Why You Can't Neglect Knowledge Transfer
“Just because Joe wants to work another 10 years doesn’t mean the good Lord will let him.”That’s a saying I use sometimes to illustrate the importance of succession planning and knowledge transfer. Joe may be critical to your organization: knows everything, never takes a vacation, comes in on his days off to check on things and plans to work another 10 years. That’s great. But if the unexpected happens and Joe becomes disabled, dies or his wife decides to move across the country to be with the grandkids, and you haven’t extracted his knowledge, your organization is in for some tough times.It is crucial that you identify the critical positions in your organization and begin a knowledge-transfer process sooner rather than later. How do you do it? I presented a five-step plan at the recent NOLA SHRM conference, in New Orleans. Here’s a brief overview of the process.
Identify Critical Positions
Which people in which roles would be most devastating to lose? Is it your bookkeeper or accountant? Probably not. That’s not a rare skill. What about the entrepreneurial vice president who has launched every new product to market in the last eight years and has vendor relationships all over the world? Or the process operator with 25 years of experience who knows the plant so intimately that he can identify subtle problems and solve them with critical adjustments that keep the plant running efficiently? That’s critical.In general, critical positions can be identified by rarity of skill, sphere of influence, impact on the bottom line and likelihood that the person will be lost to retirement or another job sometime soon. Many of the people in these critical roles are successful because of their tacit knowledge —those crucial skills, “know-how”, specific expertise, and important relationships that are indispensable to the business. If you have an individual with knowledge that can’t be easily replaced who is well respected inside and outside your organization, who generates or saves you money, and who is likely to retire or get scooped up by a competitor, you need to have them begin training someone else soon.
Get Everyone on Board
Once you’ve identified critical roles, you must convey to people why this knowledge-transfer process is so important. You will probably encounter some obstacles. For example, it’s often hard to find time to work “on” the business as opposed to “in” the business. When you’re busy selling widgets, training someone else to sell widgets just slows you down.It also can be hard to even quantify the knowledge that needs to be passed along. So much that we do is learned through trial and error and just lives in our minds as part of a process. Actually putting that on paper can be difficult.You may even encounter people who want to hoard their knowledge. If they feel like knowledge is power (or job security) at your company, they may be reluctant to share that with others. Reassure them their value will only increase as they become a mentor to others.Other obstacles can include geographical distance and interpersonal differences between the knowledge owner and learner. Anticipate these challenges and make a plan to address them while prioritizing the knowledge-transfer process.
Make a Knowledge-Capture and Knowledge-Transfer Plan
Knowledge capture identifies what the learner needs to know. Knowledge transfer identifies how the learner will get that information from the knowledge owner. Both parts need to be designed with effective learning strategies and obstacles in mind.Knowledge capture has two components: the actual skills of the job and the resources, including people, that are required or helpful to do the job. Both should be laid out as specifically as possible so that anyone with this information, not just the current trainee, can use it for future reference.Once the information to be conveyed is clear, the knowledge transfer process can begin. There are many methods of knowledge transfer, such as documentation, video, storytelling by subject matter experts, formalized education and training, process improvements like eliminating tasks or updating equipment, or alternative resources like cross-training or rehiring retirees. You may discover once Joe’s job is laid out that steps three and four aren’t necessary anymore, or that a new machine could do the whole thing and knowledge transfer isn’t required. There are other routes this path could take besides traditional training.
Ensure Stakeholder Alignment
Before you actually begin the knowledge-transfer process, look over the capture and transfer plan with key stakeholders. Get a consensus between the knowledge owner, the learner and any other key individuals about what is to be accomplished. Make a written plan that specifies this information and also includes an element of coaching.Coaching will be essential throughout this process to transfer knowledge, instill confidence and facilitate the transfer relationship capital to the learner. The learner will need to be assured they are building the right skills and that they will have the tools to do the job. The owner will need to convey to others that the learner is competent and skilled enough at the end of training to take ownership of this knowledge.
Get the Plan in Writing
The written knowledge-transfer plan also helps hold everyone accountable for this process. Have regular progress reports or meetings with the knowledge owner, learner and other stakeholders to monitor progress, update information or documentation, or see if resource needs have changed. Have milestones with anticipated due dates that can be checked off upon completion. This process will ensure knowledge transfer is prioritized and not pushed aside when other duties and constraints arise.Success Labs is a leadership-development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.
