It’s well publicized that the looming retirement wave of Baby Boomers represents perhaps the largest transfer of wealth in history but less written about is that this event may also represent the largest transfer of knowledge. The 20th century experienced a shift from the industrial worker, where the power was held by the owners of the machinery, to the knowledge worker, who takes the company’s greatest asset with them when they walk out the door. But some companies, according to a report by Bloomberg Business, are doing something about this issue.
Most of the time, we read about the retirement crisis in terms of people not financially prepared to retire and the burden that puts on an employer who has to pay higher healthcare and disability costs while employing people that may not be in their most productive years but might be earning the most money in their careers. But for some industries like consulting and engineering, the experience of the older workers is invaluable. Millennials represent 20% of management positions but have only an average of three years’ tenure at their companies while workers 55-64 years old have 10 years.
Millennials tends to rely on data and analytics but Baby Boomers can help when data is not enough using their experience. There’s a pronounced difference between wisdom gained through understanding (training and education) and experience. Through training, workers know what to do in normal circumstances; through experience, you know what to do when the unexpected happens. Though contact lists can be shared, relationships developed over decades are not as easily transferred.
Bloomberg reports that larger companies have instituted mentoring and formal knowledge transfer programs to help stem the tide of Boomers about to retire. And it’s ironic that the people in the best financial position to retire are probably the ones that companies will want to retain.
