know that training, safety, communication and compliance can vary between industries and states. A national approach does not always work in practice.

That is why it is important to choose a skill assessment provider that understands:

Local workplace legislation
Industry expectations across states
Common challenges in hiring across urban and regional areas

RefHub is based in Australia, and our assessments reflect what employers and workers actually face on the ground.

Getting Started with RefHub

Ready to take the guesswork out of onboarding?

At RefHub, we offer online skill assessments designed to spot onboarding skill gaps and support new hire development from day one. Whether you are a Human Resources professional, a team leader, or part of a learning and development unit, you can use our tools to support smarter hiring and faster training.

You can learn more or get started here:
👉 RefHub Assessments Landing Page

Do not let skill gaps slow down your team. Support your new hires with targeted assessments that reveal exactly what they need to learn—no guessing, no fluff. Visit RefHub to get started today.