What is knowledge retention & why is it so important in the utilities sector?
Across the industry, as skilled staff either take up other opportunities or retire, the knowledge and expertise they possess is effectively lost. Regardless of the role, this problem poses a growing risk to business, as it becomes increasingly common for staff to move between departments or leave to take up a position with another company.
When new members of staff are recruited by a business, knowledge is usually transferred through training, handovers, and shadowing, which typically require the input of experienced staff. Inevitably there are limitations in the quantity and quality of knowledge that can be effectively retained using these approaches.
Steve Johnstone, Senior Innovation Specialist at National Grid Gas Transmission, explains:
‘With an aging workforce it is essential that we minimise knowledge loss within the organisation by determining the most effective way to preserve and capture the knowledge. It is critical for knowledge to stay within the company, so it can be used by new employees, and also for existing employees so that they have a point of reference where they can access the knowledge they need more efficiently.’
So, how can we ensure that this knowledge is retained?
That’s where you come in.
National Grid Gas Transmission have highlighted knowledge retention as a key area in which they would like to explore new, innovative solutions.
Next Monday (13 July) at 11:00 – 12:00 BST, we’ll be hosting a webinar in the form of a panel event with key stakeholders from National Grid Gas Transmission. The webinar will provide you with an overview to the problem of Knowledge Retention and an introduction to the proposed EIC ‘Call for Innovation’ to invite submissions that could help solve the problem.
The webinar will also provide the opportunity for other EIC partners, including attendees from SP Energy Networks, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks and Northern Gas Networks, to share their experience of the challenge of Knowledge Retention.
It will also give innovators a chance to provide an insight on their understanding of the subject and to ask questions regarding the specific problem faced by National Grid Gas Transmission and other EIC partners, to help inform potential submissions to the ‘Call for Innovation’.
Find out more and register for the webinar here.
