The linked article appeared in T + D Magazine and addresses the issue of transferring the knowledge and skills of one generation of workers to the next as the Baby Boomer generation nears retirement. The article highlights the demographic issues that are causing what the author views as a Baby Boom Brain Drain. By 2010, the number of 55 to 64 year olds (those retiring out of senior level positions) is expected to grow by 52 percent, while the number of 35 to 44 year olds (those moving into senior level positions) is expected to decline by 10 percent. Companies are reacting to this anticipated dramatic loss of experienced workers (and the corporate knowledge they posses) by finding ways to facilitate "intergenerational learning". Suggested practices to transfer the knowledge and expertise of senior employees to the next generation of workers include:
- Utilizing retirees (or soon to be retirees) as trainers and coaches,
- Embracing communities of practice and other informal networks to generate ideas, to accelerate communication and to solve problems,
- Expanding repositories of content,
- Preparing video archives to preserve not only information, but also the "context" within the job processes,
- Utilizing retirees to assist in the identification and mapping of key job competencies,
- Enhancing mentor programs to pair retiring employees and other workers in "learning-based" teams
Interesting article. I like the idea of "Preparing video archives to preserve not only information, but also the "context" within the job processes." However, at the rate that US corporations are slashing jobs and outsourcing to India (Dell just announced plans to double it's Indian workforce to 20,000 http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,18553961%255E36375,00.html ), I think younger workers should be concerned about too few jobs, not too many.
Ken