Home >> Development Initiatives >> Knowledge Transfer >> Step 1

Identify Knowledge at Risk

Identify — where critical knowledge exists and who possesses it. The first step in retaining knowledge is to identify what essential knowledge is at risk. Management must identify positions that are key to its business goals and objectives. A key position is not necessarily determined by the location of the position on an organizational chart, but rather by its influence on the organization's performance. The same jobs can exist in different offices and not have the same levels of importance.

Sometimes a particular type of job plays a key role within an organization. There may be several positions in that role (e.g., Correctional Officers), but they are not all "key positions." In such cases, a combination of position attributes and critical employee knowledge and skills is the deciding criterion that makes a position "key." This is the difference between a "key role" and a "key position".

Once key positions are identified, employees who possess knowledge that is both crucial and unique to those positions should be identified. The manager should make extensive efforts to retain those employees' knowledge through application of an appropriate transfer model. (See Tips for Identifying Employees with Critical Talent.)

A. Tips for Identifying Key Positions:

The above list of criteria is adapted from the New York's Succession Planning Criteria for a Key Position program. For use in the North Carolina BEACON HR/Payroll system, see the definition and label choices for identifying "Key Position" in the new system.

Once key positions and employees have been identified, assessments of their criticality should be conducted to assist management in focusing on the most significant knowledge issues. Guidelines for conducting a Knowledge Loss Risk Assessment are described below:

B. Position Risk Factor:

Apply a rating scale of 1 - 5 (as identified below) to the position being assessed to estimate the level of difficulty involved in replacing the incumbent in the position. The value assigned is the "position risk factor" and helps management assess the overall attrition risk. The following lists of evaluative criterion were adapted from the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Knowledge Retention Program:

5 — Critical and unique knowledge or skills. This is mission-critical knowledge, agency- or unit-specific knowledge that is undocumented and requires three to five years of experience to bring skills to journey level. No skilled replacement is available to move into the position.

4 — Critical knowledge and skills. The knowledge and skills are mission-critical. Limited duplication exists in other positions/units or divisions, and only limited documentation exits to guide employee moving into this position. It requires two to four years of focused training and experience.

3 — Important organizational knowledge and skills. Documentation exists for the knowledge and skills and/or other personnel on site possess the knowledge/skills necessary to be successful in these positions. Applicants can generally be trained in one to two years.

2 — Procedural or Non-Mission-Critical knowledge and skills. Clear, up-to-date procedures exist. Training programs in place are current and effective. Training can be completed in less than one year.

1 — Common knowledge and skills. External hires possessing the knowledge/skills are readily available and require little additional training.

For additional detailed information and tools to assist in cultivating a prepared workforce, see the Succession Planning, Career Development, and Retention websites.

C. Retirement/Departure Factor:

Apply a rating scale of 1 - 5 (as described below) to estimate the timing and probability of the incumbent retiring or leaving the key position.

Attrition data can be gathered at least two ways at present: A manager's survey of employee population to get an estimate of probable retirement dates, or manager's awareness of the career paths of their staff (are some employees looking to advance their careers by moving on to another job, or might some be less than happy in their current job?)

5 — Projected attrition date within one year

4 — Projected attrition date within one to two years

3 — Projected attrition date within two to three years

2 — Projected attrition date within three to five years

1 — Projected attrition date is more than five years

The two parts to this exercise will give managers a starting point in taking charge of retaining critical knowledge and preventing its loss in their work unit. The focus should be on positions that really are critical, where knowledge loss would present the greatest threat to the success of the work unit.

Once the critical knowledge has been identified, it can be prioritized according to the level of importance and effort required to replace it if lost. (See Guide to Identifying Critical Knowledge in the Knowledge Transfer Toolkit).

The projected attrition dates add the dimension of urgency to the situation. Managers can make an assessment as to how quickly they must apply a solution to stop the leakage of intellectual capital from their unit and the organization.

The total attrition factor will help managers determine the level of urgency, the amount of effort that might be required, and the options available to mitigate the impending knowledge loss. To calculate the overall attrition risk factor for the position, a simple calculation is done:

Position  Risk  Factor (PRF) x  Retirement/ Departure Factor (RDF) = Total Attrition Factor (TAF)

To further give value to the Total Attrition Factor, a weighting scale is described below:

Planning should include method and timing of replacement, recruitment efforts and the method by which knowledge will be transferred.

Assess how position will be filled in the future.

Recognize the functions of the position and determine the transfer timing and methods.

Once a Total Attrition Factor has been assigned, a manager can then create a report revealing all the "hot spots" for the work unit relative to loss of critical knowledge.

From such a report, a plan can be devised for controlling or mitigating the adverse effects of impending loss of hard-to-replace knowledge. See the Risk Assessment Worksheet — APPENDIX-E & the Knowledge Retention Plan — APPENDIX-H in the KT Toolkit to assist with defining and assessing criticality.