Planning for Retirements and Operational Success

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By Kim Morris Lee, Director Organizational Effectiveness

It is a reality that many employees are considering retiring in the near future. How will UIC respond to this fact?

Regardless of perspective, proactive or reactive, the current workplace talent situation requires action. Planning for employee departures ensures college/unit operational success.

The first action point to address in this planning process is the identification of “critical knowledge holders” or CKHs in the department. A CKH is defined as any employee with knowledge that is either important or critical to the college, unit or university strategic objectives, unique in higher education, requires substantial training to obtain and/or is UIC-specific.

The Knowledge Loss Risk Assessment tool is one option to consider for identifying key talent. Completing the assessment is simple and allows for calculation of a Total Attrition Factor (TAF) to help prioritize the creation of detailed “Knowledge Transfer” plans for the identified critical role(s).

Perception of occupational stress need not rise solely because of pending announcements of employee retirements. Take a deep breath --- now consider: What positions will be vacant due to retirement? Are they all CKHs? Keep in mind, a critical role is not always determined by organizational hierarchy. Key positions are those that have a significant impact on effective and efficient service delivery; and, ultimately, on UIC’s overall operational performance.

The second action point is creating a plan to capture knowledge of CKHs before they depart --- weeks and, if possible, months before the “last day.” Documenting the Knowledge Transfer Plan is the first step. Actual implementation follows with consistent focus on details. While sophisticated technology can be used to document, implement and monitor talent management processes, a simple paper-based knowledge transfer tool is an option for UIC management to create a Knowledge Transfer Plan. Using this tool, management may begin documenting a process to transfer knowledge associated with critical department roles that may be lost to retirement soon.

Many organizations use automated Talent Management systems to track knowledge sharing and transfer across CKHs. Such systems make employee development and knowledge transfer an integrated business process. With such processes, there is higher probability of uninterrupted service delivery as employees leave the organization. While UIC does not have an integrated, automated system to monitor talent acquisition, on-boarding, development and separation, it does have other tools that may be used.

In the absence of a robust, automated Talent Management system, solutions like web conferencing, online chat, screen sharing, and online workspaces may help minimize “translational loss” when creating a knowledge transfer plan. These tools offer options to refer back to previous conversations or projects and leave a “paper trail” that can be traced to confirm processes and standard procedures.

When creating a Knowledge Transfer Plan, it's best to avoid a “one-size-fits-all approach” in the name of administrative simplicity. The focus should be on optimizing information transfer rather than standardizing a process. From a university-wide perspective, it is more efficient to have a framework for guidance to develop a plan. The plan will look different across colleges/units and may include some of these common knowledge transfer practices: facilitated training, one-on-one mentoring, communities-of-practice, lessons-learned sessions, knowledge audits and targeted interviews.

At UIC and any organization that is mission focused, it is necessary to maximize knowledge retention/transfer using a proactive, long-term strategy that is supported by senior management and woven into the cultural fabric of the organization. It is an indisputable fact that there will be planned and unplanned attrition. Implementing and sustaining knowledge transfer processes will minimize productivity losses as employees depart.

Managers across UIC should consider developing workforce assessment skills to identify and document critical knowledge roles and responsibilities associated with these roles. These skills will prepare management to capture the institutional knowledge that is necessary for continued operational success across UIC’s colleges, departments and administrative units.