Introduction
Not all organizations are alike, and neither are all knowledge sharing and succession planning challenges. Solutions will depend on the organization and the industry-specific context. An assessment of an organization’s context includes the state of the industry as well as both internal and external influences on knowledge loss and succession planning, such as competition for workers and difficulty hiring skilled workers for craft, trade, engineering, and project management jobs. Such concerns affect which positions are deemed critical for knowledge loss and cause organizational challenges when there is difficulty identifying suitable replacements. While knowledge loss is a concern for the hydropower industry, many organizations lack the bandwidth to prepare for worker turnover adequately and proactively. The following sub-steps can be followed to better define your organization’s context and to begin preparing for knowledge transfer.
Sub-Steps
- Identify Critical and Vulnerable Positions: Identify which positions are most critical and vulnerable to knowledge loss to help lower the impact of turnover in these positions.
- Assess Significant Organizational Challenges: Determine the internal and external challenges your organization faces in the next 1–5 years related to knowledge loss and succession planning.
- Support a Knowledge sharing Culture: Assess and document the knowledge sharing culture within your organization, such as whether knowledge sharing is encouraged by leadership and facilitated by organizational structure and processes.
- Evaluate Knowledge Loss Risk: Use employee and workplace assessment to remove barriers to knowledge sharing.
Tools and Templates
- Job Criticality Assessment
- Significant Challenge Tracker
- Assessment of Knowledge Sharing Culture
- Organizational Context Summary
Other Resources
Identify Critical and Vulnerable Positions
The concepts of criticality and vulnerability are useful when assessing the positions at risk for knowledge loss within an organization. Criticality is the impact of the position on the mission; it is the measure of how important the role is in meeting the organization’s goals and the impact of the position on the organization’s operations. Vulnerability is the measure of how prepared an organization is for succession in the position, whether succession is caused by retirement, switching roles, or resignation/termination.
An assessment of a position’s criticality and vulnerability can be used to help identify priorities for knowledge transfer and succession planning for different positions in an organization. In addition to criticality and vulnerability, identifying knowledge silos or vital areas in the organization to focus on for knowledge retention can help inform knowledge transfer and succession planning decisions. The Job Criticality Assessment is a tool that can be used to determine the criticality of a position. A link to a blank Job Criticality Assessment and a sample of a completed assessment are included below:
Tool: Job Criticality Assessment download form
Sample Job Criticality Assessment, example answers in green
Job Title: Hydropower Plant Maintenance Technician
| Question | Yes/No | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Does this position play a key role in meeting the organization’s goals? | Yes | Can provide troubleshooting of equipment issues during emergency situations so the equipment can stay operational, generating revenue. |
| If no one was in this position, would essential aspects of the organization’s operations be interrupted, causing a delay or halt in productivity? | Yes | Absence of this position could result in the loss of revenue. |
| Does the position require specialized skills or knowledge that may be difficult to find on the job market? | Yes | Hydropower plant equipment is sometimes very specific to that plant and is not easily transferrable to other hydropower plants. |
| Is the position challenging to recruit for? | Yes | There is a general decline of people going into the craft or trades career path. |
| Is the position organization-specific or in a specialized industry? | Yes | Hydropower plant equipment is a niche industry. |
| Does the role take a long time to train for? | Yes | 5 to 10 years with mentoring from other senior technicians familiar with that specific hydropower plant. |
| Is the knowledge necessary for the role mainly tacit knowledge? | Yes | Specific equipment knowledge needs to be documented and shared from senior technicians to junior technicians to make sure knowledge of the nuances of the equipment is passed on. |
Job Title: Mechanical Maintenance Manager
| Question | Yes/No | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Does this position play a key role in meeting the organization’s goals? | Yes | Provides scheduling and direction to the 50 workers that perform heavy maintenance on generating equipment and upkeep of generating facilities. |
| If no one was in this position, would essential aspects of the organization’s operations be interrupted, causing a delay or halt in productivity? | Yes | Schedules would slide, work assignments would not be prioritized, appropriate resources would not necessarily be planned, generator outages could go on longer, work rules may not be followed or applied. |
| Does the position require specialized skills or knowledge that may be difficult to find on the job market? | Yes | While some of the management skills can transfer from other companies or industries, specific knowledge of facilities, worker competencies, work rules, etc. require considerable time or “hand-holding” if a succession plan is not in place. |
| Is the position challenging to recruit for? | Yes | All skilled labor is currently in high demand. In addition, new workers are often reluctant to relocate, making recruiting for this position a little harder. |
| Is the position organization-specific or in a specialized industry? | Mostly yes | This is addressed above. Specific knowledge about the current facilities, work environment, and work means and methods need to be tuned to the “home company.” |
| Does the role take a long time to train for? | Yes | It takes several years of working on crews and a variety of experiences to learn technical knowledge. A person has to show they can fulfill a planning role by acting as foreman or similar. In addition, they need to learn to work with management on more project management components such as scheduling, reporting, records, etc. |
| Is the knowledge necessary for the role mainly tacit knowledge? | Both | This is a strong mix. A lack of either explicit or tacit knowledge can be overcome with time, but lacking either will initially create obstacles. It will require a lot of deferral to the experienced crews who can mislead if they want to. |
The number of “yes” answers is directly related to the criticality of the position. While the boundaries may differ depending on your organization’s priorities, 0–2 yes responses could be considered low criticality, 3–4 moderate, and 5–7 highly critical. If you are unsure, err on the side of caution and put yes; it is better to assume greater criticality than to underestimate it.
Vulnerability can be assessed a bit more simply. If a position has no identified successor, the position is considered highly vulnerable. If there are some potential successors who are far from being well equipped to take on the role or who require more training, this position can be considered moderately vulnerable. If there is an identified successor or multiple identified successors that have the skills and knowledge necessary to immediately step into the role, the position can be considered as having low vulnerability.
When criticality and vulnerability are combined, jobs can be categorized as high, moderate, or low risk per the matrix in Figure 1.
| Vulnerability: No successor position identified for this position | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criticality: Impact of the position on the mission | ||||
| Low Vulnerability | Moderate Vulnerability | High Vulnerability | ||
| Low Criticality | Moderate Risk | High Risk | High Risk | |
| Medium Criticality | Low Risk | Moderate Risk | High Risk | |
| High Criticality | Low Risk | Low Risk | Moderate Risk | |
Figure 1. Criticality and vulnerability matrix
When we read the example of the Hydro Plant Maintenance Technician, we can conclude that it is a highly critical role and has a high impact on the mission. Regardless of vulnerability or whether a successor has been identified, this position is at a moderate-to-high risk for knowledge loss and should be a high priority for knowledge sharing and identifying potential successors.
Other resources are publicly available to help identify positions at risk for knowledge loss. For example, the the Knowledge Loss Risk Assessment Toolkit accessible from the Center for Energy Workforce Development, can help determine the priority level of planning for the position based on the position risk factor and departure factor, similar to the criticality and vulnerability matrix. The Skills Matrix Skills Matrix presented by MindTools can be used to record the skills of the team and assess where there may be skill gaps or critical knowledge loss if a team member leaves the organization. The guide will help you create a matrix for your team based on relevant organizational information.
Assess Significant Challenges
In addition to determining where knowledge loss is most at risk in your organization, it is also helpful to assess the challenges your organization may be facing in the next 5 years due to both internal and external factors. For instance, recruiting, hiring, and retaining qualified workers is currently a pressing challenge for the hydropower industry, as are increasing retirement rates. Another pressing challenge is aging infrastructure and equipment at many hydropower facilities. Knowledge sharing efforts can be adapted as needed to new internal and external challenges as they arise over time.
To review challenges your organization may be facing internally or from outside forces, a variety of methods can be used, such as group brainstorming, surveying stakeholders, reviewing the organization or department strategic plan, and more. The Significant Challenge Tracker template is a resource that can help organize this information. These challenges will help inform priorities and strategies for your organization in the future and help your organization stay on top of potential challenges in the future.
Tool: Significant Challenge Tracker download form
Sample Significant Challenge Tracker, adapted from University of Washington, example answers in green
| Participants | John, Mary, Alexis, Bill | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | |||||
| Internal and External Organizational Challenges | |||||
| Right Now | In the next 2 years | 2–5 years from now | |||
| Internal | External | Internal | External | Internal | External |
| Researcher job opening | Desire to increase ethnic, racial and gender diversity in the industry | Retirements for engineering positions | Industry and Community Outreach? | Retirement of general manager or CEO? | Industry collaboration and network development? |
| Hiring challenges for engineers with 10+ years of experience | Increasing worker retirements causing knowledge loss | Creation of a new research position | New training programming? | ||
| Addressing culture to ensure long-term success of diverse hires and improve retention. | Aging infrastructure and equipment at many hydropower facilities. | ||||
Support a Knowledge Sharing Culture
To support a robust knowledge sharing culture, it is important for an organization to communicate and emphasize its needs from the top down. Investment in knowledge management systems and/or providing dedicated time for staff to learn, cross-train, mentor, and document their knowledge is key to a successful program. However, many hydropower organizations lack the bandwidth to develop or invest in such programs, and there can be barriers or disincentives to knowledge sharing at both the organizational and individual levels. Individual barriers to knowledge sharing may be a result of an organizational process or structure, such as lack of support by persons of influence, organizational silos, weakness in performance management, manager resistance, and rewarding the wrong behavior. , Therefore, a critical step in knowledge sharing is to understand the organizational culture, priorities, and potential barriers to knowledge sharing. There are also hydropower industry-level barriers that can contribute to a lack of knowledge sharing. If aging members of the workforce connect their status as a knowledge-holder to having power within the organization, they may be less willing to share knowledge with others in the organization. It could also be a defense mechanism for feeling like they are not properly rewarded for their experience. Individuals also need time and effective processes that allow for the sharing of knowledge—for example, requiring employees to include knowledge documentation or mentoring as part of their annual performance goals, including upper management accountability metrics or key performance indicators relating to knowledge sharing. This can be more difficult given the physical location of the plants relative to the central office or insufficient time for workers from different positions to physically interact with one another.
There are several key considerations to focus on when understanding an organization’s knowledge sharing culture. The following tool can be used to assess and identify areas of improvement to facilitate improved knowledge sharing.
Tool: Assessment of Knowledge Sharing Culture download form
Sample Job Criticality Assessment, example answers in green
Job Title: Hydropower Plant Maintenance Technician
| Sample Assessment of Knowledge Sharing Culture | ||
| Organizational Context | ||
|---|---|---|
| Key Considerations | Current Status | How to Improve |
| How does management or leadership support knowledge sharing? |
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| Are there rewards, incentives, or requirements for knowledge sharing within the organization? |
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| Does the organizational structure encourage knowledge sharing? Are there consistent methods, areas, or time to share knowledge? If not, what are the obstacles? |
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| Are there current resources, such as templates or trainings, that exist to aid in knowledge sharing within the organization? |
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| Interpersonal and Team Characteristics | ||
| Key Considerations | Current Status | How to Improve |
| Are there built-in processes, such as a knowledge management system, to encourage consistent knowledge sharing within the team? |
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| Does the culture of the team encourage conversation across diverse roles and departments? |
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| Is there resistance to change among the team? |
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| Are there any other perceived challenges to knowledge sharing within the organization or team? |
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| Knowledge Sharing Cultural Characteristics | ||
| Key Considerations | Current Status | How to Improve |
| Does the team give priority to the group over individuals, or vice versa? |
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| Are there any parts of the team that have limited interaction with other groups? |
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| Motivational Factors | ||
| Key Considerations | Current Status | How to Improve |
| Is knowledge seen as a common good or an individual distinction within the team? |
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| Do individuals on the team view knowledge sharing as a benefit for themselves or the team? |
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| Does the team have high levels of trust and cohesiveness? |
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| Are individuals confident in their job security? |
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In the sample template, the hydropower organization identified challenges with their knowledge sharing culture in all areas: organizational context, interpersonal and team characteristics, cultural characteristics, and motivational factors. There is no set time for knowledge sharing, no specific knowledge sharing processes or systems, a reluctance among senior employees to change how they operate, separation of engineering and maintenance teams from other departments, knowledge being seen as an individual distinction, and varying levels of trust and cohesiveness. There are also positive findings, such as an effort to improve knowledge sharing through the use of the toolkit, support for knowledge sharing, a strong team orientation, and employees recognizing the benefits of knowledge sharing.
This information can be used to understand where barriers may exist, such as lack of time, resistance to change, job insecurity, cultural disincentives, or lack of trust. This information can also be used to provide insights into processes and structures to support knowledge sharing, such as making knowledge sharing part of regular job duties or having a platform to facilitate documentation and knowledge sharing. There is an opportunity for organizational leadership to encourage a knowledge sharing culture and to incentivize the practice by adopting processes and tools to support knowledge sharing as part of workers’ roles.
Evaluate Knowledge Loss Risk
The information collected in previous sub-steps can be used to identify critical positions at risk for knowledge loss, areas of concern for organizational and leadership culture, and organizational challenges from within and outside the organization. This information will vary across organizations. These industry workforce trends are used to inform the organizational snapshot and identify and prioritize knowledge loss risk areas.
The Organizational Context Summary template below can help organize this information for reference. The information that is in the sample template was sourced from the previous sections and challenges in Sub-Steps 1a–1c of assessing your organization’s context and situation: identifying critical and vulnerable positions, identifying significant challenges, and assessing your organization and leadership’s knowledge sharing culture. This tool can be used to summarize your organization’s context and situation as it relates to knowledge sharing and succession planning, and it can be used as a reference for further planning.
Tool: Organizational Context Summary download form
Sample Organizational Context Summary, example answers in green
Person Completing: _______________________________
Date: ________________
| Critical Positions:
Using Step 1a, identify the high-risk positions and list all below, starting with the highest priority. | ||
| Position Title | Occupant of Position | Description of Risk (criticality, vulnerability, position risk factor, departure) |
| Mechanical Engineer | Bill | Criticality, Departure, Vulnerability |
| Electrical Engineer | Rosie | Criticality, Departure, Vulnerability |
| Executive Director | Megan | Criticality, Vulnerability |
| Using Step 1b, describe the most significant challenge(s) your organization faces in the present, near term, and long term | ||
| Challenge Time | Description of Challenge | |
| Present | Researcher Job Opening | |
| Near term (within 2 years) | Retirements for Engineering Positions | |
| Long term (2–5 years) | Retirement of Hydropower Plant Maintenance Technician | |
| Using Step 1b, Describe the most significant challenge the hydropower industry faces in your organization’s opinion | ||
| Challenge Time | Description of Challenge | |
| Present | Increasing worker retirements causing knowledge loss | |
| Near-term | Industry and community outreach | |
| Long-term | Industry collaboration and network development? | |
| Organizational and Leadership Culture:
Categorize the cultural characteristics from Step 1c in terms of strengths and areas for improvement as they relate to knowledge sharing. | ||
| Strengths | ||
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| Strength Area | Description of Strength | Mechanisms to Maintain |
| Organizational Context |
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| Motivational Factors |
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| Weaknesses | ||
| Weakness Area | Description of Weakness | Mechanisms to Improve |
| Organizational Context |
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| Interpersonal and Team Context |
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| Cultural Characteristics |
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| Motivational Factors |
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