As senior employees prepare to exit the workforce, 84 percent of U.S. employees say it’s a big loss when older employees retire without passing on their years of knowledge to younger employees. And when the transfer of knowledge fails to happen, workers can be left learning how to do a job on their own with nearly half of U.S. employees (47 percent) experiencing this.

This is according to a recent survey from The Harris Poll Commissioned by Express Employment Professionals.

In the workplace, baby boomers are more likely than their younger counterparts to feel knowledgeable (66 percent vs. 49-57 percent), and this is reiterated by younger employees who say they view boomers in the workplace as having valuable knowledge (61 percent), people they can learn a lot from (48 percent) and as role models to look up to (43 percent).

Fewer younger employees view boomers as behind the times of technology (19 percent), less productive (11 percent) or as a source of delays on projects (eight percent). Further, only 15 percent of U.S. employees say figuring out how to work with employees of other ages is a current challenge for them in the workplace; among boomers, this challenge has decreased from 2018 (12 percent in 2021 vs. 18 percent in 2018).

Other challenges such as keeping up with new technology (22 percent vs. 36 percent), maintaining work/life balance (17 percent vs. 32 percent) and figuring out ways to share their knowledge with others at their company (11 percent vs. 17 percent) are less common for boomers now than four years ago.

Most U.S. employees (73 percent) say it’s absolutely essential or very important for employees to share the knowledge needed to perform their job responsibilities with others. Encouragingly, the majority (66 percent) believe their employer is taking the right steps to make sure they don’t experience a “brain drain” (i.e., when older employees retire without sharing knowledge of how to do their job with younger generations).

To prepare those successors for their retirement, more than half of boomers (59 percent) have shared all or more than half of the knowledge needed to perform their job responsibilities with others who will need the information after they retire. This has increased significantly from 2018 (43 percent).

Despite this uptick in knowledge sharing, more than a quarter (27 percent) say the processes at their organization change so often that their knowledge and experience in their role will be irrelevant by the time they retire — though this has decreased significantly from 2018 (33 percent).

“While organizations prepare for the retirement of baby boomers, many recognize the extreme importance of bridging the gap between this generation and those next in line,” said Maria O’Connell, franchise owner of the Chester County Main Line PA Express franchise office. “So much would be lost if we (as employers) allow this group of talent to slide out without transferring their decades of experience to those taking the wheel. It’s great to see that some companies are really making this a focus.”

Every generation brings value to the workforce, and time is running out to enact knowledge succession plans for these senior employees, according to Express Employment International CEO Bill Stoller.

“While many practices and processes have changed over the years in the labor force, baby boomers have so much wisdom and life experience to pass on to benefit today’s newest workers,” he said.

Survey Methodology

The survey was conducted online within the U.S. by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals between Sept. 28 and Oct. 13, 2021 and among 2,002 U.S. adults ages 18 and older who are employed full-time, part-time, or self-employed. Data were weighted where necessary by age, gender, education, race/ethnicity, region, household income, household size, and marital status to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. This sample of employees includes 547 boomer employees (defined as employees ages 57-75) that were weighted individually.

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If you would like to arrange for an interview with Maria O’Connell, call 484-329-7930.

Express Employment Professionals, the sponsor of VISTA Today’s Hiring Chesco, is in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Its international network of franchises offers localized staffing solutions to the communities they serve across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, employing 526,000 people globally in 2020. Learn more.

The Chester County – Main Line, PA Express office is located at 215 Lancaster Avenue and serves the Greater Philadelphia area. Local businesses and applicants are encouraged to stop by, visit the website, or call 484-329-7930.