Introduction
After assessing your organizational context, the next step for knowledge sharing and succession planning is to document the competencies and skills of jobs at risk for knowledge loss and look for complementary jobs in the organization. Once job descriptions have been aggregated and complementary roles have been identified, you can begin identifying individuals or positions that are qualified for transitions, prioritizing at-risk roles. Fundamental to this effort is some form of knowledge management system, such as Google Drive, SharePoint, or Microsoft Teams. Systems can range in their level of sophistication, from electronic file directories to databases. A consistent platform for documenting job information can help improve future accessibility and use of the collected information.
Sub-Steps
- Build Job Profiles: Capture all explicit and tacit knowledge necessary to do a particular job well, including critical day-to-day tasks and duties and necessary skills and competencies. Work with individuals currently in the role to document all relevant information. Information should be updated on a regular basis.
- Identify Complements Between Positions: Determine which individuals and positions are most qualified to succeed other positions.
- Identify Transitions: Identify individuals that have the necessary skills, competencies, and desire to step into different or next-level roles as part of succession plans.
Tools and Templates
Other Resources
Build Job Profiles
Building job profiles is an important step in the knowledge sharing and succession planning process. This step is used to document what skills are necessary for a position. Paired with the identification of crucial roles at risk of knowledge loss, job profiles are a stepping stone to building a high-quality succession plan.
Organizations should leverage information and resources they already have as a baseline, including existing job descriptions or requisitions. While existing job descriptions tend to focus more on the explicit or technical knowledge, job profiles should go a step further and describe both the explicit and tacit knowledge that are necessary to do a particular job well. The job profile should also capture the selection criteria that would be used to fill the position if it were vacant and could be based on a recent job requisition used to hire for the position. Job profiles give a comprehensive summary of the day-to-day tasks and duties for each role, the skills and competencies necessary to do the tasks, and the tacit knowledge acquired in the role. We should view these job profiles as an extension of a job description. The profiles will tend to be less formal and likely include more information than a complete job description, but they should be compatible with a company’s formal descriptions. The profiles also differ from job descriptions in that they include more information about how to be successful in the role, including tacit knowledge, rather than just offering the duties of the role like the formal description. This tacit knowledge can include historical knowledge, in-depth technical expertise beyond normal expectations, and considerations for engagement within the industry and company.
Individuals currently in the role can provide information about the skills and knowledge required to be successful in the role. When using existing employees to help develop the profiles, it is important to communicate that the information they provide is not being used to replace them. Employees may fear that their input could negatively affect their jobs, which could make them reluctant to provide high-quality information. However, by clearly communicating how sharing information about their roles can be beneficial—for example, they can help grow the industry and prepare their company for worker turnover from attrition or retirement—employees may have a greater sense of security and be willing to share. If hiring for a vacant role, job descriptions can be used to convey the technical knowledge, skills, and abilities that a new worker will require to be a qualified candidate. It is important to understand the full scope of each job and its relevant knowledge in advance of worker turnover to capture all relevant tacit and explicit knowledge needed to succeed in the role.
The source of the tacit knowledge should be considered to verify the reliability of the knowledge that is being shared. Informal leaders, or those with some influence or prestige among an employee group, can be great sources of knowledge, especially those that are known for taking time to help, communicative and share their learning, and follow accepted work processes and procedures. Finding a way to bring prestige to these informal leaders to ensure that other employees understand the knowledge they have and how it may be useful to them can allow for growth among all employees and greater interactions within the group.
The Hydropower Career Map is a useful resource that provides descriptions of vocational and degreed professions in the hydropower industry. These job descriptions could serve as a starting point for developing job profiles and aligning them with company career management strategies and pathways for critical positions in an organization.
The following is a sample Critical Success Factor Worksheet adapted from the University of Washington’s Succession Planning Toolkit. This worksheet can be used to develop an overview of a position and the requirements, skills, competencies, institutional knowledge, and relationships to use as a basic job profile. If an existing job description or recent job requisition for a role does not exist, this worksheet can be filled out in collaboration with or by the incumbent in the role to document the scope of the job.
Tool: Critical Success Factor Worksheet download form
Sample Critical Success Factor Worksheet:
| Name | Megan Kreach | |
|---|---|---|
| Position Title | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Minimum Required Education | B.S. in Engineering (Mechanical, Industrial, or Systems) or Computer Science | |
| Job Summary | ||
| Division / Group | ||
| Job Description | ||
| Work Experiences | ||
| Tasks | ||
| Frequent (Daily) | ||
| Work closely with manufacturers, design teams, and customers to develop standards for design and production as well as meet national and international industry standards | ||
| Develop, implement, test, analyze, revise, and improve hydropower component manufacturing processes | ||
| Document and report defects or problems with the components | ||
| Semi-Frequent (Weekly) | ||
| Work closely with suppliers to ensure hydropower parts and components are produced according to product specifications | ||
| Ensure the prerequisites and specifications for installation of each component are met during hydropower site construction and find alternate solutions that align with the existing timeline and budget when issues arise. | ||
| Sometimes (Monthly) | ||
| Work with hydropower technicians as needed during the operations and maintenance phase of hydropower to identify the cause of malfunctions, component failures, or other issues that prohibit hydropower technologies from functioning properly. Develop and implement a plan to improve performance when a problem or nonconformance is reported and then monitor, record, evaluate, and report on improvements. | ||
| Use their knowledge of construction and component requirements to allow project engineers and developers to determine whether a proposed site is acceptable or if they recommend alternate locations. | ||
| Estimate how different aspects of site storage or inspection schedules will affect the project deployment timeline and cost | ||
| Infrequent (Less than Monthly) | ||
| Perform process and product audits both internal to their organization or company as well as in their supply chain | ||
| Provide training to establish an understanding of product requirements and provide workers and suppliers the tools necessary to meet schedules, specifications, and organizational goals | ||
| Skills and Competencies | ||
| Core Competencies | Technical Competencies | |
|
X Communication |
o Project Management | |
| What other skills are needed in this role? | ||
|
o __________________ o __________________ |
o Advanced Mathematics | |
| Are there any tools or software used consistently in this role? | ||
| X Yes: Blueprint Software | ||
| Knowledge | ||
| What unique technical knowledge is needed to succeed in this position? | ||
|
| ||
| What unique institutional knowledge is needed to succeed in this position? | ||
| ||
| Does anyone else have this knowledge in the organization? | ||
| Name | Position Title | |
| Bert Camus | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| What problems do you frequently have to address in your role, and how do you address them? | ||
| Common Problem | Solution | |
| Malfunctions, component failures, or other issues that prohibit hydropower technologies from functioning properly. | Work with hydropower technicians to identify the cause, develop tests to confirm, and implement solutions to ensure that they run correctly. | |
| Is there common vocabulary or acronyms used that are specific to this role? | ||
| Term/Acronym | Meaning | |
| Are there any standard operating procedures or process documents related to the role? | ||
| SOP/Process Title | Link | |
| Relationships | ||
| What relationships are critical to this position? | ||
| Wally Warner | Chief Dam Safety Engineer | Understand the expected response effort during an event.
Understand the vulnerabilities of the site. Ensure documentation is current. |
| Winston Williams | Dam Safety Engineer | Understand the expected response effort during an event.
Understand the vulnerabilities of the site. Ensure documentation is current. Assist in EAP exercises and review of the inundation mapping. |
| Sparky Sputnik | Lead Operator | Understand the expected response effort during an event.
Understand the vulnerabilities of the site. Ensure documentation is current. Assist in community outreach. |
| Plans for Sharing Knowledge | ||
|
X Process Documentation |
o Job Rotation | |
The sample worksheet shows a job profile for a Quality Assurance Engineer, Megan Kreach. The template was developed by sending the document to the employee to complete. After the template is completed by the employee, a meeting should be scheduled between the employee and manager to review and clarify the information. The discussion should also cover the most effective methods to share knowledge based on the common tasks listed and whether Megan would be willing to partake in sharing knowledge in the next few years (and how knowledge sharing would occur). It is important to be open and forthcoming with the incumbent employee throughout the process to get quality information and to alleviate concerns about knowledge sharing.
Other Tools:
- The Transition Planning Interview Guide created by the National Institutes of Health provides questions to organize the gathering of job profile information. Critical jobs should be prioritized, but ideally all positions in an organization should be documented.
- Skill surveys can also be used to assess competencies on a Likert scale, which is a rating system designed to measure people’s attitudes, opinions, or perceptions (e.g., from “never heard of it” (1) to being able to teach it to others (5)). A skills inventory should be created for the entire organization, and an employee at each position can rate each skill. The skills in the survey will be unique to your organization but can include communication, program management, policy analysis, working with clients, or any technical skill necessary in the organization. An example of a question with a Likert Scale response is shown below:
Skill: Understanding mechanical and electrical hydropower component functionality
| Never heard of it (1) | Somewhat familiar (2) | Heard of it but can’t teach it (3) | Can teach components of it (4) | Can teach it to others (5) |
- Knowledge mapping is a visual exercise that can be used to break down processes into ideas, steps, and concepts, as well as add connections to other parts of the role. The SOP template, developed by Proceed.app, can be used to create standard operating procedure (SOP) documents for processes that are repeated consistently in a role. The completed SOPs can be added to the Critical Success Factor Worksheet so that individuals can easily link to the processes that are most common in the role.
- The EPA Knowledge Retention Spreadsheet for Small Water Systems is another useful tool to organize job information. This worksheet, while focused on small water systems, provides a helpful template to identify and organize knowledge and competencies for job documentation. It is organized as an Excel spreadsheet and can be customized for industry or organization-specific roles.
Identify Complements Between Positions
Once you have built job profiles and understand the skill requirements across your organization, complements or connections between existing positions should be identified. This effort should determine which positions are best qualified to succeed other positions, with a focus on the positions rather than the individuals filling those positions. Ideal successors will have similar duties and day-to-day experiences in functional areas and tasks as well as similar skills. There may also be a position that cultivates the skills necessary for another position, which could be a potential successor.
In hydropower, complementary positions could include a surveying technician and a surveyor. Roles can also be transferred across project stages: lawyers specializing in project development can be transferred into operations, for instance. One key resource that can help in this activity is the Hydropower Career Map. This resource provides descriptions of typical jobs in hydropower and can be helpful in identifying succession planning opportunities. Transferrable skills should also be considered, which may help workers move to positions in other areas of their organization by leveraging skills that are relevant but may not be in direct alignment with a new role, such as analysis, leadership, or communication.
Another way to find complements between positions is to encourage employees that have an overlap in skill sets to meet and complete their critical success factor worksheets together. This would ensure an exhaustive list of knowledge and skills are captured, as well as encourage knowledge sharing within the team.
Identify Transitions
In addition to finding connections and complementary positions, it can be helpful to identify individuals that are currently qualified for a transition. This can be based on job connections previously identified, or it can focus more on an individual worker. Strong candidates are high performers who embody the organization’s values and have the necessary skills and competencies for the position. Emphasis should be on individuals who have aligned duties, similar day-to-day experiences, and core competencies.
An individual does not need to be fully qualified for a position at present. Individuals can be identified based on their potential, and additional skills can be developed to help them fill the next role. The Individual Transition tool, adapted from the University of Washington’s Succession Planning Toolkit, identifies the individual, target position, readiness level, and action plan.
Tool: Individual Transition Template download form
Sample Individual Transition Template:
| Name | Jim Henderson |
|---|---|
| Current Situation | |
| Position Title | Surveying Technician |
| Department | Surveying |
| Years in Current Position | 5 |
| Current Supervisor | Martin Harrison |
| Targeted Situation | |
| Targeted Position Title | Surveyor |
| Exhibited Competencies |
|
| Competencies to Grow |
|
| Readiness (now, within 1 year, 2 years, 3–5 years) | 3–5 years |
| Action Plan | |
| |
In this example, we illustrate a clear career progression in the hydropower industry: the transition from a survey technician to a surveyor. Given Jim Henderson’s standing within the company and 5 years of experience as a survey technician, he was recommended as a quality candidate to move into a surveyor role. They notified Jim of the plan and what competencies he was expected to grow to reach the surveyor role. They then created an action plan in tandem with Jim and his supervisor John, which will be used to create the learning plan for effective knowledge sharing and succession planning.