The primary goals of continuity management are to preserve and then enhance the critical operational knowledge of departing employees by transferring that knowledge to their successors in such a way that the successors can internalize that knowledge, apply it, and create new knowledge from it as quickly as possible. This phase of continuity management—knowledge acquisition—is focused on the goal of moving new hires quickly up the learning curve, making them as productive as possible as rapidly as possible, and turning them into high-performing employees for whom innovation and knowledge creation are both facilitated and characteristic.
The harvesting of knowledge, the transfer of knowledge, and the acquisition of knowledge are three different, but related, processes. In continuity management:
Knowledge harvesting is accomplished primarily through the knowledge questionnaire (K-Quest) administered to all participating employees and supplemented by knowledge gathered, compared, and exchanged in the PEAK meetings of peer incumbents and other forums for sharing knowledge among peers.
Knowledge transfer is accomplished primarily through the knowledge profile, which contains the critical operational knowledge for each job classification and for each job within that classification.
Knowledge acquisition is accomplished primarily through the design and content of the knowledge profile, the process through which the profile is presented to successor employees, and the organizational culture and reward systems, which support both the creation of the profile and the acquisition of the knowledge it contains.
Knowledge transfer does not ensure knowledge acquisition. It is tempting to focus on knowledge transfer at the expense of knowledge acquisition and to settle for an elaborate transfer system that nonetheless fails to result in the acquisition and subsequent application of operational knowledge by new hires. The knowledge transfer and acquisition process is governed by various principles that determine the most effective processes, procedures, and activities. These principles are derived from:
Research on the nature of knowledge and on how it is acquired
Lessons from successful and unsuccessful knowledge management initiatives over the last decade in many different organizations
The particular knowledge transfer and acquisition problems and opportunities of continuity management
Knowledge is contextually based and highly personal; so personal, in fact, that it is an essential part of our identity as human beings. The knowledge we have gained—and, in a very real sense, earned—is part of our concept of self and is precious to us. We take pride in what we know, whether acquired through formal instruction or personal experience, because it is often hard won and because it is the basis of how we see the world. The extent to which we are willing to share our knowledge depends on the circumstances in which it will be shared and on the individuals with whom we will be sharing it, including how the knowledge will be transferred to, and received by, the object of the transfer. Knowledge management has provided some important lessons regarding the personal nature of knowledge and the conditions under which it is most likely to be shared and acquired. From these lessons, two major principles have emerged regarding knowledge transfer and acquisition, one dealing with trust and the other with compensation:
We are more likely to share knowledge in an atmosphere of trust that relieves our fears about sharing our knowledge than in an atmosphere where trust is absent. In other words, we are more likely to share knowledge with people in whom we have confidence or with people we believe will value our knowledge by being attentive and appreciative even if they don't agree with it. Conversely, we are reluctant to share our knowledge with anyone we think might disparage it or dismiss it. For the same reason, we are less likely to expose our knowledge in a public or semipublic forum or to send it to an anonymous repository (such as a database) than we are to share it privately.
We are more likely to share knowledge when we believe that we will receive something in return for sharing it. That return can take many forms, from direct compensation for overcoming our fears of sharing knowledge to expressions of appreciation as a reward for giving knowledge.
Both of these general principles have to be applied if knowledge transfer and acquisition are to be successful.
A simple but powerful idea in knowledge transfer and acquisition may seem self-evident: Opportunities to exchange knowledge will increase the likelihood that existing knowledge will be shared and that new knowledge will be created. Continuity management capitalizes on this principle in the design of its processes, which create collaborative environments. These processes take advantage of the relational aspects of knowledge sharing, the influence of social processes, and the importance of peer participation and encouragement. They include:
K-PAQ (knowledge profile analysis questions) development
K-Quest (knowledge questionnaire) development
Pre-answer construction for the knowledge-core questions in K-Quest, which is accomplished by the peer design teams
K-Quest administration, including the discussion of answers by peer incumbents during continuity management orientation day
Knowledge sharing and creation during PEAK meetings
Annual and quarterly follow-up PEAK meetings of peer incumbents through which incumbents keep their knowledge bases current and relevant
New-hire orientation, which introduces new employees to continuity management and its procedures (described in detail later in this chapter)
Implementation of mentoring and peer-support programs and changes in organizational rewards, which encourages continuity management activities (as described in the next chapter)
Knowledge transfer and acquisition is not a one-way street. The knowledge profile is designed to be a means of transferring knowledge to new employees and a means of transferring knowledge from new employees to established employees and to the organization itself. The profile solicits three categories of new knowledge from new hires, making knowledge acquisition a reciprocal process between the organization and its employees. These categories of knowledge are described in the following paragraphs.
Existing operational knowledge that new hires bring with them from their previous positions that has direct application to their new positions. Because most new hires take positions that are related, similar, or even virtually identical to their old positions, they bring valuable operational knowledge with them from the organizations they have left. This knowledge can take many forms: knowledge of superior policies, better procedures, enhanced processes, improved approaches, and so forth. It is not that new hires don't have any operational knowledge; it's that they don't have job-critical operational knowledge related to their new positions.
In fact, it is well recognized that new hires have valuable knowledge. Some employees are hired specifically to obtain their knowledge. A statement that this knowledge should be systematically harvested by the new organization would seem unnecessary, were it not that so few organizations are doing so. The problem is not a lack of understanding of the value of such knowledge, but the failure to institute an organized structure to harvest, evaluate, and share the knowledge. Without such a structure, new knowledge will be lost to the hiring organization. The knowledge profile provides that structure for transferring the new employee's knowledge to the organization.
New knowledge created by the employee through direct application of the operational knowledge contained in the profile. Because new knowledge is based on old knowledge and because knowledge is constantly changing in response to changing circumstances, new employees often synthesize the knowledge they bring and the knowledge they derive through the knowledge profile to create new knowledge of great benefit to the organization. Such knowledge is new knowledge for both the employee and for the organization. New employees also create new knowledge by applying profile knowledge in different ways from their predecessors to create new organizational knowledge for the organization.
Knowledge created as a result of the fresh perspective new employees bring to their position and to the organization. New hires invariably bring a fresh perspective to their jobs that exposes organizational problems that have been undetected or ignored by established employees. Generally, however, new hires have no power to correct the inconsistencies, absurdities, or counterproductive policies and procedures they observe. An organization can take advantage of the new perspectives of incoming employees by creating a vehicle to harvest their insights as part of the knowledge transfer and acquisition process. The knowledge profile is designed to serve this purpose.
A new employee can often very quickly spot counterproductive situations to which established employees have become inured. The recently appointed dean of an eastern university observed an odd situation. While 40 percent of the students in his school attended late afternoon and early evening classes, most student services—such as registration, records, student loans, and so forth—closed at 5 p.m. The new dean's reaction was bewilderment, because the out-of-synch office hours were highly detrimental to the students and contrary to the goals of the university. Yet the situation had continued for years without attracting the attention of anyone in authority. How was that possible? The apparent reason was timing. The shift from virtually all daytime class attendance to over 40 percent late-afternoon and evening attendance had occurred so gradually that the administrators had never seen it as a problem. The dean's new perspective made it easy for him to see the absurdity of closing student services during the hours when 40 percent of the students needed them. Because he was dean of the school, he was in a position to correct the situation, which he did. But what if he had not been the dean?
The Innovations knowledge category in the knowledge profile contains three topic areas specifically designed to harvest knowledge from new employees. These knowledge topics, which are regularly updated by new hires during the first months of their employment for routine review by their superiors, are:
Transferred knowledge. This knowledge was brought by new employees from their previous positions but is new knowledge to the hiring organization.
New knowledge. This knowledge is created by new employees when they apply their existing knowledge to the circumstances of their new positions.
New perspectives. This knowledge takes the form of recommendations for revising policies, processes, or procedures based on the employees' previous experience or as a result of their fresh perspective.
Continuity management thus provides a structure for capturing the recommendations and new knowledge of employees in the first months of their tenure.
Like knowledge management, continuity management relies on two basic sources for knowledge transfer: documents and people. The processes through which these sources are utilized in knowledge transfer are:
People to documents to people. Tacit knowledge is transferred from the heads of incumbents to the knowledge profile for future transfer to the heads of successors or other incumbents.
People to people. Tacit knowledge is transferred from the heads of incumbents to the heads of successors or other incumbents through personal interaction.
Continuity management uses people-to-people knowledge-transfer processes whenever possible, because not all relevant tacit knowledge can be made explicit and codified in documents. Knowledge networks, peer incumbent meetings, profile partners, and phased mentoring are utilized whenever possible. However, people-to-documents-to-people transfer is also necessary, because much tacit knowledge can be converted to documentary form for future transfer. In addition, various documents are an essential part of operational knowledge.
The primary vehicle for knowledge transfer and acquisition in continuity management is the knowledge profile, but knowledge transfer through the profile can be supplemented by tacit transfers through incumbents (when they are available through phased mentoring or overlapping employee arrangements), profile partners (who introduce new hires to their knowledge profiles and coworkers), members of the new employees' knowledge networks, and other peers when predecessors are not available. Because operational knowledge is clarified, expanded, and generated through social interaction, continuity management provides for such interaction as frequently as possible.
Without some form of continuity management, knowledge transfers are likely to be unstructured, limited in perspective, relatively inefficient, and incomplete. With no peer collaboration, no content guide, and no other check on what is passed to the successor, an incumbent can easily transfer knowledge that is tangential or even incorrect. There is little, if any, quality control in such transfers and virtually no assistance in helping the successor acquire the knowledge. This assessment is valid for both people-to-document and people-to-people transfers when there is no continuity management.
Without some equivalent form of the knowledge profile, tacit knowledge transfers between incumbents and successors must rely solely on short-term overlap between employee generations due to retirements or transfers or postretirement initiatives that temporarily reunite successor employees with their predecessors. Yet these knowledge transfers are possible only in limited situations: retirements, job transfers, instances in which employees quit with adequate notice, and other instances in which budgetary and scheduling requirements permit employee overlap. Even in such situations, however, the operational knowledge may not have been analyzed for accuracy or relevance or been structured so that the content is comprehensive and the transfer is effective. If there is no incumbent–successor interaction, tacit knowledge transfer between predecessors and successors does not occur at all.
Without some form of knowledge profile, incumbents cannot pass their explicit operational knowledge to successors either, unless there is incumbent–successor interaction. The only knowledge available to successors is likely to be contained in pages and pages of official documents or hidden in files that cannot be readily accessed. Like the tacit knowledge in the heads of the departing employees, it may be beyond retrieval, lost to the organization and the successor.
Continuity management provides a different perspective from knowledge management, but it is very much aligned with the perspective of organizational learning. The primary objectives of knowledge management are to identify, extract, and codify knowledge in order to transfer it as widely as possible throughout the organization and thereby take advantage of innovation and avoid having to reinvent the wheel. Yet knowledge management has emphasized knowledge preservation at the expense of knowledge creation. In the Information Age, maintaining the existing knowledge base is not sufficient to achieve competitive advantage, which requires the continuous creation of new knowledge. Preserving existing operational knowledge is a crucial element of continuity management, but it is not, ultimately, the primary goal of continuity management, which is to create new knowledge from existing knowledge.
Knowledge profiles enable new hires to internalize operational knowledge quickly, adapt it to their current problems and opportunities, and apply it to new situations as they arise. Their profiles allow new hires to access other knowledgeable individuals who can add to their operational knowledge and help them understand how to be more productive in their new positions. In essence, the profiles marshal existing knowledge resources in the service of creating new knowledge and new applications for old knowledge as such knowledge is needed. Just-in-time knowledge acquisition provided by the profile is highly advantageous in a rapidly changing, uncertain environment. The context in which the profile is presented to the new hires reinforces the objective of knowledge creation and emphasizes the availability of peers and coworkers to assist in the knowledge acquisition and creation process.
Nancy Dixon, an authority on knowledge management and author of Common Knowledge: How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know (Dixon, 2000), points out that one of knowledge management's major contributions has been to help us see that every knowledge worker possesses valuable knowledge, not just a few people and not just the "best" people. "What we have learned," says Dixon, "is that people have a greater capacity to create knowledge out of what they do than we had previously realized" (Dixon, 2002). Best practices, in other words, exist throughout an organization and throughout its job classifications.
Through the knowledge profile, continuity management encourages employees to identify their best practices, adapt the best practices of their predecessors, and generate new best practices. These best practices are then shared with everyone in the same job classification through the knowledge profiles and PEAK meetings. This approach to knowledge generation is grounded in community, knowledge networks, social interaction, and peer collaboration. It rejects rules, procedures, and dictates that constrain knowledge creation.
The focus in continuity management is not on what might be termed hierarchical knowledge, but on what could be called hands-on knowledge. Hierarchical knowledge is declared superior and prescribed. In stable times, this approach is acceptable; but in times of turbulence and constant change, it is likely to be ineffective and resented. In contrast, hands-on knowledge is generated by the person doing the work, enriched by peers, and enhanced through knowledge networks. Hands-on knowledge is local, relevant, current, modifiable, and effective. It is not decreed by management, but sought by it.
Famed Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget, whose primary research interest was how knowledge developed in the human organism, has made an enormous contribution to our understanding of knowledge. Piaget's work makes it clear that knowledge is not static, but dynamic. In some ways, it is more process than content. It is continuously reordered, recreated, and reapplied by individuals as they engage in social interaction, respond to changes in their environment, and make sense of their world. Our knowledge is constantly changing because our world is constantly changing. Knowledge as a process is easy to discern in groups when synergy is present. Synergy does not result from the simple transfer of knowledge among members of the team, but from the active synthesis and application of that knowledge. Team members create new knowledge by reinterpreting, reapplying, or reusing their shared knowledge.
Knowledge profiles are the primary mechanism of knowledge transfer in continuity management, but the ultimate purpose of the profile is knowledge creation. The profile is not a prescription, but a stimulus. No knowledge created by one person or drawn from one situation is perfect for another person or another situation; it must be modified to fit the specific individual and the circumstances. The shape of the profile, its manner of transfer, and the content of its knowledge categories all recognize that the operational knowledge that incumbents transfer to their successors must be reinvented by those successors if that knowledge is to be meaningful to them and productive for their organizations.
William Seidman, CEO of Cerebyte, Inc., the company that produces knowledge harvesting and replication software, suggests that three phases are required for successful knowledge absorption, which is the term he uses for the process that takes place when an employee integrates new knowledge with existing knowledge in a productive way (Seidman, 2002). These phases are:
Initial determination that the knowledge is useable
Subsequent interaction with the knowledge that engages the employee and creates a sense of ownership of the new knowledge
Follow-up application of the knowledge in a systematic way that leads to integration with existing knowledge and increased productivity (absorption)
Each of these phases takes place in the required interactions between new hires and their knowledge profiles, which are described in more detail later in this chapter.
As an assumption, "build it and they will come" may work for baseball fields and better mousetraps, but it does not work for databases and other static means of knowledge transfer. One of the lessons from knowledge management is that the availability of knowledge does not mean that employees will actually access the knowledge and put it to use. In the past, knowledge management has been supply-driven (that is, focused on creating a supply of knowledge) rather than demand-driven (that is, focused on creating a demand for knowledge). Supply-driven knowledge management initiatives are more concerned with the providers of knowledge than with the users of knowledge.
Continuity management is a demand-driven approach based on the new hires' urgent need for critical operational knowledge. As a result of this compelling need, new hires are in a learning-receptive frame of mind. They are more likely to utilize the knowledge profile than, for example, established employees are to utilize a best-practices database. New hires perceive that the operational knowledge contained in the profile yields a direct competitive advantage. This pro–knowledge acquisition learning mode is an enormous advantage that the knowledge profile is designed to exploit. On the other hand, continuity management also reflects a recognition of the importance of human motivation, attitudes, and feelings in determining the success of knowledge transfer and acquisition. The result is a greater emphasis in continuity management on user-relevant knowledge, people management issues, and organizational processes that encourage and facilitate the use of knowledge than is typically the case with knowledge management.
Continuity management is not primarily a technological solution to the threat of knowledge loss, but a management solution that enables technology. The astute management of critical operational knowledge that leads to the acquisition and creation of new knowledge is its objective. Historically, knowledge management has been focused less on knowledge acquisition than on knowledge transfer, focused more on technology than on the human–technology interface. Technology is merely one medium for the transfer of knowledge; it is not synonymous with knowledge transfer and certainly not with knowledge acquisition. Knowledge acquisition is a complex process more dependent on human issues than on technological factors. A requisite concern for the quality of the human–technology interface leads away from an emphasis on the tools, systems, and databases of technology toward the feelings, needs, and desires of people.
Knowledge acquisition is a loose process, which means that its success is dependent on messy human-related factors like motivation, commitment, fears, hopes, and rewards. It is more driven by community and trust than by logic and edicts. Any attempt at knowledge transfer and acquisition that fails to account for human characteristics cannot succeed. In this regard, continuity management and the learning organization have much in common. At the core of all learning organizations—all knowledge-acquiring organizations—is an emphasis on human learning and, hence, on human beings. Processes that facilitate learning and knowledge creation recognize the unique role of knowledge in the human experience and are woven into the fabric of the learning organization. Continuity management is a management function, not a management program, because it requires a people-focused commitment to employee development and empowerment and to cultural transformation that supports knowledge sharing, acquisition, and creation.
Because continuity management is demand-driven rather than supply-driven, people-centered rather than technology-centered, and user-focused rather than provider-focused, human resources (HR) must be involved in its implementation. Continuity management is not a short-term program, a piecemeal approach, or a procedural response to ensuring knowledge continuity between employee generations. It is a new management function that benefits both incumbents and successors and that requires the integration of other management functions if it is to succeed in preserving existing knowledge, creating new knowledge, and improving organizational productivity. From initial implementation to ongoing maintenance, HR has a significant role to play in continuity management.
Consider, for example, these six applications of the knowledge profile to HR decision making:
Employee selection criteria. Knowledge profiles describe the skills and competencies needed to excel in all knowledge-critical positions in the organization and provide excellent summaries of the functions and activities of those positions. The profile is a highly efficient way to get a sense of a given job and its requirements. It is a powerful tool for writing job descriptions, developing employee selection criteria, and choosing among potential candidates.
Career counseling and planning. Knowledge profiles contain a summary of skills, accomplishments, and basic competencies that can assist incumbents in charting their professional development and future career paths and in working with HR and career counselors toward that end.
Succession planning. For the same reason that knowledge profiles are useful in developing employee selection criteria, they are constructive additions to the succession planning process. Because they detail the skills, processes, projects, decisions, and activities of the job, they improve the likelihood of making the best choice among candidates. When we discussed continuity management with Mike Ruettgers, EMC Corporation executive chairman, he pointed out the advantage of the knowledge profile in succession planning and recognized its contribution to building competency, two critical processes in a knowledge-centered organization. According to Ruettgers, "The knowledge profile would be invaluable in charting the careers of EMC employees so that both the employee and the company are maximally benefited" (Ruettgers, 2001).
Downsizing choices. When downsizing or reorganization is mandated, knowledge profiles identify the knowledge and expertise that will be lost with each position that is eliminated. The profiles can be used to make downsizing decisions, sculpt a more strategic workforce, and prevent later regret at having eliminated critical positions. In fact, this function of the profile is a powerful means of avoiding the kind of knowledge-loss disasters that plague organizations when they downsize on the basis of criteria that do not take into account the critical operational knowledge of each incumbent position.
Promotion criteria. Because knowledge profiles contain the objectives, skills, functions, and activities of the job, they provide a snapshot of the position, which facilitates development of promotion criteria.
Recruiting tool. Continuity management can be a significant recruiting tool, because new hires gain immediate and extensive access to the operational knowledge they need. Availability of the knowledge profile can be a persuasive incentive in attracting highly desirable applicants, particularly in a tight job market, and in convincing them to accept an offer.
With a nod to Roger, nine take-away principles relating to knowledge transfer and acquisition:
Various knowledge profile–based activities motivate, facilitate, and enrich the knowledge transfer and acquisition process and speed the new employee up the learning curve. These activities are based on the principles of knowledge transfer and acquisition that are discussed in the following paragraphs.
Knowledge transfer and acquisition generally begins on the first day of work and typically involves some form of orientation. That orientation may be formal or informal, complete or incomplete, elaborate or simple, well coordinated or uncoordinated. A great deal of research has been conducted on the effectiveness of orientation programs, and well-developed designs are available to ensure a solid launch for new employees. Standard orientation components often include a briefing on official policies, employee benefits, office procedures, start times, and so forth. It is imperative that orientation programs be well designed, comprehensive, and relevant.
At Cisco, a collection of employee-orientation initiatives dubbed Fast Start was initiated to increase the rate at which new employees reached full productivity (Birchard, 1997). The program ensures that each new employee arrives with a fully functional workspace and a day of training in the use of computers, voice mail, and so forth. It includes the assignment of a company peer, called a buddy, who answers the new hire's questions. New Cisco employees also attend a two-day course called Cisco Business Essentials, which describes the company's business units and history and the networking market in which it sells its products and services.
The process of bringing new hires to full productivity requires more than an information-based orientation, however. It requires job-specific operational knowledge. Such knowledge is transferred to new employees through a knowledge-acquisition program, which may be well designed and productive, poorly conceived and unproductive, or largely nonexistent and counterproductive. Too often, it is left to well-meaning colleagues or to no one at all—and fails. When knowledge acquisition is chaotic or haphazard, it wastes the time of new hires and established employees alike and squanders the productivity potential of both. Formal programs therefore play a vital role in speeding the transfer of operational knowledge to new employees. In continuity management, the knowledge profile is the basic text around which a new employee's orientation program, training sessions, and teaching curriculum are built.
As a knowledge-transfer device, the strength of the knowledge profile is its ability to transfer critical operational knowledge from an incumbent to a successor even in the absence of the incumbent. In the case of job openings that result from retirements and transfers, incumbents may be available to assist in the knowledge transfer, but such opportunities exist in a relatively small percentage of total job turnovers. Even in such cases, the structured format of the profile provides a more orderly, concise, and effective means of transferring critical operational knowledge than would be the case with unstructured attempts by incumbents to pass on their knowledge to successors. The power of the profile in these cases is the careful analysis of operational knowledge that went into its construction, the links to human and documentary resources, and the macro- and microviews of the job it provides to orient new employees and equip them with the operational knowledge they need.
By linking orientation and training programs to the knowledge profile and to the phases of productivity described in Chapter 4 ("The Knowledge Learning Curve"), the skills training and knowledge transfer offered in formal programs is made relevant to new hires. Because this just-in-time training and on-demand operational knowledge are received when they are needed, they are more quickly internalized and applied than operational knowledge and training offered prior to need.
On the first day of a typical continuity management–based orientation, new hires receive a standard orientation program that delivers basic information on the organization (its history, market, benefits, etc.) and basic instruction in the use of essential equipment and data sources. New hires are given the knowledge profiles developed by their predecessors (or the knowledge profiles of colleagues in the same job classification when they are assuming a new position) and instructed in how to access the profile, update its content, and use it to maximum potential. Each new hire also meets his or her profile partner. Profile partners are individuals who have been assigned to introduce them to their coworkers, familiarize them with their profiles, and serve as their temporary advisors until they have selected more permanent mentors.
Based on their knowledge profiles, new employees are asked to compare their existing skill sets to the skill sets required for their positions, and, therefore, to participate in determining their own training needs. On the basis of their self-assessment and additional training assessments, HR devises the teaching and training curriculum appropriate for each employee and each productivity phase so that all training and knowledge are relevant at the time that employees receive them.
Before their first week is over, new hires have begun the process of familiarizing themselves with the contents of their knowledge profiles and making contact with the members of their knowledge networks. They are also briefed on performance expectations for the first 90 days of employment. They receive regular performance appraisals during their first year, because feedback during the early phases of productivity will help new employees reach their performance potential sooner.
Profile partners are peer incumbents assigned to new hires to take them through their knowledge profiles and move them quickly up the learning curve. They are similar to the buddies or temporary mentors that some organizations utilize to provide an informal orientation to new employees, introduce them to coworkers, and answer their questions about the new job. Whereas mentoring is geared more toward advice and counsel and the development of the individual both from the standpoint of managerial experience and increased personal competency, profile partners are more concerned with the transfer of operational knowledge during a set time period, using the knowledge profile as the basis of that transfer.
Like traditional buddies, profile partners help new hires understand the culture and systems of the organization, provide a temporary mentoring relationship, and introduce them to their coworkers. As peer incumbents, profile partners are uniquely equipped to explain the contents and operation of the knowledge profile to new employees, guide them in its most effective utilization, and help them understand its full capabilities. Profile partners introduce the newcomers at their first PEAK meetings of peer incumbents—whether in person or online—and to their communities of practice in order to facilitate their assimilation into these groups. Finally, they assist in one-to-one knowledge transfer by answering their questions and directing them to additional resources. By taking full advantage of their knowledge profiles and their profile partners, newcomers accelerate their rate of knowledge acquisition and experience the knowledge acquisition process as highly participative and rewarding.
Profile partners operate in three different types of profile-transfer situations. In each of these situations, their roles are slightly different:
When there is a direct successor. In most cases, the new hire replaces a previous employee and so receives the predecessor's knowledge profile. As a peer incumbent, the profile partner is well equipped to lead the newcomer through the profile and assist in the acquisition of knowledge, often through questions and answers that provide additional knowledge.
When there is an indirect successor. When downsizing and reorganizations result in fewer employees, but no less work, there is no direct successor. There are, however, indirect successors: surviving employees who are charged with carrying out the departed employees' activities. In these cases, a copy of the knowledge profile from each downsized position is transferred to each surviving employee who serves as an indirect successor. Ordinarily, a profile partner would not be necessary in these situations. If there is a high degree of specialization associated with a position, however, it may be necessary to assign a profile partner who is knowledgeable in that specialization to assist the indirect successor.
When there is no predecessor. When an organization is expanding and there is no predecessor for a specific position, the newcomer receives the knowledge profile that most resembles the one that would have been transferred had there been a predecessor. A profile partner is appointed from peer incumbents within the job classification. When the job is entirely new or is an amalgamation of existing jobs, the new hire receives the knowledge profiles of the most closely related positions and is paired with a profile partner from the most similar job classification.
A fourth situation exists when there is no direct successor and no indirect successor, as happens in the case of massive downsizings or reorganizations that temporarily or permanently eliminate whole units, markets, products, services, and the like. In these cases, no profile partner is needed, but the knowledge profiles themselves are archived in case circumstances warrant adding employees at a later date.
Because the knowledge profile is the basic vehicle for knowledge transfer and acquisition (including the harvesting of new employee knowledge), it is imperative that new hires use it immediately. Furthermore, meaningful and structured interaction with the profile creates ownership of the operational knowledge it contains and a commitment to knowledge creation. From the beginning, newcomers are allowed to change their profiles—in fact, they are encouraged to do so in order to become involved with the operational knowledge they need and to apply that knowledge immediately. The modifications they make in the profile contents personalizes the profile for them and creates a sense of accomplishment. In addition to knowledge ownership and integration, the goal in encouraging immediate profile interactions is to instill in newcomers the habit of integrating their profiles into their regular management activities. To achieve these objectives, new hires are given a series of assignments related to their profiles:
Familiarization tour of the profile. During orientation, new employees are expected to familiarize themselves with the format, contents, purpose, and use of their knowledge profiles. Following orientation, a built-in tutorial (available in sophisticated systems) will lead them through the profile, describing each knowledge category, the contents of the category, how to update the profile, and how to make most effective use of the profile. Pop-up screens in sophisticated systems remind profile users of the contents of the various knowledge categories, which ones require updating, and how they are updated.
Review of incumbent biographies. Newcomers should review the Incumbent Biographies section of their profiles, including the welcoming letters from their predecessors, the biography of the founding incumbent, and the biographies of subsequent incumbents who have added to the profiles. They should also begin their own biography.
Review of frequently asked questions. Within the first week of employment, new hires should review the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. These questions were originally developed by peer incumbents, but were later expanded through the addition of questions contributed by new successor employees.
Knowledge profile exercise. New hires are expected to answer a series of questions based on their knowledge profiles; these must be completed and submitted to their supervisors by the end of their first week and their first month. These exercises encourage new hires to use their profiles from the beginning, to become familiar with the contents of the profile and comfortable with its use, and to acquire job-critical operational knowledge quickly.
Knowledge network contacts. Also during their first week, new hires will begin the process of contacting key individuals listed in the Knowledge Network category of their profiles.
FAQ preparation. At the end of their first and second weeks, new hires are expected to make a list of questions they have developed but that have not been answered in the profile or that have not been easily answered through the profile. As appropriate, these questions will be used to expand the FAQ section of future profiles or to add to the contents of the knowledge categories.
Profile usage. To the extent possible, supervisors are expected to encourage their new employees to use the profile regularly as a means of developing the operational knowledge they need to perform well in their new positions and to accustom them to regular profile use.
Orientation critique. At the end of their second week and their second month of employment, new hires are expected to critique the orientation process and to make recommendations for improving it. These recommendations will be entered in the Innovations category of the knowledge profile.
Process and procedures critique. At the end of their first, second, third, and sixth months of employment, new hires are expected to critique the various systems, processes, and procedures they have encountered in their new jobs and to record recommendations for improving them. These recommendations will be entered in the Innovations knowledge category of their profiles. This assignment takes advantage of the different perspectives that new employees bring to their jobs.
Security designations. When new employees take control of the knowledge profiles for their positions, they inherit the security designations assigned by the previous incumbents. These designations restrict access to certain parts of the profile. By the end of the third month or so, new employees should have reviewed these security designations for each of the knowledge categories in their profiles, approving or changing them.
Following implementation of continuity management, additional means of integrating the profile quickly and effectively into daily management activities will undoubtedly emerge as the organization becomes more and more knowledge-conscious and continuity management–based.
Peer incumbent meetings (which Brett called PEAK meetings at WedgeMark) play an important role in the transfer of critical operational knowledge to new employees. The annual PEAK meetings, the quarterly online meetings, and the communities of practice that develop out of them are personal means through which newcomers can enrich their knowledge profiles by seeking additional information or specific advice relating to decisions or issues confronting them. Because all PEAK members are peer incumbents, they operate in relatively similar environments and share a great deal of common knowledge. They are, therefore, an incredibly rich source of operational knowledge for newcomers and for each other.
Because learning is best accomplished when it is most needed and through a structured, experiential method, peer incumbents supplement the knowledge profiles with human interaction and deeper knowledge resources. The profiles cannot contain all the operational knowledge needed for a given position, but they do point the newcomer to additional knowledge sources and make it easy to access those sources. PEAK meetings, communities of practice, and knowledge networks provide a pool of experts to whom the newcomer can turn for advice, counsel, and additional knowledge.
Mentoring of new hires is recognized as an important contributor to employee productivity and satisfaction, and continuity management takes full advantage of it. In addition to a regular mentoring program, however, continuity management calls for a unique program called phased mentoring, which is used when retiring or transferring employees remain available to mentor their replacements. Under the phased-mentoring program, retiring employees retain a contractual relationship with the organization to mentor their successors for an agreed-on period of time. The process is called phased mentoring because it ties the activities of the mentoring program to the knowledge profile and the phases of productivity.
Phased mentoring allows successors to integrate experientially the knowledge they acquire through their profiles under the guidance of their predecessors, acquiring that operational knowledge as it is needed, in a direct knowledge exchange with their mentors that is nonetheless structured by their profiles. As new employees work their way through the phases of productivity, they interact with their mentors less frequently. To some degree, the knowledge profile serves as a new employee's personalized and highly interactive "mentor," but it cannot replace its human counterpart.
William M. Mercer, Inc., the New York–based human resources consulting firm, surveyed 232 large employers for a 2000 report and found that 23 percent of those responding offered a formal phased-retirement program, whereas 53 percent relied on individual arrangements (Few employers, 2001). This data suggests that almost three-quarters of the surveyed companies have some form of phased retirement that could be adapted to the phased-mentoring component of continuity management. EMC Corporation, the data storage company with $9 billion in sales in 2000, has instituted a retirement-based mentoring program that is similar to phased mentoring, but without the knowledge profile. Employee retirements at EMC are activity-driven rather than age-driven (retirement at 65 is not mandatory). EMC encourages its retiring employees to provide a year's notice by offering them incentives for doing so. According to Executive Chairman Mike Ruettgers:
We encourage employees who are contemplating retirement to give us as much notice as possible so we can have their successors shadow them before they leave. Our objective is to ensure that when they do leave, their accumulated operational knowledge doesn't leave with them but stays in the heads of those who will carry on in their functions. To be sure, retirees often have a financial incentive to maintain a relationship with us because of their incentive packages. But most of the time their sustained connection to EMC goes beyond that practical reason. I think it really grows out of our culture of accountability, execution, and cross-functional cooperation. EMC's culture tends to attract people who are intensely dedicated to their work and our customers, and therefore to the future prosperity of the company. Many retirees want to be able to continue to make a contribution after they have left. We've found that when you give them something on the other side and make it rewarding for them, you're able to maintain access to them, and their knowledge isn't completely gone. This continuing relationship works well for EMC and it works well for its "retired" employees. (Ruettgers, 2001)
In those cases in which an employee is not retiring, but is leaving on good terms with some time remaining on the job, it may be possible to arrange a short mentorship with the successor if an overlap exists or can be arranged. Incumbent–successor overlap is possible only if the incumbent is being replaced by a successor who is readily available or if the incumbent can be persuaded to delay starting the new job. Although short-term, such mentoring can be effective and productive when used in conjunction with the knowledge profile and modeled after the early stages of phased mentoring.
Without knowledge acquisition, knowledge transfer is meaningless. While knowledge transfer may be technology-enabled, knowledge acquisition is human-driven. This chapter explores principles and procedures that create a favorable environment for the acquisition of critical operational knowledge. The following chapter examines a larger set of circumstances that are no less important: the environment in which knowledge acquisition occurs, including the characteristics of the organizational culture and reward systems that support or impede it.