Approach to Knowledge Transfer from Retiring Key Personnel
Establishing Your Information Retention Plan
In an industry where many employees have been working for decades, retirement can mean the loss of important plant and process knowledge. A long-term employee routinely shares information with the people that they work with, but once they leave, the information that was once readily available is gone. This can be a serious setback for a company. Others who relied on the retired employee might struggle to know where to access information and it will take a long time for them to develop their own depth of knowledge to rival that of the retired employee. An important way to mitigate this problem is to establish a knowledge retention plan.
While the knowledge held by an older workforce cannot be kept in its entirety, it is possible to maintain a significant portion of that knowledge through an intentional retention program. There are several ways that knowledge can be transferred. One common method is through casual conversation and the natural interactions that take place throughout the day. One employee might be less familiar with a product or customer, so they talk to an older employee who can give them needed insight. This type of transfer is useful, but it cannot be the full extent of a company’s retention plan.
More successful businesses use a structured approach to knowledge retention because they see that there is tremendous value in preserving as much information as they can. Competitive Advantage (CA) has helped companies develop plans like this. One big success was with a company whose employees had been with the company for decades and knew all the ins and outs of their processes. Because these processes are complicated, it is vital for this company's employees to know exactly what they are doing so that details do not get lost over time. Competitive Advantage helped them overcome this problem in two major ways.
"Competitive Advantage encouraged every person in a leadership position to take on the mindset of a teacher."
Comprehensive Training and Continued Education
First, Competitive Advantage helped create a comprehensive training and continued education program. Every new hire goes through an extensive training program before they begin working. Competitive Advantage saw that the company had a lot of experts, so they made sure that those experts were leading the training. The instructors used this time as an opportunity to share their valuable knowledge and stories with the new hires. Competitive Advantage encouraged every person in a leadership position to take on the mindset of a teacher. A lot of the most valuable information is learned on the job and shared by those leaders. Competitive Advantage helped develop more structured continuing education programs in which employees took classes with knowledgeable instructors who could give them a deeper and fuller understanding of various topics. The multi-pronged approach to education that Competitive Advantage helped develop makes sure that information is preserved and handed down to those who need it.
Process Maps and the Standard Work List
Our lead consultant helped the company develop another program that focuses on the theoretical collection and dissemination of knowledge. This begins when the company consults the experts on a particular process, next they create a detailed process map that shows the correct procedure. The experts who helped create the map review the finished product and make corrections to ensure accuracy. When a weakness is found, the company revisits the process and makes necessary changes. The lead consultant also introduced the company to the idea of a standard work list. This list breaks down each step of a process into 10 minute segments, which gives everyone a detailed look at every part that goes into a process and ensures that the information needed to complete a job will be kept even after the experts are gone.
"...customized to each company..."
Developing Your Plan
Competitive Advantage is committed to helping our customers improve their workflows and this approach to knowledge retention is just one example. Competitive Advantage has seen a lot of success and knows that similar success can be found in your organization. This would begin with the CA team consulting the experts at a company and determining what areas are most at risk of losing vital information. Once that is decided, they would help develop an action plan to record the details in a way that will preserve it. This could include process maps or standard work lists, or the creation of educational materials that involve the experts at that company.
The loss of a long-time employee will always be challenging for a company. Their departure can mean the disappearance of valuable information, but it doesn’t have to. Developing a knowledge prevention plan is a great way to mitigate the issue of information loss and this case is a good example of a company being successful. They recognized the need to establish a way to retain their important information, so Competitive Advantage helped them develop a plan. Their combination of continued education and detailed process collection has been incredibly effective so far. While a knowledge retention plan should be customized to each company, the system in place at this company is a great model to look at. With a solid plan in place, no company should worry about information loss when veteran employees retire.
