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Leadership Coaching Could Transform Retirement into Refirement
Every time a Bob (or Jill) leaves, brain drain strikes your organization.
When highly skilled employees retire, your company’s institutional knowledge pool faces a one vs. zero situation.
On Aug. 31, with Bob or Jill on staff, you’re a one. But when Bob or Jill retire Sept. 1, you’re suddenly a zero. Their knowledge, hard-earned over years of experience, goes out the door with them.
Sure, you replaced them with the best higher education has to offer. No matter what, your organization faces an enormous loss – often more valuable than any equipment in your office. Bob and Jill accumulated know-how that can’t simply be replaced or documented because much of what they know only becomes apparent when they’re faced with certain situations.
Their implicit knowledge has steeped in their minds over the years like a good cup of tea. They know just the right moment to adjust, solve a tricky problem or add time and resources to a project.
And you’re going to be losing a lot of Bobs and Jills over the next three years. As USA Today’s Paul Davidson reported, a record number of people will celebrate their 65th birthday each year from now until 2027. And retirements this year alone could set a record of more than 1.7 million.
That’s a huge brain drain.
How to Capture that Institutional Knowledge
Now, imagine 1.7 million new employees stepping in – people who don’t yet know which hallway to walk down, let alone the critical questions to ask. Without a thoughtful approach, you could spend months, even years, trying to get those new employees up to speed. But what if you could coach Bob and Jill to pass down their expertise before they leave?
Enter leadership coaching that turns the coached into coaches.
Coaching experienced employees to mentor others can make that transition seamless, ensuring that valuable knowledge, expertise and management tools don’t walk out the door with Bob or Jill.
For instance, instead of stepping away abruptly, the Bobs and Jills of the world could begin their transition months before retirement. On Jan. 1, they could start coming to the office just 10 days a month, dedicating their time specifically to mentoring two younger employees who will assume many of their responsibilities. As time passes, they reduce their in-office days, gradually moving to a fully remote role.
By Sept. 1, Bob might be ready to retire. But Jill might decide she loves the role of a mentor and opts to stay on part-time. If so, leadership coaching has accomplished two things:
- Your replacements capture the insights Bob and Jill accumulated over the years.
- Bob and Jill got to see their knowledge in action, helping the next generation grow. Jill decided to transition from retirement to refirement, further plugging the brain drain hole.
Everybody wins.
The Unseen Value of Implicit Knowledge
Consider an example from my own experience mentoring a young engineer.
We were at a job site, and the CEO of the warehouse company wanted to chat. I told my young engineer, whom I’ll call Dave, to use the time to learn how their warehouse operated.
Two hours later, I finally broke away from the CEO and found Dave in the break room, coffee in hand. When I asked him what he learned, he confidently rattled off a list. He had visited receiving, putaway, picking, packing and the back dock. He thought he fully understood the warehouse’s operations.
I, of course, was flabbergasted. Decades of warehouse design had taught me that understanding just one department – like receiving – takes hours. Maybe a day if you’re really new.
How could Dave possibly understand everything in just two hours?
So I fired a few questions to ascertain his educational attainment:
- How do they know what to do on inbound quality inspection?
- How do they know how to stack the cartons on pallets?
- Is putaway directed or does the receiving person decide where to store the products?
- How do they handle damage, overages or shorts?
Dave gave me sort of a blank look. And Dave wasn’t a bad guy. In fact, with time, he turned out to be a fantastic engineer.
His oversight wasn’t due to laziness or lack of effort; it was a simple lack of experience. Training programs can teach your employees explicit knowledge. But implicit knowledge, like knowing the subtle decisions that happen in day-to-day operations, takes years to build.
Without mentorship, new team members may not even know what they don’t know. Experienced employees like Bob and Jill bring a level of cross-training that doesn’t come from a manual or a classroom. They know how to manage crises, anticipate needs and collaborate effectively across departments.
Losing that implicit knowledge is more than a technical loss; it’s a cultural one.
The Power of a Mentorship-Driven Refirement Culture
By fostering mentorship programs, you don’t just retain knowledge – you create a culture of growth. A culture that people looking for job opportunities seek out.
Coaching Bob and Jill into mentorship gives experienced employees a fulfilling way to share their expertise while allowing newer team members to learn and grow without being thrown into the deep end.
Over time, your workplace becomes a space where knowledge sharing is embedded. Your organizational culture has reduced the risks of brain drain and set the company up for sustainable growth. Although everybody who retires won’t choose refirement, refirement becomes part of your culture.
Tompkins Ventures’ Leadership Practice specializes in helping the Bobs and Jills of the world become mentors. We can tailor coaching to your specific niche, ensuring the next generation goes forward, not back.
So, safeguard your company’s valuable knowledge base. With Tompkins Ventures, your company can turn potential loss into an opportunity for a lasting legacy and continuous learning.
Related Reading
- Refirement Beats Retirement Any Day
- From Typewriters to AI, or Refirement Part II
- Why Cross-Cultural Coaching Is Critical
Jim Tompkins, Chairman of Tompkins Ventures, is an international authority on designing and implementing end-to-end supply chains. Over five decades, he has designed countless industrial facilities and supply chain solutions, enhancing the growth of numerous companies. He previously built Tompkins International from a backyard startup into an international consulting and implementation firm. Jim earned his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University.
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