It’s not that a Gap Assessment is more relevant than a survey, but rather the content of a Gap Assessment is timelier and more actionable.
Additionally, a Gap Assessment is not intended to identify problems; it simply intends to show how people are not on the same page with one another.
Typically, a survey asks for opinions, thereby setting an employee expectation that the company is going to do something about it.
With a Gap Assessment, because there are no questions, and the words “I think,” or “I feel” are not used. An organization is simply asking its members to indicate what they see or don’t see.
Think of a Gap Assessment as handing a camera to an employee and asking them to take a few pictures of your organization.