HOW TO RETAIN THE EMPLOYEE KNOWLEDGE
40% of United Nations employees in Geneva set to retire in 2013; a key to successful transition and continuity is the ability to retain employee knowledge.
The ability to retain employee knowledge is very much like a relay race, because timing as much as methodology is important. The size or complexity of the knowledge like the baton is less of a burden if methodology and timing is considered.
According to a United Nations (U.N) internal survey 40% of UNOG’s employees in Geneva are set to retire in 2013. U.N like many other institutions will be faced with the baby-boomer retirement dilemma where highly experienced and skilled aged employees leave with the threat of fi lling their vacant positions with unseasoned employees. Therefore, U.N must fi nd ways or processes to relay the knowledge to the up and coming employees and future generations.
Furthermore, the dangers of a world organization like the U.N without the ability to pass on knowledge to employees will have severe and catastrophic outcomes. For example, a negotiation involving BRIC nations regarding ammunition and jurisdiction affecting other member states who must be referred to in certain ways and have unwritten sequence of order for agenda and talks. If the replacement employee fi lling in for a retired employee did not have a meeting or talk to their predecessor about BRIC nations, the meeting will most likely be a failure and BRIC nations may advance their agenda to the detriment of other member states.
In addition, from the example above it is clear such knowledge is sometimes unspoken and assumed as second nature to the outgoing employee but to their replacement it may be foreign.
Likewise, there is s hard knowledge the kind that is not unspoken but needs to be relayed to the employees precisely and effectively. If there is no methodology or sequence of relaying such knowledge, it becomes the responsibility of each exiting employee to relay the knowledge effectively. This is an unjust burden put on that employee and this would create room for ineffi ciency and loss of knowledge.
Evidently, methodology or procedure for passing on the baton of knowledge is crucial, but so is the timing. The timing when such knowledge should be passed on depends on complexity and size of the knowledge. If knowledge is fairly simple it can be passed on a few days or the same day retiring employee is set to leave; other wise, the knowledge can be passed on in stages or may need longer time duration.
The U.N has various tasks and functions that are similar and different from other organizations but they can use some methods developed by business corporations to relay knowledge. A mentor and apprentice sort of relationship geared towards knowledge transfer for the knowledge that needs human to human interaction for transfer is suitable.
Another way is off-boarding or also called exit interview in which exiting employees talk through their tasks, functions, past and reoccurring projects. After the interview an audio or written report is compiled directly from the interview which is passed to current and future employees on a need to know basis. In this process of know ledge transfer some award for ingenuity may also help the employees feel free to pass on the information, because they received acknowledgement for it. Again, a different way of transferring information that supports existing methods is to have a mandatory volunteer clause in long term employment contracts that require volunteer session for retiring or exiting employees.
The U.N can still stop the loss of more valuable employee knowledge and win the relay race if it acts now. Just like a relay race team U.N might be behind on the last lap, but all it takes is action, initiative, and the right pace to come out victorious. There is much work to be done at U.N for knowledge retention, but gain can only come from pain and this pain dwarfs the loss of knowledge substantially.