AWWA JTMGT57457

The bulk of the United States and much of the world is beginning to feel the effects of theremoval of veteran workers from their businesses. Some of this is caused by early babyboomers reaching retirement age, some of it is caused by healthy boomers deciding to goearly and enjoy their active lifestyles and some of it is the result of recent events causingsome to re-evaluate their lives and what is important. Whatever the reason, seasonedworkers with a significant majority of the working knowledge, processes and lessonslearned will be leaving and creating a vacuum in their organizations. The consequencesof this will be varied and numerous; however, here are established methods by which this issue can be managed and its effects reducedor eliminated. The methods for addressing this issue are not new and seldom involve high tech solutionsor tools. Many involve enhanced perspectives on human communication andcollaboration that are common in great organizations, but which are not present in mostfirms or which have been eliminated in the name of efficiency, cost reduction, etc.The basic tools discussed in this paper include:stories - an organized system of communication of critical knowledge throughstructured story telling sessions;vectored tours - purposeful conduction of internal tours of processes and activitiesfor specific purposes of knowledge transfer and enhancement;knowledge chaining - examination of knowledge dependencies of individuals andgroups to show which resources outside performing groups are needed to supportthem;respect broadcasts - aggressive recognition of contribution and value enhancementsgained as a result of sharing and mentoring; continuation conduits - just as in responsibility succession, one needs a knowledgesuccession planning method, this may not involve a one-to-one transfer;de-structuring the culture - the major impacts of the loss of highly experiencedpeople may require a restructuring of the individuals, duties and knowledge caretakerresponsibilities in the remaining organization; and,incentives - clear, tangible, consistent incentives to encourage individuals to sharewhat they know and proactively mentor their associates.

Product Details

Edition:

Vol. - No.

Number of Pages:

7

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1 file , 180 KB