Knowledge Retention Strategies and Solutions by Jay Liebowitz

Author:Jay Liebowitz [Liebowitz, Jay]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: TEAM DDU
Published: 2011-01-08T05:50:41.089000+00:00

Calculating the Loss of Knowledge  n   59

needs to improve fiscally, a rightsizing/downsizing effort could result in cutting costs for the organization. Here, a deliberate attempt to let go of people may result in a gain by reducing costs to the organization. Second, many organizations are outsourcing their call centers and help desks to also reduce costs. In this case, people internal to the organization may also be asked to leave if they were involved in performing these duties. The organization hopes to achieve some positive gain by outsourcing. Last, some people who have been with the organization for many years may not be as innovative as others, as they might tend to view things as “the way we have always done it.” In order to increase innovation in organizations, fresh ideas are needed, which could result in the hiring of new employees. Certainly, the knowledge loss of employees who retire from the organization could be offset by the knowledge gain by new employees who may generate creative ideas to spark new products and services for the organization.

In spite of these possible scenarios, some people are very hard to replace. Some managers, however, may feel that everyone can be replaced, but this may not necessarily be true. The combination of intelligence and experience by working many years in an organization can be a winning formula. Also, some people have a sixth sense and an intuitive feeling for how things should work. Getting this “gut feeling” can be difficult and often requires one’s knowledge base built on experiential learning and facts. Certainly, today’s environment is very data intensive, and we can use technology and advanced analytics to help make predictions and informed decisions. Coupling experience to data intelligence can be a powerful marriage, and organizations will have to find the right balance to capitalize on this synergy.

6.3 Knowledge Retention at Tennessee Valley

Authority (TVA): Assessing Knowledge Loss

Since 1998, the Tennessee Valley Authority (the largest public power producer in the United States) has been very active in knowledge retention activities. Industry-wide, 21 energy companies reported that 90% of them indicate attrition as an important or emerging issue, yet only 30% of them have a plan to address this issue

[3]. TVA was facing similar concerns with knowledge retention issues, as one-third of their workforce was eligible to retire in 5 years (as of March 2007) [4]. To specifically address the avoidance of knowledge loss through attrition, TVA applied several approaches [3]:

n Establish loss-prevention projects.

n Define loss-prevention plans and goals.

n Identify critical at-risk knowledge.

n Identify key individuals.

n Record and codify explicit knowledge.

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