Stopping The Brain Drain: How To Capture Key Business Knowledge Before It Walks Out The Door

The verdict is in: More and more baby boomers will be leaving the workplace sooner, rather than later. Many industries are predicting that between 25 and 45% of their more senior employees will soon be departing their organizations. And as they leave, they will be taking vast amounts of accumulated business knowledge with them.

Why the mass exodus? As the age of the workforce increases, a greater number of people will be leaving their jobs due to death, disability, or retirement. For several decades, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has been tracking the numbers of baby boomers leaving the workplace and reports that close to 25 million people will have left the workforce in the years between 1998 and 2008. Of these, 22 million are or will be aged 45 years or older and thus will be leaving mostly to retire. The total number of people who left the labor force between 1988 and 1998 was 19 million. As we near the end of the current period (1998 ? 2008), the oldest baby-boomers are or will be aged 52 to 62 and eligible to retire.

The Graying Workforce

The baby boom began in 1946 and continued through 1964. During those years, 76 million people were born. The unprecedented number of births during this period has had a major impact on many aspects of the economy over the last 50 years, mainly forming the size and age demographics of the workforce for the past 30 years.

In 1978, baby-boomers were aged 15 to 32 and comprised about 45% of the workforce. In 2008 this number will decrease to about 40% but will still add nearly 17 million workers to this age group. As a result, the average age of the workforce will have risen from 38.7 years in 1998 to 40.7 years in 2008.

Retaining Key Business Knowledge

As the baby boomers edge toward retirement, there are three main options they face:

1. They are eligible to leave the company, have the means to do so, and choose to leave

2. They are eligible to leave the company, have the means to do so, but choose to stay

3. They are eligible to leave the company, do not have the means to do so, and must choose to stay

Regardless of the situation, many organizations simply cannot afford to have crucial business knowledge walk out the door. Following are 3 ideas on how companies can best stop the brain drain and capture this knowledge before it is gone forever.

1. Ensure the company has a solid succession planning system in place. By identifying key personnel who can replace a knowledgeable person who will be leaving, cross training can begin as soon as possible

2. Create a company-sponsored mentoring program where more senior, experienced mentors are teamed with less senior, less experienced protégés

3. Carefully map crucial business processes so that they are captured for training and development purposes. Use of process mapping will automatically identify bottlenecks and critical sub-processes that are often contained solely in a person's brain. Once processes are mapped they can be distributed and shared with many people and the company becomes less vulnerable if someone chooses to leave the company.

The reality is that many companies are vulnerable to potential brain drain. For these companies to continue to grow and succeed, it is imperative that they retain as much crucial business knowledge as possible. Use of these three ideas can go a long way to ensure that your company remains healthy and viable.

Dr. Dan Strakal has been an expert on the changing workplace, business life, and career transition for nearly 20 years. He is the coauthor of and contributor to two books, Better Job Search in 3 Easy Steps and Better Job Skills in 3 Easy Steps. He is also the creator of numerous audio programs including Undaunted Courage in Leadership: 7 Lessons From Lewis and Clark, Networking to Increase Your Net Worth, Creating An Empowered Workplace, Increasing Employee Motivation in 3 Easy Steps, Balancing the 7 Sides of the Work and Home Life Equation, and many others. Through his consulting engagements, workshops, and one-on-one coaching sessions, Dr. Dan helps dozens of organizations and hundreds of people each year to overcome the challenges and barriers they face in creating satisfying and successful workplaces. Dan is a former executive in the corporate sector and is now a high energy entrepreneur who brings a well-rounded and realistic perspective to issues occurring within Fortune 500 companies, mid-sized organizations, and small businesses. More info at http://www.capable-consulting.com

In The News:

---

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT: What Brokers Should Know Before They Go
CNNMoney.com - 6 hours ago
( Kristen McNamara writes Practice Management, a column that looks at ways financial advisers can build and improve their business. ...

MedaSorb Technologies Corporation Announces Management Changes
CNNMoney.com - 5 hours ago
These statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. ...

HE-5 Resources, Corp. Announces Reorganizational Changes Are ...
CNNMoney.com - 9 hours ago
New Management stated the following: "We are very pleased to begin our new operations and to share our visions and exclusive development program whit HE-5 ...

Calamos Asset Management cuts 12% of workforce
Chicago Tribune, United States - 2 hours ago
It had $23.8 billion in assets under management as of November, down from $46.2 billion in December 2007. The job cuts were made companywide, except for the ...
Calamos trimming staff by 12% Crain's Chicago Business
Calamos Asset Management, Inc. Reduces Staff as Part of Expense ... PR Newswire (press release)
all 13 news articles

Management Consulting in the Government?
Newsweek - Jan 8, 2009
In the world of management consulting, high-powered and often expensive contractors infiltrate all levels of a company to determine how it can run more ...
Chief Performance Officer: Nancy Killefer TIME
Obama Appoints Government Performance Officer Washington Post
Obama's performance czar has tried to improve IRS The Associated Press
CFO.com Magazine - GovExec.comall 487 news articles

Amazon’s New Management Console Treads Lightly
GigaOm, CA - 6 hours ago
Today, Amazon ( s AMZN) Web Services announced a management console that illustrates how carefully Amazon is playing its role as a platform provider. ...
Amazon Web Services Launches Management Console CMSWire
Amazon Web Services releases web-based EC2 console CNET News
Amazon EC2 launches Web-based management console Examiner.com
ReadWriteWeb - PC Worldall 29 news articles

University of California regents may freeze management pay
Bizjournals.com, NC - 7 hours ago
A pay freeze for senior management of the University of California system will be considered by the UC Board of Regents during a Jan. 14 teleconference. ...

JPMorgan Asset Management's Bull SA Stake Falls To 1.72%
CNNMoney.com - 7 hours ago
PARIS -(Dow Jones)- JPMorgan Asset Management's stake in French IT company Bull SA (BULL.FR) has fallen through the 5% threshold to 1.72%, according to a ...

Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold Network Management Gives Back in 2009
MSNBC - 14 hours ago
LEXINGTON, MA - Ipswitch, Inc.'s Network Management division, the leading developer of affordable and easy to use network management software, WhatsUp Gold, ...

Peregrine management drops buyout plan, shares fall
Reuters - 11 hours ago
JOHANNESBURG, Jan 9 (Reuters) - South African wealth and asset management firm Peregrine Holdings Limited (PGRJ.J) said on Friday a management buyout plan ...

management - Google News

Dont Take New Hires for Granted

Hiring good people is only half the battle. The other half is keeping them, especially in a relatively strong economy where quality people are difficult to attract.Let's... Read More

The Retailers Calendar

The Julian calendar we use to pass the time every day, every week, every month and every year is the one most commonly used by businesses. Its... Read More

Conquering the Number One Problem in Business--Poor Communication

The Number One problem in business is poor communication: between coworkers, with clients, across functional areas, up the food chain. When I ask anyone I meet "What's... Read More

Preparing a Budget

Ok, you say, I know I need a budget, but how do I prepare one? The most common budget period is one year, but this can vary... Read More

Crisis Management Essentials - How to Communicate Effectively During a Crisis, Emergency or Disaster

A crisis, emergency or disaster can happen at anytime and anywhere.Just ask the residents of Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory.Imagine a late afternoon on Christmas Eve thirty... Read More

Hiring a Book Keeping Service

Whether you choose to do your own books and accounting or hire those services out there are a few things you should know first.A good book keeping... Read More

Unveiling the Value of Your Expertise

All of us have knowledge, expertise, and experience that others can benefit from. This is one of the reasons we play some of the roles in life... Read More

Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges and Solutions

Workplace diversity refers to the variety of differences between people in an organization. That sounds simple, but diversity encompasses race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, cognitive style,... Read More

Recruitment - What Youre Really, Really Looking For

Imagine that you're a sports coach and you need a new player on the team. Would you walk up to someone in the street and say -... Read More

Enable Continuous Improvement of IT Services through ITIL

One of the major benefits, if not THE benefit of process orientated approaches to managing your IT services and infrastructure is that it enables continuous improvement.This means... Read More

Basic Management Skills

Recent studies have shown that industrial supervisors are working at less than 60 % of their potential. Basic management skills training is guaranteed to change all this... Read More

Holding Effective Meetings Can Be Easier than You Think!

I'm sure you've experienced those typical "headache" meetings! You know the kind I'm talking about -- the ones where the key players are running late, no one... Read More

Do You Hear That?

I read a report in the Toronto Star stated that 70% of workplace errors happen because of communication breakdown and that many of them directly relate to... Read More

Squeezing the Blood Out of that Old Turnip

I suspect all of you out there have someone that you rely on for insight and perspective ? that wise old mentor that seems to have an... Read More

Managing People - No More Mr Tough Guy

I believe the media and our culture sends the wrong messages about how to manage people and this makes it difficult for Business Owners and Managers.We've all... Read More

The Key to Successful Performance Objectives

Have you ever tried to drive somewhere without proper directions? This almost always turns out to be a frustrating experience. Sure, if you stop and ask enough... Read More

Planning For Growth

Are you planning your business or are you planning your growth? If you are like many high-performing business people, you have an annual ritual... Read More

Think Time... Its Now Or Never

I recently read an article published in the June, 2005 issue of Fast Co. magazine. Linda Tischler wrote an essay entitled "Death to the Cubicle!" In it,... Read More

Creativity Management and Behaviour

What behaviour maximises the chances of thinking of great ideas? What behaviour maximises the ability to nurture ideas until they begin to reveal their potential?To begin answering... Read More

One Crazy Cookie

In order to survive, you have to be happier than if you were in your right mind. Chinese Fortune Cookie When orienting someone new to the company,... Read More

5 Questions Great Managers Ask (and they arent hard!)

However hard we try, we seem to make life more difficult for ourselves; more challenging; more complex. Yet it needn't be so. try out these five questions... Read More

Make Them GLAD Youre Their Boss

Criticism has the power to do good when there is something that must be destroyed, dissolved or reduced, but it is capable only of harm when there... Read More

Delegation Obstructions

OBSTRUCTIONS: 1. Staff deficiencies. Lack of confidence in employees quite understandably leads to a reluctance to delegate. When deficiencies exist, action must be taken to restructure jobs... Read More

How To Turn Business Losses Into Cash Flow

When the typical new business operator starts a business, they concentrate on making the business succeed. That is necessary but not the only thing that a business... Read More

Work Life a Balancing Act

Australians are loosing their laidback, carefree reputation, as we continue to work longer hours, exercise less and neglect our leisure and family time.Recent research indicates that 67... Read More

Great Hires: Avoid Costly Mistakes

Picking people for a job is like going to the store to buy apples. Before you go, you ought to know whether the apples are... Read More