Monster Study Reveals Organizations Not Adequately Prepared for Impending Employee “Brain Drain”

Baby Boomer Retirements Threaten to Significantly Decrease Organizational Knowledge, Yet Only 20 Percent of Companies Have a Formal Knowledge-Retention Strategy in Place

MAYNARD, Mass. (BusinessWire EON) September 25, 2007 — U.S. employers largely recognize they face an imminent worker shortage due to Baby Boomer retirements; however, few have a formal strategy in place to manage and retain worker knowledge, according to a survey released today by Monster®. The corresponding report, titled “Building and Securing an Organizational Brain Trust in an Age of Brain Drain,” reveals that only 12 percent of human resource managers report knowledge retention as a high priority within their organizations – despite the fact that one-third estimate 20 percent or more of their current workforce will be eligible for retirement over the next several years. Monster is the leading global online careers and recruitment resource and flagship brand ofMonster Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST).

Bridging this gap represents a significant opportunity for companies to gain a competitive edge in a global economy where knowledge is increasingly becoming the primary resource for value.

“While institutional knowledge is increasingly an organization’s most valuable asset, our study found many companies do not have the processes in place to preserve and redistribute this critical information,” said Jesse Harriott, vice president of research, Monster. “Bridging this gap represents a significant opportunity for companies to gain a competitive edge in a global economy where knowledge is increasingly becoming the primary resource for value.” 

Key Findings

The study reveals that while HR managers recognize the looming issue of losing institutional knowledge due to retirement, many face barriers to establishing strategies and tactics that help preempt the problem. Key findings include:

• Turnover vs. Retirement: More firms perceive conventional turnover as a higher risk to losing organizational knowledge than loss due to retirement, as younger workers leaving an organization not only take away knowledge, but typically bring it to competitors.
• What You Can’t Measure, You Can’t Manage: Only 23 percent of firms report having a formal method to actually identify the knowledge that needs to be protected and retained.
• Proving ROI: 43 percent of respondents cite the ability to measure the ROI and effectiveness of a knowledge retention program as a chief stumbling block to implementing a formal strategy.
• Unmotivated Workers: Only one-third of firms report that their workers are rewarded or encouraged to share organizational knowledge with colleagues.

Recommendations

“As knowledge is perceived to be a key source of internal power, employees often think that sharing what they know makes them less valuable to the organization. In reality, the opposite is true. Therefore, employers must strive to make information-sharing part of the company culture,” added Harriott. “Furthermore, no single tool has emerged that readily enables companies to effectively meet knowledge-retention challenges. Thus, organizations should aim to manage information with a broad strategic approach, utilizing various tactics to determine what will be most successful.”

Despite the obstacles, there are concrete steps organizations can take to help mitigate the affects of brain drain. Key recommendations from the study include:

• C-Level Accountability: Appoint a Chief Knowledge Officer to be responsible for organizational knowledge.
• Pinpoint the Goods: Implement a formal program to actively identify key knowledge assets and its sources.
• Employee Incentives: Provide knowledge-sharing incentives for employees and incorporate standards in performance reviews.
• Tools for Involvement: Create a blogging forum and mentoring program whereby employees can redistribute and access organizational knowledge.

“While brain drain is a looming problem for employers, it presents an excellent opportunity for innovative companies to position themselves for better competitive advantage,” concluded Harriott. “Companies that aggressively manage and protect their knowledge can readily increase their value as an organization.”

Knowledge Retention Webinar

Date: Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Time: 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET

Topic: According to The Economist, approximately half the top workers at America’s 500 leading companies will retire in the next five years. How can you help retain the vast knowledge of these workers before they leave your organization?

Register: http://intelligence.monster.com/10312_en-US_p1.asp

Survey Methodology

The study was a nationwide online survey conducted in November 2006 of 550 human resources managers with high level knowledge of their firms’ strategies. The sample consisted of a cross section of U.S. organizations representing small- to large-size firms that operate in the government, private and non-profit sectors. The executive summary and full report are currently available online via http://intelligence.monster.com/14455_en-US_p1.asp.

By Greg LaMotte 

MONTANA - Over the past few weeks we’ve been hearing from retirement coach Evey LaMont on various aspects of baby boomers heading for retirement and the kinds of things boomers need to consider when it comes to retirement years. So, what’s the difference between a coach and a teacher? LaMont says quite a bit. ”With teaching often times you’re kind of telling people things. You’re giving information. With coaching it’s more asking the right questions so people find the answers on their own and there is a phrase called powerful questions that coaches use believing that people really do have the answers within themselves and kind of find it given a little bit of help.” The question is, while we toil away at our jobs, regardless of our occupations, do we really know exactly what we want in retirement, other than to enjoy ourselves? LaMont says the first thing retirement coaches do is access what’s known as a life options profile. ”It looks at areas where you are in, areas such as identification with your career, your health, one part is financial. How are you with family and other kinds of relationships and your own personal development, personal growth and then we talk a lot about where you’d like to be as you enter into retirement, the new opportunities to do the things you’ve never done before.” The retirement coach says those who would possibly benefit most from a coach are those who are workaholics, those who haven’t developed friends or interests outside of work and those who haven’t given much consideration to what they want in retirement.

Ourr life experiences, spirit valuable

By Todd SmithTuesday, July 24, 2007 4:34 PM CDTThe Peace Corps is turning to the baby boomer generation for recruitment.Christine Torres, public affairs specialist for the Peace Corps’ Chicago regional office, said that during the last seven or eight years, the percentage of volunteers older than 50 has been about 5 percent. The Peace Corps wants that percentage to rise.”The Peace Corps service has no upper age limit,” she said.

With 77 million baby boomers in the United States, comprising about 28 percent of the population, retiring, the Peace Corps is considering recruiting them.”After all, this is the JFK generation, and Peace Corps was founded under JFK in 1961,” Torres said. “In fact, talking with our older volunteers, JFK’s call to service with Peace Corps still resonates very strongly with them. If they couldn’t join in the 1960s, they can do it now.”Fran Noonan, 79, of Kirkwood, is the St. Louis area’s Peace Corps recruiter. Now retired, she has served in the Peace Corps. When she was 60, Noonan served in the late 1980s with her husband, Jim, on an island in the Pacific Ocean to teach the children English, geography and mathematics.After raising seven children here and selling a construction business, Fran and Jim decided to follow their dream of joining the Peace Corps.Fran said their interest in the Peace Corps began in the 1960s when President John F. Kennedy called his fellow Americans to serve in the newly formed organization. But at the time, their children were young.She said they then applied in 1987 after retirement. The application process took about a year and then they were accepted. They headed to the southwest Pacific to the Republic of Kiribati, formerly the Gilbert Islands, in 1988. They lived in a concrete block building that also housed the school.Fran said the island was remote.”We had no electricity; water came from rainwater collected in a tank; and communication was through a short wave radio,” she said. Yet, she said, “It was a tropical paradise with sandy beaches and ocean breezes.”The Noonans also found the people nice and made friends.Fran said besides teaching, she and her husband provided them with other activities. Her husband taught a woodworking class and she opened a library with donated books.Jim even started a marching group.”They would march to a music tape that Jim had of the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale song,” Fran said.Fran said the people of Kiribati wanted to learn more about Americans.”When we first got off the plane, the teenagers crowded around us and asked whether we knew Rambo and how many machine guns we owned,” Fran said.She said the people would get these images of Americans from the movies that were imported.”Dispelling these kind of myths is probably the biggest impact that we made,” Fran said. “The Peace Corps is the most cost-effective good will program that the United States has.”She said the Peace Corps not only is a good way for baby boomers to help others, but it also changes one’s perspective of the world.”We’d never done anything this adventurous before, but many more doors opened for us after the Peace Corps,” Fran said.The Noonans went on to co-manage the Washington, D.C., International Student House for more than 90 men and women from around the world. Fran also enrolled in graduate school at Washington University and has worked from the university’s career center as the St. Louis area Peace Corps recruiter since 2002.The spirit of volunteering in retirement is catching on, and other older people see this as a way they can make a difference in their later years.A returned Peace Corps volunteer, Pat Isringhausen of Jerseyville, Ill., plans to go a second time with the Peace Corps after she retires in a few years. She joined the Peace Corps in 1988 when she was 35 and served in Burundi, in central Africa.Isringhausen said she wants to do it again because of the eye-opening experience of learning about other cultures.”Nothing compares to it,” she said.She said she thinks baby boomers would find this experience invaluable.”They can see how different the world is and have a frame of reference in understanding developing nations,” Isringhausen said.Torres said volunteers can bring a wealth of life experiences and expertise that is valuable in the Peace Corps.Fran said there are all sorts of possible jobs, from business consulting to zoology to AIDS prevention education.You can contact Todd Smith at tosmith@yourjournal.com.Below are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Peace Corps service:How long do Peace Corps volunteers serve?All volunteers commit to 27 months of training and service overseas.Do you need to speak a foreign language?No. Knowledge of a foreign language is not a requirement for Peace Corps service. The Peace Corps provides language training.Do you need a college degree?Opportunities are available for those with a combination of job experience and education, though some opportunities require a four-year degree.Can you choose the country where you want to serve?While the Peace Corps takes geographical preferences under consideration, it cannot guarantee placement in a country or region of the volunteer’s choice.Do volunteers get paid?The Peace Corps provides volunteers with a living allowance that enables them to live in a manner similar to the local people in their community. The Peace Corps also provides medical and dental care, transportation costs to and from the country they will serve in and $6,000 toward transition once they return after their 27 months of service.How long does it take to apply?The entire application process — from completion of the application to departure for service — takes an average of nine months. Volunteers are encouraged to apply nine to 12 months before they will be ready to begin their service.For more information, call 1-800-424-8580 or visit www.peacecorps.gov.