Manpower recently surveyed 2,000 businesses throughout North America to ask them about their turnover expectations as well as how they currently handle knowledge transfer. According to our research, employers expect fewer than 5 percent of their workforce to voluntarily leave their positions in 2010—even as the economy improves. But are these expectations realistic?

According to employees, the answer is no. Recent research conducted by Manpower subsidiary Right Management reveals that 60 percent of the employees surveyed say they plan to leave when a new opportunity presents itself. Even if this seems unrealistically high, cut it in half. What would happen in your organization if 30 percent of your key employees left?

When thinking about attrition, what comes to mind most frequently is how challenging it will be to hire a new employee. There’s the time and cost it takes for recruiting, interviewing and hiring a new staff member. But the cost of turnover is a lot more than the recruiting cost. Those leaving your organization take knowledge with them—knowledge about how to do their jobs, plus knowledge about the culture, people, clients, vendors and how to get things done. This institutional knowledge is a valuable resource and when it walks out of your doors, a serious gap can develop. One way to close the gap is with a knowledge retention and transfer strategy.

You can approach knowledge retention and transfer strategy from many angles. Some companies carefully document job roles. Some identify employees who have been cross-trained and can fill in when turnover happens. Others use succession planning strategies to identify critical positions and key performers who can be developed for leadership roles. All of these are good strategies that should be implemented to ensure a smooth transition when turnover occurs.

Knowledge retention and transfer throughout the employee life cycle

There is a broader view of knowledge retention and transfer—a strategy that facilitates knowledge transfer throughout all phases of the employee life cycle.

Every phase of the employee life cycle—from the time an employee is recruited and on-boarded to long-term retention, and eventually to promotion or exit—presents an opportunity to share knowledge. There are many advantages for employers who are aware of the importance of protecting that institutional knowledge, including:

• New employees become productive more quickly.

• Once productive, employees are sharing unique knowledge with others.

• Employees can use the knowledge-sharing skills they’ve developed upon promotion or exit from the company.

To understand how you can cultivate knowledge retention throughout the employee life cycle, we will look at steps you can take during each phase. It starts with recruiting. During the interview process, and particularly as you’re making the job offer, help the candidate understand how important knowledge sharing is in your organization. Let recruits know about any technology tools you have for collaboration and sharing, such as an intranet site or a wiki. Be direct with candidates and tell them it is a job requirement to be open and transparent with what you know and that behavior is a key measure of success for employees.

During the next phase, orientation, introduce the new employee to appropriate subject matter experts within the company—and encourage those relationships to flourish. You may even want to consider establishing a formal mentoring relationship where a seasoned employee provides knowledge and guidance to help a new hire navigate your unique culture.

During the retention phase, employee engagement is the top priority because engaged employees are more likely to stay with the company. There are plenty of ways to keep employees engaged, and you should think about each of these practices in terms of knowledge sharing and transfer.

For example:

•  Career paths for all employees should be a given. Part of career path development should include cross-training. It isn’t a punishment to know someone else’s job and fill in if they leave.  Rather it is a stepping stone to an exciting lateral move or a promotion.

•  Include knowledge sharing and transfer in your reward and recognition programs. Explicitly reward employees who are transparent and free with their institutional knowledge.

•  During employee satisfaction surveys, ask employees if they feel they are given the institutional knowledge to succeed. We know we tend to do what is measured; so if you have metrics to support and reinforce knowledge sharing, more of it will take place.

Finally, consider what happens when someone moves on. Whether it is because of a lateral move, a promotion or they leave the company, the training of successors should happen before notice is given. Throughout your key employees’ careers, succession plans, cross-training and formalized training should take place. But in addition to the formal training, general knowledge sharing about the culture, the people and the history of the company should take place. When it comes to exit time, be explicit about identifying and prioritizing the key pieces of knowledge that must be transferred, then hold both the exiting employee and those being trained accountable to ensure that transfer takes place.

Successful knowledge retention, transfer

A successful knowledge retention and transfer strategy spans the employee life cycle—from recruiting to orientation, to retention to exit. At every stage, you have the opportunity to reinforce and reward those who actively share their expertise and institutional knowledge with their coworkers. The cost of turnover is a lot more than the money it takes to recruit a replacement. The job and institutional knowledge that walks out the door could cause problems in your organization and prevent you from meeting your business objectives. A proactive knowledge retention and transfer strategy will ensure that the investments made now in hiring and training are not lost over the long term.

		Debra Clem is the executive vice president of Manpower of Lansing, Inc.