Posts Tagged knowledge continuity

Winning ways for knowledge loss: three questions you need to ask.

Last month we surveyed our SageCentre community (an online ageing workforce resource) about their three top concerns regarding the impact of an ageing workforce.
•    75% nominated knowledge loss
•    48% nominated skills gap
•    28% nominated lack of expertise in mission critical roles

When asked about the most successful age management solutions they had experienced, only 25% nominated a knowledge transfer solution.

My hunch is that so little is done because we are overwhelmed by the task. Here are three questions to help you focus your knowledge continuity efforts.

1 What do we need to know?
Think about what knowledge and skills are core to your business – now and in the future. Start with your critical areas and work outwards.
2 Who knows what we need to know?
There are people in your organisation who know a lot. We call them Sages. You can call them anything you like as long as it’s respectful! They are your living, walking, breathing database of corporate knowledge. Do you know who they are? Make sure you know who they are and keep them close! Do what you can to influence their late career decisions and explore how they might continue a relationship with your organisation beyond traditional retirement.
3 Who needs to know what they know?
Whether it be through the more formal processes of talent management and succession planning or the natural result of working together, you will identify people who need to ‘sit at the feet’ of your sages. Create opportunities for them to have conversations and begin transitioning knowledge.
Knowledge is slippery. There is no sure fire way to keep it, capture it or ensure access to it. What we do know from our knowledge continuity programs is that solutions emerge once you start the conversation.

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Proud of our sages…

So proud of the sages we are working with at ANSTO, RTA, NSW Office of Water, Austrade and the like. These are people who are taking the time to contribute to the future of their organisations. We are honoured to work with you.

“We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.”

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Different strokes for different folks

I was up with the sparrows this morning to attend the SA CEDA trustees breakfast to look at the findings of the latest Hudson 2020 report entitled: Talent Tightrope – managing the workplace through the downturn. I suspect that for most, this report confirms much of what we already know. There was one alarming stat for me:

“Fewer than one in five employers report that they are tailoring their approaches by generation (19%), and only a third indicated that ideally they would tailor their approaches, though they currently lack the resources to do so.”

My co-director Alison often says, “Conversations come free!”. A starting point for all employers is to have individual conversations with employees from all generations to work out the drivers for retention and attraction. Focus on your critical resource areas. Focus on employees who hold core business knowledge that you can’t afford to lose. Tailoring doesn’t need to cost an arm and a leg; and it’s far less costly than losing the arms and legs of your organisation.

Top tip from SageCo:

Your window of opportunity for conversations with your baby boomer workforce is even shorter than with other generations due to retirement options. If you want key individuals to extend their working life with you, use some of these questions in your conversation:

  • How do you see your career evolving over the next ten years with us?
  • What would your ideal role look like?
  • What knowledge, skills and rules of thumb do you think we need to retain in our business?

Help your baby boomer employees create a positive and productive future.

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