Surviving the Baby Boomer Exodus: Capturing Knowledge for Gen X and Y Employees
Surviving the Baby Boomer Exodus: Capturing Knowledge for Gen X and Y Employees
Overview
There are managers who can't bear the thought of losing longtime, skilled employees due to the "brain drain," yet it is occurring as experienced Baby Boomers retire and take with them their practical knowledge and business acumen. Despite the media coverage of Boomers and how a tidal wave of retirements could impact business, many senior managers are kicking the can down the road, putting off the job of creating a system and process for capturing knowledge. Keeping this a low priority could lead to a great deal of deep, tacit knowledge walking out the door, may be for good. Managers can avoid by taking some steps now to prepare for the day when key workers leave. These steps are outlined in Surviving the Baby Boomer Exodus.
This book provides a practical guide for capturing valuable knowledge, skills, and experiences so it can be shared among employees of all the generations in the workplace. It examines method for assessing a company's knowledge gaps, creating a knowledge transfer plan, and nurturing a culture that encourages knowledge sharing and collaboration. Inside you'll find scenarios, case studies, tips, templates, and checklists that will help you capture and retain your company's intellectual capitals as Baby Boomers leave the workplace.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781435456099 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Course Technology, PTR |
| Publication date: | 01/05/2010 |
| Sold by: | CENGAGE LEARNING |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
Ken Ball is a Baby Boomer and has been tracking issues relating to aging in the workplace for several years. At TechProse, he drives business development for the consulting firm that specializes in knowledge/content management, training and documentation for major U.S. clients. He has more than 30 years of experience in corporate sales and marketing, including years in the book publishing business, working for IDG Books, publishers of the …For Dummies computer and general reference books. He has a marketing communications degree from Bradley University.
Gina Gotsill is a Gen X writer who has studied journalism at San Francisco State University and University of California, Berkeley. She is also a fellow of the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank based in St. Petersburg, Florida. Gina has covered a wide range of business topics that include keeping Boomer skills in the workplace, teaching finance to non-finance professionals, and growth and change in urban and suburban business districts.
Table of Contents
Introduction xv
Chapter 1 When Boomer Brains Walk 1
Impending Retirements Raise Tough Questions 2
Why Act Now? 4
Taking Time to Transfer Knowledge 5
Seeing Opportunity in a Slumping Economy 6
Why Should Organizations Transfer Knowledge? 7
Playing the Numbers Game 8
When Will They Retire? 9
There Is No Crystal Ball 12
Taking the First Step 13
Chapter 2 Defining the Generations 15
Who Are the Boomers? 18
Boomer Characteristics 19
Boomer Cross-Generational Dynamics 21
How Boomers Learn Best 24
Small and Mighty: Generation X 25
Generation X Characteristics 27
Gen X Cross-Generational Dynamics 28
How They Learn Best 29
Pushing the Envelope: Generation Y 30
Gen Y Characteristics 31
Gen Y Cross-Generational Dynamics 32
How They Learn Best 34
What Do All Three Generations Have in Common? 35
How Can Understanding Generational Differences Help Knowledge Transfer? 37
Remember the Recipient 38
Chapter 3 Knowledge in the Workplace 41
Data-Diamonds in the Rough 42
Information-Give Data Some Shape 43
Knowledge-Transforming Data and Information 44
Explicit Knowledge-It's on the Shelf 46
Implicit Knowledge-It's Still in Your Head 47
Tacit Knowledge-Too Deep to Articulate? 48
The Debate over Tacit Knowledge 50
Other Types of Knowledge 53
Declarative and Procedural Knowledge 53
Political Knowledge 55
Cultural Knowledge 55
Knowledge Within Your Organization 56
Where Does Knowledge Management Fit? 58
Looking Back, Looking Forward 58
"There Has to Be a Need" 63
Barriers to Knowledge Transfer . . . and Solutions 65
Culture and Attitudes 66
Going Forward 67
Chapter 4 Trouble on the Horizon as Boomers Step Away 69
The Pain Behind the Numbers 70
Oil and Gas-Boom or Bust 71
Utilities-A Perfect Storm 74
Manufacturing-Partly Cloudy Weather Ahead 79
The Future in Focus 85
Chapter 5 Boarding the Knowledge Train 87
Planning for Tomorrow 88
The Business Case for Knowledge Retention 91
Building a Project Charter 95
Elements of a Project Charter 96
Section 1 Project Overview 99
Section 2 Project Authority and Milestones 105
Section 3 Project Organization 106
The Law and Analysis 109
Testing the Waters 112
Communications Makes an Appearance 116
Methods for Communicating in the Early Stages 118
Building a Knowledge Council 119
More than a Snapshot 121
Demand Forecast-The "What" and the "How" 122
Supply Analysis-See Today, Project Tomorrow 123
Gap Analysis-Comparing Demand and Supply 124
Audience Analysis-A Profile of Recipients 126
Supplements to Workforce Planning Analysis 127
Social Network Analysis-Who Talks to Whom? 131
The Goal of Planning and Analysis 136
Chapter 6 Knowledge Retention by Design 137
What Kind of Knowledge to Transfer? 138
Follow the Needs of Your Audience 139
The Method Behind Mentoring 140
Many Reasons to Choose Mentoring 142
Making Time for Mentoring 144
The Nature of the Informal Mentoring Relationship 144
Informal Versus Formal Mentoring 147
Making Mentoring Work 149
Should Supervisors Serve as Mentors? 151
Setting Goals and Objectives for Formal Mentoring 153
Use Training to Set the Stage 153
Helping Mentees Articulate Their Needs 156
Social Networks and Social Media 158
Motorola Paves the Way 159
Cerner Corp. Creates New Connections 161
Crossing the Generation Gap Barrier 162
Creating a Social Media Network for Everyone 163
Communities of Practice 167
Mapping CoPs to Business Goals 169
No Two Communities Are Alike 171
Designing a Community of Practice 172
Identify the Audience 173
Design and Plan 174
Pilot 178
Go-Live 178
Expand and Sustain 179
Storytelling 180
What Is a Story? 181
The Multi-Faceted Art of Storytelling 182
Practical Use of Stories 184
Storytelling Structure 186
After Action Reviews 189
Planning 191
Preparing 1918
Conducting 192
Following-Up 193
The Design Document 195
Chapter 7 Ready, Set, Develop! 197
The Value of the Pilot 198
Develop a Pilot 199
Communications and Development 201
Your Thoughts, Please 203
Let Yourself Be Surprised 204
Chapter 8 Rolling Out Your Knowledge Transfer Program 205
Linking the Program to Staff Goals 206
Keeping a Watchful Eye 207
Managing Risk 209
Managing Momentum 211
Next Steps for Knowledge Transfer 213
Asking Your Audience What They Need 214
Communications and Implementation 216
Overcoming Challenges 218
Spread the Work and Opportunities Around 221
Chapter 9 A Long View of Evaluation 223
Reasons Why Organizations Don't Evaluate 224
Make Metrics a Priority 227
Use Data to Evaluate Success 228
If You Skip a Step 230
Specific Evaluation Methods 232
The Value of Numbers, Stories, and Graphics 233
Since We're Talking ROI 236
Chapter 10 Nurturing a Knowledge Culture 241
New Management Style Eases the Shift 242
Who's the Customer? 244
Rewriting the Job Description 245
The Generational Factor 246
Making the Change 250
Senior Leadership Support 251
Communications and Recognition 251
Training 252
Measurement 253
A Sound Investment 253
Bibliography 255
Books 255
Selected Reports, Articles, and Other Documents 257
Index 259