Baby Boomers, the largest generation in the history of the US, are moving into the traditional retirement years. Their retirements could mean the loss of critical knowledge. The purpose of this program is to help you understand the situation confronting MLGW because of Baby Boomer retirements and some effective ways to deal with that situation.
The program was divided into four parts. Mr. Wally Bock was the opening and closing speaker. He also moderated the question sessions and introduced other speakers.
In his opening session, Mr. Bock described the knowledge retention problem faced by MLGW, a public utility and provided a framework for analyzing the issue and proposed solutions.
MLGW shares many of these problems with other public utilities. The APPA has published a study called "The Aging and Retiring Workforce: New Challenges for Public Power."
Many organizations have attempted to capture and share knowledge with a formal knowledge management system. Dr. Neal Jackson reviewed the knowledge management systems that organizations have tried in the recent past. He described why they failed and suggested ways that a knowledge management program might succeed. Dr. Neal Jackson is the Director of Graduate Engineering Programs at Christian Brothers University.
Some organizations have been paying attention to this issue for almost a decade. Mr. John Walker, Workforce Planning Manager for the TVA, reviewed what the TVA has done and shared lessons learned from their experience. The story of TVA's efforts was covered in an article in Fortune magazine titled "How to plug your company's brain drain." Here are two key excerpts.
"And even though surveys show that 70% to 80% of executives at big companies are concerned about the coming brain drain, fewer than 20% have begun to do anything about it. Even within that small forward-looking cadre, many seem to be counting mainly on enticing older workers to stay longer than they have to, or to "consult" after they retire.
"Companies know there is a looming 'wisdom withdrawal,' but they're putting off addressing it," observes William Arnone, an Ernst & Young human-capital consultant. He worked on a recent survey of large employers that showed that 70% haven't even begun to identify what wisdom they'll need to keep, let alone how.
When they do, a close look at how the Tennessee Valley Authority is dealing with the problem might come in handy. The approach is refreshingly straightforward and travels well: John Deere,Chevron, and the World Bank, among others, have already adopted many of the TVA's methods."
and
"Starting in 1999, the TVA broke down the daunting task of retaining knowledge into manageable parts, by asking line managers three questions:
What knowledge is likely to be lost when particular employees leave? ("What?")
What will be the business consequences of losing that knowledge? ("So what?")
And what can be done to prevent or minimize the damage? ("Now what?")"
Mr. Bock tied the presentations together and added some observations about what the state of the art in knowledge retention is. He will also review some key lessons about the organizational change that might be required at MLGW.
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