Public Power - November 2008 - (Page 18)

Capturing Knowledge Before It Retires BY MARK TALABA electric utility industry is working on many fronts to address the challenge of the aging work force—what has been called “the big crew change.” Programs are well under way to raise awareness of career opportunities at utilities and to develop new sources of trained workers. Strategic work force planning and role-specific knowledgecapture initiatives are spreading and there has been notable success with new techniques for mentoring on complex skill sets. Some industry leaders and prognosticators now feel the challenge has been met, and the solution is well in hand. It may come as a shock, but that’s the bad news. Logic tells us that if there is a people shortage, then we must take action to get more people. And when it becomes 18 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2008 The clear that there is not enough education and training to produce viable new employees, it is logical to initiate, or re-invigorate, relevant university and craft training programs. Similarly, when analysis reveals that many key roles may soon be vacated, resulting in loss of critical job knowledge, the logical response is to step up knowledge capture and mentoring. This all makes sense. These initiatives are valuable and are badly needed. But the perception of aging work force as a “people problem” may be incorrect or incomplete. Research by Dr. David Perkins at Harvard University showed that 90 percent of wrong decisions are based on misperceptions, not on incorrect logic. Despite all the effort that has gone into shedding light on the aging work force challenge, it would be a grave error to assume that the full picture has emerged. After all, the potential turnover of 40 percent of the work force, over the span of just a few years, is unprecedented in this industry— perhaps in any industry. Even during World War II, national work force turnover peaked at 27 percent—and few of those jobs had learning requirements that could compare with the complex skill set required of today’s knowledge workers. With no prior experience or example to guide them, is it any wonder that business leaders—having perceived the work force challenge to be a ‘get more people’ problem—have placed heavy emphasis on recruiting and comparatively little on PUBLIC POWER

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - November 2008

Public Power - November 2008 Contents Perspective 10 Questions Capturing Knowledge Before It Retires Jackson’s GIS Search Keeping a Job Journal Japan Tackles the Kyoto Protocol Getting to 20 by 10 Damless Hydro Power Earthquake: The Hidden Disaster For Engineers Safety For Governing Boards DEED Hometown Connections Parting Shot

Public Power - November 2008

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