Workshop on Knowledge Retention
On October 7th I’ll be taking part in a lunch panel discussing the subject of organizational knowledge retention. The information is just below, but more details and registration info can be found here . It should be a great discussion - please join us if you can.
Knowledge Retention: How to Keep Knowledge from Walking out the Door
Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008
Union League Club, 65 W. Jackson Blvd, Chicago?
“In years gone by the physical plant and equipment were the assets to be guarded. Now, increasingly, our most valuable assets walk out the door at five o’clock every day. Though the workers leave the machines and computers behind when they go home, they take the experience and skill-sets with them. If they don’t come back, we’re in deep trouble.” (Source)?
How do organizations identify and deal with capturing and retaining knowledge from employees who are retiring or leaving? Join SLA Illinois and KM Chicago members for an exploration of this important issue and how information professionals can play a relevant role within their organizations.
Lunch Panel
Three KM practitioners will discuss their experiences, followed by a question and discussion session. Bring your questions and comments on this topic!
- Curtis Conley is a knowledge management professional and doctoral candidate at Northern Illinois University. Curtis’ KM experience in professional service firms has included the implementation of tools and processes targeting knowledge retention, capture, sharing and reuse. His dissertation and research focuses on the factors critical for the success of KM initiatives in organizations.
- Laura Claggett is the manager of Knowledge & Library Services at UOP LLC - a petrochemical technology company headquartered in Des Plaines, IL. Her team of knowledge management professionals works on knowledge retention of technical experts, mentoring, technology mapping, social network analysis and document management. Laura has an MLS from the University of Illinois, an MBA from Dominican University, and is an adjunct faculty at Dominican University’s GSLIS.
- Rich Doody is currently a manager within the Knowledge Management group at PepsiCo in Chicago. He was formerly the Knowledge Management Program Leader at Kraft Foods and has extensive experience in proprietary knowledge retention approaches with scientific and technical knowledge. He holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Afternoon Workshop
Facilitator: Kathy Hagen
In order to meet the challenges of today’s competitive environment, organizations must be able to access and use the accumulated experience of their employees. Experienced employees are retiring and changing positions at unprecedented rates. What is your organization doing to make sure that this wealth of knowledge is not walking out the door? This interactive half-day session will focus on identifying critical knowledge, defining knowledge risks and developing a knowledge transfer plan.
Before starting her own business, Kathy held positions that combined knowledge management, process improvement, change management, and information technology in the life sciences, manufacturing, and retail industries. Kathy worked with Deloitte as a Senior Manager heading the Intellectual Capital Practice and served as the Assistant Director of Exploratory Development Informatics and Knowledge Management at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals in Groton, Connecticut. Prior to Pfizer, Kathy Hagen was the principal leading the Global Knowledge Management Practice for Health Care at Computer Science Corporation. Kathy serves on the Leadership Team for the Twin Cities Knowledge Management Forum. She teaches Knowledge Transfer at the Minnesota State College and University System and is a guest lecturer at St. Thomas University Graduate School of Business. For more information, see http://www.klhagen.com/ .
The Bob Hope Deal and KM
I was recently in a discussion with a few folks about the impending retirement of boomers and what this means from a KM viewpoint, a familiar discussion to most working in KM, I’m sure.? The context of the discussion was centered on organizations that still offer early retirement to some of their most knowledgeable staff and why this is such a bad idea.? The thought occurred to me that this is exactly what is happening over at NBC with Jay Leno.
NBC was in such a rush to bring Conan O’Brien to The Tonight Show that they didn’t stop to think about what happens after that - Leno can still do pretty much anything he wants, including hoping over to a rival network.? Eek.? The idea that NBC hopes will keep Leno around is to offer him the “Bob Hope deal” – where he sticks with the network getting to do whatever he wants.?
So, for those retiring boomers out there who are going to be taking all of that knowledge with them, can offering them the “Bob Hope deal” be an option?? Instead of full-retirement, how about offering some of those knowledge workers the chance to work when they want to on innovative or pet projects that they select?? The focused passion of knowledge workers in semi-retirement seems like something almost too good to pass up for both parties.? Emeritus status is common in academia, and far less so in business, but I have seen the title floating around in some companies.? How come this isn’t more common?? Will this designation happen more frequently as organizations look to find ways to cope with some of their most knowledgeable workers leaving??
The KM Exit Interview
The latest Dilbert comic shows us one way to begin the exit interview process…
