Adams & Garth Blog

Baby boomer retirement is coming – and if you don’t start planning for it now, you could find yourself in a pinch down the line.

So how can you create an effective succession plan for your company? Here are four steps:

Step 1: Determine where your company is most vulnerable to knowledge loss.
When someone retires, they take their experience and their knowledge with them. So you need to figure out where your company is most vulnerable in terms of knowledge loss.

To do so, conduct a knowledge loss assessment. This is simply an evaluation of where your company will be hit hardest in terms of retiring employees and what kind of information and expertise those retiring employees have.

Step 2: Determine which key employees are most likely to retire.
Once you’ve conducted a knowledge loss assessment, hone in on which key players at your company possess the most critical knowledge and are most likely to retire in the near future. Meet with each of them to discuss their future plans and to develop a strategy for transferring knowledge.

Step 3: A knowledge transfer.
Transfers of knowledge can happen in a variety of ways:

• Job shadowing. Pair up younger managers with senior managers and key players at your company.

• Technology. Use simple technological tools, such as electronic discussion groups to capture “shoptalk” and the expertise that only comes with job experience.

• Document processes. Chart and document processes that do not currently have formal documentation.

Step 4: Retain senior employees.
Some senior employees don’t want to fully retire. So think about keeping them on part time or as a consultant.

Companies that plan ahead for the wave of Baby Boomer retirees will be in a much better position to succeed. If you need help creating a succession plan for your company, now’s the time. Please contact Adams & Garth. As a staffing services provider in Charlottesville and Lynchburg, we have the expertise and knowledge to help you create an effective succession plan.