Proceedings of 4th European Business Research Conference
9 - 10 April 2015, Imperial College, London, UK, ISBN: 978-1-922069-72-6
A Stage Model of Knowledge Retention and the Departing
Older Expert
Chandni Morar* and Pak Yoong**
Older workers make up a large proportion of employees in many
organisations and increasing numbers of these workers are departing the
workforce due to retirement. However, the concern for organisations is the
high level of expertise and knowledge that older workers will take with
them. This paper describes a stage model of knowledge retention and the
departing older expert including the different strategies that could be used
during each of the stages.
Keywords: Human resource management, knowledge management
1. Introduction
Older experts make up a significant proportion of overall global labour force. For example
in New Zealand, the median working age was 42 years in 2010 and it is estimated that by
mid-century, this figure will increase to 44 years (Statistics New Zealand, 2010). As the
median age increases, larger proportions of employees will begin departing the workforce
due to retirement or other reasons. However, the primary concern for organisations is not
the number of departing experts, but rather the high level of expertise and knowledge that
departing workers will take with them.
Many organisations in New Zealand are knowledge-intensive and incorporate a vast range
of business domains. More specifically as the needs and requirements of these
organisations change frequently, their employees are required to have quick-thinking skills
to respond according to the fluctuating situations. A significant amount of such employees
are highly specialised, therefore their departure from an organisation can have severe
repercussions for management. As a result, managers must recognise the importance of
the knowledge held by their employees, specifically those who have accumulated decades
of experience and are approaching their retirement.
To facilitate the sharing of knowledge an appropriate organisational culture is required
whereby sharing of knowledge is encouraged. Additionally, organisations need to plan and
implement strategies which enable the capturing and retaining of expertise knowledge of
departing older workers before it walks out the door. The aim of this paper is to present a
stage model of knowledge retention and the departing older expert including the different
strategies that could be used during each of the stages.
2. Knowledge Retention in Relation to Departing Older Experts
Universally, the maturing baby boomer generation is followed by the distinctly smaller
group of younger generation X (Aiman-Smith, Bergey, Cantwell and Doran, 2006). As
these older experts begin to leave the workforce over the next several years, replacement
employees will be increasingly difficult to find and hire out of a smaller pool of talent (IBM
Business Consulting Services, 2003). Successor employees require substantial time to get
accustomed to organisational processes and norms, diminishing the organisation‟s ability
to act quickly and intelligently (Field, 2003). Therefore, many industries face the risk of a
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Proceedings of 4th European Business Research Conference
9 - 10 April 2015, Imperial College, London, UK, ISBN: 978-1-922069-72-6
knowledge and capability shortage – otherwise known as the “knowledge gap” (Beazley,
Boenisch and Harden, 2003) – an issue that must be adequately addressed to ensure
future competitive advantage for organisations.
Approximately 70 percent of a company‟s knowledge is undocumented, residing in the
minds of its employees (Beazley et al., 2003). Consequently, knowledge retention
becomes a human resource management issue as organisations find themselves striving
to capture valuable knowledge. Organisations face the challenge of retaining this critical
knowledge from departing older experts, within a limited period of time (Levy, 2011).
Nevertheless, it is not essential that all knowledge is retained, and it is highly likely that
much knowledge will be lost (Slagter, 2007). However, the consequences of the loss of
such knowledge should be minimal, with less impact on the future growth and business of
the organisation.
Consequently, the departure of older experts negatively affects strategic workforce
planning, a process ensuring organisations have the right employees, in the right place, at
the right time to execute business strategy (Piktialis, 2007). Many of these departing, older
employees have spent several years in the same organisation, accumulating substantial
expertise knowledge throughout their tenure (Levy, 2011). In addition, organisations not
only face the risk of losing what these departing older experts know, but also who they
know and collaborate with to get work done (Parise, Cross and Davenport, 2005). As a
result, knowledge retention in relation to older experts and the departing older worker is a
process which requires thorough planning and assessment and needs to be embedded
into organisational strategy for timely knowledge transfer, minimising organisational
business loss and risk.
Retaining the knowledge of a departing older expert is a time-consuming process.
Organisations must invest considerable time and effort in retaining this expertise, enabling
them to continue business as usual. Despite organisations having documented
knowledge, there is no guarantee that the knowledge will be interpreted in the correct way
given the context of the situation (Parise et al., 2005). Additionally, workers are five times
more likely to seek help from a colleague than to refer to company documentation
(Deloitte Development LLC, 2008). Ultimately, knowledge and expertise, as a by-product
of human intellect, is the single most important source of strategic competitive advantage
for organisations. Prusak (1996, p. 6) describes competitive advantage as being “…what it
knows, how it uses what it knows and how fast it can know something new”. The „know
why‟ of knowledge continuity is clear, but the „know how‟ is proving to be somewhat
ambiguous (Beazley et al., 2003). Thus, an effective knowledge retention process is
required in order for knowledge to be sufficiently retained, understood and replicated.
3. A Stage Model of Knowledge Retention and the Departing Older
Expert
Knowledge is the single most vital resource for organisations, but it is without value unless
it is readily accessible, communicated and enhanced (Beazley, as cited in Field, 2003).
Knowledge retention can be defined as a process for acquiring, distributing and sharing
knowledge to maximise business continuity (Liebowitz, 2009). Much literature has
concluded that the generic knowledge retention process closely resembles a standard
process model, typically consisting of stages for planning, analysing and implementing.
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Proceedings of 4th European Business Research Conference
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McManus, Wilson and Snyder‟s (2003) knowledge retention process consists of eight
stages. The first stage, focus, identifies the existing knowledge in the retention process.
The second stage, find, determines the key, high-performing individuals in the
organisation. The third stage, elicit, involves extracting a deeper understanding of the
critical activities performed by these individuals. The fourth stage, organise, arranges the
identified knowledge in a coherent way. The fifth stage, package, determines how to
collate the knowledge so that it can be made available as necessary. Completion of these
stages allows for the sharing of captured knowledge from older employees. The sixth
stage, apply, allows other employees in the organisation to apply the knowledge to meet
their needs. The seventh stage, evaluate, assesses the effectiveness of the knowledge
application. The last stage, adapt, involves the ability of the knowledge retention process
to adapt to the new knowledge so that it can be regenerated.
After reviewing literature based on the strategies relating to knowledge retention, we have
developed a stage model of knowledge retention and the departing older expert. Although
many executives are aware of the departing older worker issue, few have retained or know
how to retain their expertise. To eliminate the risk of critical knowledge loss, organisations
should implement a knowledge retention process well in advance of losing the experts.
The following figure (Figure 1) illustrates the proposed knowledge retention stage model,
and each stage will be further discussed in the following section.
Figure 1: Stage model for knowledge retention and the departing older expert
3.1 Identifying Knowledge
The first stage of the knowledge retention process is to identify the knowledge to be
retained. This stage focuses on what the knowledge is and where the knowledge resides.
3.1.1 Identify the Critical Knowledge
Over the course of employment, all employees contribute to the infinite human, social,
cultural and structured knowledge of an organisation (Aiman-Smith et al., 2006).
Moreover, this knowledge can be categorised into two groups: explicit knowledge and tacit
knowledge. Explicit knowledge is documented, structured knowledge, largely residing in
files and databases (Scalzo, 2006). Conversely, tacit knowledge resides in the individual
mind, resulting from personal experiences, actions and values (Liu and Fidel, 2007;
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Proceedings of 4th European Business Research Conference
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Scalzo, 2006). Tacit knowledge can only be passed on through extensive observation,
mentoring and collaboration. Human, social and cultural knowledge typically fall within the
category of tacit knowledge, as it is knowledge that is not easily documentable (AimanSmith et al., 2006).
Human knowledge (skills and expertise) is not restricted merely to those in high executive
positions, and such expertise can reside among older workers in any position. Moreover, it
is the cumulative knowledge of employees (Beazley et al., 2003) that determines an
organisation‟s growth and future. Joe, Yoong and Patel (2013) characterise experts as
having such expertise when there is significant reliance on them, as they are often a single
expert in a particular knowledge area. This knowledge is accumulated throughout many
years of experience, building on the skills of these experts through various qualifications
and training. This knowledge is not necessarily used every day, but can have high
importance, particularly in times of crisis (Scalzo, 2006). Therefore, these key experts are
extremely efficient and productive, making them valuable assets to the organisation.
Social knowledge refers to the relationships and networks that employees establish during
their tenure. Due to their many years in the workforce, departing older experts often have
high social capital, having established contacts both internal and external to the
organisation. More specifically, older experts have established a high level of trust and
credibility within the work environment, contributing to organisational synergy and growth.
These individuals have developed “deep smarts”, which is described as being “…as close
as we get to wisdom. They are based on know-how more than know-what – the ability to
comprehend complex, interactive relationships and make swift, expert decisions” (Leonard
and Swap, 2006, p. 9). Therefore, older experts have the rare skill of locating the right
people at the right time, thus coordinating and performing work to a high standard and in a
timely manner.
Joe et al. (2013) have concluded that cultural knowledge (values and norms) comprises
institutional knowledge, which incorporates the collective knowledge of the organisation,
and how and why it operates the way it does. The authors also found that these experts
have the ability to recall the history and development of the organisation, as they have
been at the forefront, having lived through the changes. Organisational culture, values and
norms are so deeply engrained into routines and practice that cultural knowledge is very
difficult to understand completely without having spent a few years at the organisation.
Contrastingly, structured knowledge is independent of people, residing in systems and
processes (Aiman-Smith et al., 2006). Structured knowledge is valuable as it has
sequential impacts, i.e. a process in one business unit may subsequently have an impact
on another business unit‟s processes, decision-making or problem-solving. Although much
of this knowledge is tangible and documented, it needs to be interpreted and utilised in the
right manner and context to ensure the business is managed effectively and efficiently, not
only internally, but also within the wider environment.
Beazley, Boenisch and Harden (2002) suggest creating a knowledge profile which seeks
to identify the critical knowledge of an organisation. They further recommend that
management assign a group of knowledgeable employees to each job classification to
develop a set of generic questions which will identify the knowledge to be captured in each
profile. Each profile consists of four categories: current operating data, operational
knowledge, basic operational knowledge and background operational knowledge.
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Proceedings of 4th European Business Research Conference
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Managers then select a smaller group of employees within a specific job classification to
modify the questionnaire to better align with their jobs. All employees are required to
answer and regularly update the questionnaire which constitutes the critical operational
know-how of their job. The collective organisational profiles create the knowledge DNA of
the organisation, which can be accessed through a company intranet.
Although identifying the critical knowledge is the first stage in the knowledge retention
process, it is not as straightforward as it may appear. A knowledge profile serves as a
repository enabling employees and management to interpret which knowledge is critical to
both current and future business, thus driving organisational success. Depending on the
source of the knowledge, organisations can calculate the likelihood of this knowledge
departing, formulating strategies to retain the knowledge.
3.1.2 Identify the Source of the Knowledge
There are several different sources of knowledge, including people, documentation,
external sources and databases. However, for the purpose of this literature review, the
focus was solely on people as a knowledge source, particularly departing older experts.
Parise et al. (2005) have identified three contrasting yet influential employee roles that
have an impact on knowledge retention: central connectors, brokers and peripheral
players. Central connectors are employees who have established extensive information
relationships due to having a high level of expertise in many areas. They have high
intellectual capital due to this social capital, which conveys a reputable character as they
oversee smooth daily operations, and are often the “go to person” in times of crisis.
Central connectors are developed through extensive collaboration and interactions.
Developing the social and collaborative skills of an employee is just as important as
developing their technical skills. Investments in social capital have greater benefits than
many technology investments (Deloitte Development LLC, 2008). Central connectors are
at the forefront of projects and initiatives, and organisations aid their development by
placing them in the inner boundaries of a network. Targeted processes such as career
progression enable central connectors to establish the high level of information
relationships necessary to make them well-respected and dependable.
In contrast, brokers play a more subtle role within the organisation. Brokers are defined as
those employees who have connections across all divisions within a network, hence
having the ability to exploit opportunities requiring integration of contrasting expertise
(Parise et al., 2005). Due to the indirect nature of brokers, the extensive knowledge and
organisational perspective that they have is seldom captured during knowledge retention
efforts.
Lastly, peripheral players are those employees with limited network connections, who are
often dissatisfied with their job, and likely to depart the organisation well before retirement.
Due to their disengagement, their knowledge is restricted. During knowledge retention,
peripheral players are often ignored; hence this limited, but sometimes niche, expertise
also leaves the organisation.
As brokers and peripheral players are elusive, often unrecognised, roles in organisations,
particularly those with a large number of central connectors, human resources
departments need to actively identify the roles of each departing older expert, regardless
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of how much knowledge each of the individuals have. It can be argued that the knowledge
lost from peripheral players can be the most detrimental, as there is less chance that the
knowledge would have been disseminated throughout any network, potentially being lost
indefinitely. As a result, identifying all the sources of knowledge is critical in ensuring that
deep, network-embedded, irretrievable knowledge is not lost when older experts leave the
organisation.
3.2 Assessing and Prioritising Knowledge
Following on from identifying the critical knowledge, the next step is to assess and
prioritise it. As mentioned before, organisations have limited time for knowledge retention,
so this stage concentrates on why the knowledge needs to be retained, and in which
order.
3.2.1 Assess the Importance of the Knowledge
Organisations can identify the importance of knowledge by focusing on whether the
knowledge is a critical transfer or it can be discarded due to being irrelevant or obsolete.
Field (2003) argues that the more complex the knowledge, the more difficult it is to
transfer, and the more crucial it is that it be transferred. A knowledge tree (Figure 2) is a
simple method for identifying knowledge importance. Levy (2011) proposes that
importance of knowledge can be examined using financial figures, future ability to support
and innovate and organisational reputation. A knowledge tree includes all knowledge
subjects within an organisation, or stages within a process, enabling organisations to
clearly mark the knowledge branches to be retained and those to be eliminated (Levy,
2011).
Figure 2: Example of knowledge tree (Bohn,
1998)
Each knowledge branch should contain a brief description depicting why the knowledge is
important, e.g. examining the diagram above, we can conclude that knowledge branch X1
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Proceedings of 4th European Business Research Conference
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is critical to the process as it is the foundation for a series of following processes. This is a
crucial step in knowledge retention, as people often tend to retain knowledge that is
easiest to transfer, as opposed to the knowledge that is most important (Levy, 2011).
3.2.2 Assess the Likelihood and Consequences of losing the Knowledge
As employees are increasingly working beyond the official retirement age, organisations
need to use approaches to appropriately assess the likelihood of older experts leaving the
workforce. One method organisations can use is to calculate staff shortages based on
retirement eligibility. By calculating the number of employees that are approaching the
average retirement age in each division, companies get an insight as to how the
organisation is likely to change, and in which divisions capabilities need to be developed
(Calo, 2008). This process allows organisations to increase graduate positions and
promotion rates (Aiman-Smith et al., 2006) to ensure sufficient labour and talent to
mitigate the departing knowledge and capabilities.
After predicting possible employee retirements and departures, organisations can deploy
a social network analysis which aims to recognise the communications and relationships
within an organisation. More specifically, this analysis identifies not only those older
employees that are departing, but also seeks to uncover who these key individuals know,
and how their departure will fragment the organisational network (Parise et al., 2005).
On the other hand, a more conventional method to measure the likelihood and
consequences of losing expertise knowledge is by conducting employee interviews.
Managers can hold discussions or interviews with potentially departing experts, specifically
asking if/when they are planning to retire, or whether they are seeking to reduce their
hours by transitioning to part-time employment. These interviews will not only determine
the probability of departing experts, but will also help target the critical knowledge that
needs retaining (Powers, 1996).
3.2.3 Prioritise the Knowledge
Due to the vast knowledge base an organisation has, and the time boundaries during the
knowledge retention process, knowledge must be prioritised to ensure that the most time
is spent capturing and retaining mission-critical tacit knowledge. Certain knowledge is
deeply embedded into organisational routines so that very few older individuals
understand it, making it remarkably challenging to transfer to other employees (Droege
and Hoobler, 2003).
Organisations can conduct a knowledge loss risk assessment, which is based on two
factors: the retirement factor and the position risk factor (Tennessee Valley Authority,
n.d.). This assessment essentially combines the calculation of staff shortages (retirement
factor) and the knowledge profile and position (position risk factor) of the departing expert.
Tennessee Valley Authority (n.d.) assign a retirement score factor (1-5) depending on
employee age and tenure data, and a position risk score factor (1-5) depending on the
difficulty and effort involved in filling the departing expert‟s position. A low score factor
illustrates low likelihood and minimal consequences of knowledge loss, whereas a high
score factor outlines high likelihood and considerable consequences of knowledge loss.
Both these scores are then multiplied to compute a total attrition factor which helps identify
and prioritise the level of effort required to capture the knowledge. A score of 20-25 is of
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Proceedings of 4th European Business Research Conference
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high priority, 16-19 is of priority, 10-15 is of high importance and 1-9 is of importance.
Using the importance of the knowledge, organisations can then determine whether the
benefits of harvesting the knowledge are higher than the effort required for harvesting it
(Hana, 2012).
Alternatively, the following figure (Figure 3) is a time required vs. time available matrix,
which can also be used to prioritise critical knowledge that needs to be captured and
transferred.
Long
(years)
TIME REQUIRED TO
TRANSFER KNOWLEDGE
 Too much knowledge, too
little time
 Forced to prioritise
knowledge actually
transferred
 Tend to rely on interviews,
debriefs
 So much knowledge, just
enough time
 Best for continuity in
complex roles
 Use multiple mechanisms:
succession planning,
documentation, etc.
 Little knowledge, little time
 Transfer issues depend on
type of knowledge
 Can still “forget” critical
knowledge
 Time to spare
 Best situation
 Danger of delaying, lack of
pressure
 Common methods:
mentoring, communities of
practice, documentation
Short
(hours)
Short (hours)
TIME AVAILABLE TO
TRANSFER KNOWLEDGE
Long (years)
Figure 3: Time required vs. time available prioritising matrix (DeLong, 2004)
This matrix, developed by DeLong (2004), closely resembles a typical prioritising matrix, in
which scenarios are mapped and assessed on a scale of importance and urgency.
However, this matrix has been adapted to the context of knowledge retention, prioritising
knowledge retention based on two factors: time required to transfer the knowledge and
time available to transfer the knowledge. Using this matrix, organisations can respond and
react accordingly, transferring the most pivotal information first. The author further
explains that the relationship between these two factors will vary, depending on the
criticality and amount of the knowledge to be captured.
3.2.4 Mitigate Knowledge Loss
The final step within the assessing and prioritising knowledge stage is to mitigate
knowledge loss where possible. The average cost of replacing a departing worker is
approximately one and a half times their average annual salary (Deloitte Development
LLC, 2008). Ideally, organisations should seek to use equipment and technologies that a
wide range of employees know how to use instead of introducing technologies that only
one employee knows how to use (Tennessee Valley Authority, n.d.). As a result,
organisations prevent themselves from being overly dependent on employees, thus
reducing the impact of knowledge loss due to departing older experts.
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Substantial literature has concluded that phased retirement is an effective and popular
method in mitigating the consequences of knowledge loss (Aiman-Smith et al., 2006;
Piktialis, 2007; Scalzo, 2006; Lahaie, 2005; IBM Business Consulting Services, 2004).
Phased retirement facilitates a gradual transition to retirement, with the employee
continuing to work but with a reduced work schedule (Calo, 2008).
For example, IBM Business Consulting Services (2004) found that an Australian
petroleum company (West Australian Petroleum Proprietary Ltd), incorporates phased
retirement into their organisation to transfer knowledge from retirees to successors. A
replacement employee is found approximately three months before the retirement date
and during the last three months of the departing expert‟s tenure, they [the retiree] work at
a reduced schedule, while earning full salary. For the duration of the three months, they
mentor their successor, until they “are capable of assuming full responsibility for the job”
(IBM Business Consulting Services, 2004, p. 6). This provides organisations with
additional time to retain the expertise captured in the brains of the employees, thus
minimising the effects of knowledge loss.
Several organisations are rehiring employees on a contractual basis as a means of
mitigating knowledge loss (DeLong, 2004). For example, Travelers Insurance has a
programme in place with retired former employees available to fill temporary work needs
(Liebowitz, 2009). The benefit for employers is that they are able to stay connected with
older experts, accessing expertise knowledge if and when it is required. Using this
approach, organisations can continue to draw on expertise knowledge in a timely manner,
whilst eliminating the need for training and avoidable labour costs (DeLong, 2004).
Moreover, older retired experts benefit as they can contribute their knowledge to
organisations on flexible terms without the demands of full-time or even part-time
employment.
3.3 Capturing and Retaining Knowledge
The final stage in the knowledge retention process is to capture and retain the knowledge.
This stage concentrates on how the knowledge will be transferred. It is within this stage
that various knowledge transfer strategies are identified and chosen for implementation.
There are three steps within this stage that help identify how the knowledge retention
process is executed.
3.3.1 Identify Where the Knowledge will be Stored
The first step in retaining and transferring the knowledge is identifying where the
knowledge will be stored. Organisations need to determine whether knowledge transfer
will occur horizontally or vertically. Horizontal knowledge transfer is a process by which
knowledge is shared within (between current employees) the same employee generation,
whereas vertical knowledge transfer occurs between (from old to new employees)
employee generations (Beazley et al., 2003).
Succession planning is the subsequent step, in which key people with the potential to
replace those departing older experts are identified. These key individuals need to have
demonstrated an interest in assuming additional responsibility and possess adequate
skills (Lahaie, 2005) to ensure knowledge is not lost and the business is not compromised.
Succession planning should align with the likelihood of knowledge loss, enabling
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organisations to identify where critical knowledge resides, and how it can continue to be
used (Lahaie, 2005).
3.3.2 Identify Strategies to Transfer the Knowledge
Undoubtedly, this is the fundamental step within the entire process model. Although there
are various knowledge transfer strategies that can be implemented by organisations, it is
critical that the chosen strategy aligns well with time constraints, the essence of the
knowledge and company values. Table 1 below presents these knowledge transfer
strategies as discussed in the literature.
Strategy
Mentoring
programmes
Communities
of practice
Interviewing
Social
interactions
Story-telling
Definition
Experienced employees assisting their
junior employees in developing the
necessary skills and abilities to perform
their job, emphasising personal growth
and expertise
Groups of like-minded individuals,
interacting regularly to share ideas,
knowledge and expertise
Formal conversation between a few
individuals, whereby questions are
asked in order to derive facts or ideas
from the interviewee
An informal exchange between two or
more individuals e.g. casual
conversation during lunch in the
staffroom
The use of expertise and past
experience to convey a message, idea
or knowledge to another individual
References
Aiman-Smith et al. (2006); Lahaie (2005);
Parise et al. (2005); Piktialis (2007);
Powers (1996); Slagter (2007); Tennessee
Valley Authority (n.d.)
Aiman-Smith et al. (2006);
DeLong (2004); Lahaie (2005); Levy
(2011); Powers (2006)
IBM Business Consulting Services (2003);
Parise et al. (2005); Powers (1996);
Tennessee Valley Authority (n.d.)
Liu and Fidel (2007); Scalzo (2006)
Aiman-Smith et al. (2006); Bollinger and
Smith (2001)
Table 1: Knowledge Transfer Strategies
3.3.3 Evaluate Strategies to Transfer the Knowledge
The final step within the knowledge retention process is to evaluate the strategies,
selecting those that will best facilitate the transfer of knowledge. Time is a somewhat
subtle constraint within the knowledge retention process. As managers typically have
limited time to retain and transfer older expertise knowledge, appropriate strategies need
to be implemented to capture departing knowledge. An earlier section discussed each of
these strategies in more detail; however, it is important to note that organisations should
seek to evaluate and implement strategies that will best facilitate the transition and
transfer of the critical knowledge (Christman, 2006), doing what is most practical and
logical. These strategies will vary by organisations‟ needs, the criticality and type of
knowledge (i.e. explicit or tacit).
4. Summary and Conclusion
The purpose of this paper was to describe a stage model of knowledge retention and the
departing older expert. The model has the potential to help knowledge intensive
organisations manage the risk of losing expertise knowledge when older experts depart
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due to retirement or other reasons. Firstly, this model allows human resource and
knowledge managers to identify the importance of incorporating a knowledge retention
strategy in their business practices. Second, without retaining the expertise knowledge of
departing older experts, organisations may find themselves at a loss and business
compromised as a result. Third, by following the stage model proposed, organisations are
able to appropriately identify, assess and prioritise their retention efforts to ensure the
most critical knowledge is retained. Finally the most important implication when retaining
expertise knowledge is that some knowledge will always walk out the door but
organisations must reduce the impact and consequences that this will have.
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