Abstract
In this chapter, the author speaks to the difficulty of retaining critical tacit knowledge in the higher education setting due to such factors as the rapid pivot of having a largely in-person workforce to a largely remote workforce due to COVID-19, the Great Resignation, retirement of the Baby Boomer generation, and general attrition. This problem is further exacerbated by rapid organizational growth creating knowledge silos throughout various business units university-wide. The author explores the findings and recommendations of a recent case study in an effort to make knowledge-sharing and knowledge-retention practices found within a higher education setting attainable for almost any institution across the globe.
TopIntroduction
Early 2021: the wake of COVID-19 sparked the beginning of the Great Resignation, where record numbers of people voluntarily quit their jobs as employees reached a record level of unsatisfaction with their employment, combined with a natural transition for the Baby Boomers to opt to retire (Fuller & Kerr, 2022). Every field felt these impacts, especially higher education in the United States and beyond. In the academic world, knowledge management is a relatively recent discipline. Many international universities are actively involved in knowledge management operations and research and, as a result, knowledge management is now gaining popularity within higher education because of the necessity to reveal the intellectual potential accessible in institutions for the purpose of exchanging experiences (Galgotia & Lakshmi, 2022).
In 2018, the turnover within higher education within the United States averaged about 34% compared to about 16% turnover within large organizations within the private business sector (HigherEd Direct, 2018). Gandy et al. (2019) found that 38% of companies try to address the problem of knowledge retention by hiring retirees back as consultants doing their pre-retirement job at twice the hourly rate. Additionally, for each loss of an employee that a higher education institution faces, there is a financial impact on the organization's training, recruiting, and consulting, and it costs the institution valuable historical currency. As higher education organizations experience attrition through retirement, new employment opportunities, and other factors, there is a need for insight into the specific areas of knowledge management related to a higher education institution, such as critical tacit knowledge.
Wagner and Sternberg (1985) defined critical tacit knowledge as work-related practical knowledge learned informally on the job. Critical tacit knowledge is hard to code or extract as it is not something that is usually captured formally. Tacit knowledge is not just about experiences learned on the job, but it is comprised of beliefs, values, attitudes, ideals, and elements that are related to the culture of an individual or organization and cannot be found in manuals, books, databases or files. Almost two thirds of the information received at work is transformed into tacit knowledge coming from face-to-face interactions or passive, informal interactions (Ivona, 2018).
Knowledge is created and discovered in a variability of ways at various levels within a higher education setting; teaching, assessment, evaluation, advising, admissions, training, placement, research and development are all administrative and academic activities that result in many important knowledge artifacts that make up an academic institution (Galgotia & Lakshmi, 2022). All of these groups both develop and consume information and are critical to the successful operation of the institution at large, and as a result, the information demands at all stages must be met by a comprehensive KM system or critical knowledge could be lost.
The loss of critical tacit knowledge also reduces the capacity to innovate and co-create; challenges an organization/team’s ability to pursue growth strategies; strengthens networks, relationships, and partnerships; increases vulnerability due to the loss of memory; and hampers a culture of collaboration and even the development of expertise (Sanz & Hovell, 2021). Ultimately, knowledge management helps to improve the organization or team’s learning, memory, and performance, while avoiding loss of critical tacit knowledge and low employee engagement.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Learning Organization: A learning organization has a culture that promotes communication, inquiry, feedback, mutual respect, and support for persons to transfer knowledge within the organization (Senge, 2006 AU30: The in-text citation "Senge, 2006" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Knowledge Management: Knowledge management refers to capturing explicit, implicit, and tacit knowledge, which is the archived knowledge in an internal knowledge base accessible to all levels of the organizational workforce. Knowledge management theory concerns understanding the explicit, implicit, and tacit knowledge functions and operations of an organization's performance. Theory research focuses on how explicit knowledge is captured in a database for use by the organizational workforce (Senge, 2006 AU29: The in-text citation "Senge, 2006" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Knowledge Transfer: Knowledge transfer is a process through which organizational actors—teams, units, or companies—exchange, receive, and are influenced by the experience and knowledge of others ( Van Wijk et al., 2008 ).
Knowledge Retention: Knowledge retention is an organization/team’s capability to retain unique and critical knowledge, whether tacit, explicit, or implicit ( Sanz & Hovell, 2021 ).
Critical Tacit Knowledge: Critical tacit knowledge is information which is “attached” to people, is transmitted in social processes, involves experiential insights, and is difficult to codify and imitate ( Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995 ).
Knowledge Silos: A knowledge silo is a business division or group of employees within an organization that fails to communicate freely or effectively with other groups, including management; when an organization's culture does not encourage employees to share knowledge and work collaboratively. Knowledge silos can grow quite quickly and prevent the organization from responding to business needs in an agile manner ( Van Wijk et al., 2008 ).
Higher Education Institution: A higher education institution encompasses various types of education delivered in postsecondary institutions of learning and usually awarding, at the end of a course of study, a named degree, diploma, or certificate of higher studies. Higher education institutions include universities and colleges and various professional schools that prepare for law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. Higher education also provides teacher-training schools, junior colleges, and institutes of technology ( Chan, 2016 ).