The Boomers Are Leaving: Retain Their Knowledge

We need to be honest; we’re facing a workforce crisis. An average of 10,000 Baby Boomers are retiring every day, and they have knowledge you can’t afford to lose. With a good succession plan in place, you don’t have to. Instead, facilitate a transfer of knowledge–improve your organization support its future viability.

We need to be honest; we’re facing a workforce crisis. An average of 10,000 Baby Boomers are retiring every day, and they have knowledge you can’t afford to lose. With a good succession plan in place, you don’t have to. Instead, facilitate a transfer of knowledge–improve your organization support its future viability.

Get your employees of all ages together and learn from each others knowledge, using the following tactics as your guide:

AFFINITY GROUPS

Create affinity or networking groups in your workplace to draw an age-diverse crowd. Affinity groups can bring together employees from across the organization and provide them an opportunity to collaborate socially and professionally. It’s a great way for employees to share ideas and information about how they do their work.

Affinity groups not only allow employees to share their knowledge, they also make people feel valued and give them a voice within the organization, both things that help build loyalty with Generation Y. Plus, bringing together a diverse crowd to work through ideas will foster innovative problem solving. Everybody wins.

INTEGRATE KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

Knowledge transfer should not be something that’s only done when someone announces a plan to leave; it should be built into job functions and requirements. Cross-train employees, even if you have a small workforce. Don’t let yourself get into a situation where the person leaving is the only one who knows how to do the job.

Developing internal mentorship roles is one way to ensure knowledge is shared and doubles as a way to attract and keep Millennials who are always eager to learn from those who may have more experience in the workforce.

INVOLVE EVERYONE IN SUCCESSION PLANNING

Engage current employees in the succession planning process. Have open discussions about each role and where it’s going in the future, who will be doing it. Open conversation will help you create plans and develop goals for your employees that support their specific interests.

Gen Y employees want to be part of the conversation, so engage them in it. Encourage to learn from the Xers and Baby Boomers to understand their leadership roles and what it requires to hold those positions.

Your mix of generations in the workplace is to your advantage, even if some of them will be retiring soon. Capture their knowledge before they go, and engage the rest of the workforce to help. Succession planning is more than taking notes in an exit interview and writing up a job description. Succession planning is something that needs to be happening everyday in a variety of ways around your organization. The more people you have involved and the more you integrate it into everyday work, the stronger your future.