In the first two parts of The Missing Middle, we looked at a gap many organizations are seeing across the workforce: employees are expected to succeed with skills they may never have been directly taught.
Now it is time to move from identifying the gap to doing something about it.
Foundational workplace skills are not small skills. They are the skills employees use every day to communicate, organize information, manage time, solve problems, receive feedback, and interact professionally with others. When these skills are missing or underdeveloped, the impact shows up in real ways: unclear emails, avoided phone calls, incomplete documentation, missed follow-up, confusion around priorities, and employees who may feel less confident than they are capable of being.
The good news is that foundational skills can be taught. But they have to be taught with intention.
Identify the Actual Skill Gap
Before an organization can solve a skill gap, it has to name it clearly.
It is easy to say an employee needs to “communicate better” or “be more professional,” but those phrases are too broad to be useful on their own. Communication could mean email structure, tone, listening, documentation, phone etiquette, follow-up, or asking better questions. Professionalism could mean punctuality, boundaries, accountability, meeting behavior, response time, or receiving feedback.
The more specific the gap, the easier it is to teach.
Action items:
- Replace vague feedback with specific skill language.
- Look for repeated patterns across employees or teams.
- Ask whether the concern is related to performance, confidence, clarity, training, exposure, or coaching.
- Identify which skills are required for the role but may not be clearly taught.
- Separate “they should know this” from “we have actually taught this.”
When the real gap is named, the solution becomes much clearer.
Make Workplace Expectations Visible
A lot of workplace expectations are invisible until someone misses them.
Employees may be expected to respond to emails within a certain timeframe, return phone calls promptly, document specific details, ask for help before a problem grows, or know when to escalate a concern. But if those expectations are not clearly explained, employees are left to figure them out through trial and error.
That creates frustration for managers and uncertainty for employees.
Action items:
- Write down common expectations for communication, follow-up, documentation, and response time.
- Provide examples of what “good” looks like.
- Create templates for common tasks such as emails, meeting notes, phone messages, and follow-up summaries.
- Include foundational expectations in onboarding and team training.
- Review expectations regularly instead of assuming they were understood once.
Making expectations visible does not lower the bar. It helps employees understand how to meet it.
Teach Skills in a Practical Way
Foundational skills need more than reminders. They need practice.
A one-time conversation about professionalism will not automatically help someone write a better email, answer the phone with confidence, organize a spreadsheet, or think through a problem. Employees need examples, repetition, feedback, and opportunities to apply the skill in real situations.
Action items:
- Use real workplace examples whenever possible.
- Show employees both strong and weak examples of the skill.
- Build short practice activities into onboarding, supervision, or team meetings.
- Give employees tools such as scripts, checklists, templates, and job aids.
- Focus training on the actual skills employees use in their roles.
For example, if the gap is email etiquette, have employees practice writing and revising emails. If the gap is phone confidence, provide a script and allow time to practice. If the gap is critical thinking, teach a simple process for identifying what is known, what is missing, what assumptions are being made, and what next step makes sense.
Practical training helps employees move from knowing about a skill to actually using it.
Build Coaching Into Daily Work
Training cannot live only in a workshop.
Employees strengthen skills when managers, supervisors, and mentors reinforce them in the flow of work. That does not mean every manager needs to become a trainer, but it does mean feedback should be clear, specific, and connected to the skill being developed.
Instead of saying, “This email is confusing,” a manager might say, “Let’s move the main point to the first sentence and add the next step at the end.” Instead of saying, “Use better judgment,” a manager might ask, “What information do you have, what information do you still need, and who should be involved before you move forward?”
Action items:
- Give managers simple coaching language for common skill gaps.
- Encourage feedback that explains what to improve and how to improve it.
- Reinforce skills during regular supervision or check-ins.
- Use mistakes as learning opportunities when appropriate.
- Recognize progress, not just final performance.
Coaching turns skill-building into part of the workday instead of something separate from the work.
Give Employees a Way to Reflect
Employees should have a way to identify their own skill gaps without feeling embarrassed or called out.
Many people do not know what they do not know. Others may know exactly where they struggle but feel uncomfortable admitting it. A thoughtful self-assessment can help employees reflect on where they feel confident, where they need more practice, and what support would help them grow.
Action items:
- Use self-assessment as a growth tool, not a test.
- Ask employees what skills would make their current role easier.
- Ask what tasks they avoid because they do not feel confident.
- Include reflection questions in development plans or coaching conversations.
- Help employees choose one or two skills to strengthen at a time.
When employees are part of the conversation, development feels less like correction and more like growth.
Reinforce Foundational Skills Over Time
Foundational skills are not built in one session. They are strengthened over time through consistent practice and reinforcement.
If an employee attends training on email etiquette but returns to a workplace where no one models clear communication, the skill may not stick. If someone learns Excel basics but never gets a chance to use them, confidence fades. If feedback is only given when something goes wrong, development becomes reactive instead of intentional.
Action items:
- Revisit foundational skills during team meetings, onboarding refreshers, and supervision.
- Pair training with real assignments where employees can apply the skill.
- Create simple skill goals for employees to work on monthly or quarterly.
- Encourage peer learning and mentoring.
- Build foundational skills into employee development planning.
The goal is not perfection. The goal is steady growth, stronger confidence, and better workplace readiness.
Introducing the Foundational Workplace Skills Training Toolkit
To support this work, the Foundational Workplace Skills Training Toolkit is now available.
This toolkit was created to help organizations move from talking about skill gaps to taking practical action. It provides a structured way to identify, teach, and reinforce the everyday skills employees need to succeed at work.
The toolkit focuses on core foundational skills, including:
- Email etiquette
- Phone and voicemail etiquette
- Microsoft Word basics
- Microsoft Excel basics
- Typing and keyboard confidence
- Grammar and proofreading
- Digital file organization
- Time management and prioritization
- Research and source evaluation
- Critical thinking and problem-solving
- Asking clarifying questions
- Receiving feedback
- Empathy and professional communication
- Career curiosity and continued learning
Organizations can use the toolkit during onboarding, employee development planning, coaching conversations, team training, manager support, and workforce readiness efforts. It gives HR professionals, supervisors, trainers, and organizational leaders a practical resource for turning broad concerns into teachable skills.
The missing middle does not close through assumptions. It closes through clarity, practice, coaching, and reinforcement.
The Foundational Workplace Skills Training Toolkit is designed to help organizations take that next step so employees are not just expected to succeed, but supported in building the skills that help them get there.
Ready to get started? Click the link to access the Foundational Workplace Skills Training Toolkit. Open Network members can log in and download the toolkit directly; if you’re not yet a member, you’ll need to join the Open Network to gain access.
References
National Association of Colleges and Employers. Career Readiness Defined.
https://www.naceweb.org/career-readiness/competencies/career-readiness-defined
U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy. Soft Skills: The Competitive Edge.
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/publications/fact-sheets/soft-skills-the-competitive-edge
LinkedIn Learning. 2025 Workplace Learning Report.
https://business.linkedin.com/learn/resources/workplace-learning-report
Microsoft WorkLab. Work Trend Index.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index
Part I The Missing Middle: Teaching the Skills Employees Need to Actually Succeed.
https://care-compass.org/the-missing-middle-teaching-the-skills-employees-need-to-actually-succeed/
Part II The Missing Middle: How to Close the Gap and Build Skills That Stick.
https://care-compass.org/part-ii-the-missing-middle-how-to-close-the-gap-and-build-skills-that-stick/
Author Bio
Emily Davies is a Learning and Development Specialist focused on creating practical, people-centered training that helps employees build confidence, strengthen workplace skills, and continue growing in their careers. Through her work in workforce development, she supports organizations in identifying skill gaps, developing meaningful learning opportunities, and creating training that connects directly to real-world needs. Emily is passionate about making professional development feel approachable, useful, and human because people cannot grow into skills they were never given the chance to learn.