Role Transition
- Dr. Moria Levy
- Oct 1, 2004
- 4 min read
Knowledge is one of the main assets driving any organization today. Knowledge management is a process that organizations strive for, but it is a long, broad process that is not comprehensive and cannot encompass all areas of organizational knowledge. When all employees remain in the organization and their roles, knowledge management activities can focus on sharing knowledge between people and building knowledge repositories only in critical areas.
However, this situation never exists permanently. People retire, people advance, and much of the knowledge stored in their minds goes with them.
The loss resulting from this knowledge loss is twofold:
In the short term, their replacements perform the job less efficiently, with lower quality, and more slowly. Ongoing operations are impaired. However, assuming that some information is transferred and the replacement is talented and acquires the work skills, this damage is limited in time and scope.
In the long term, the development of the professional/managerial area under the employee's responsibility is damaged. If we had started where our fathers and grandfathers began, we might have progressed the same amount, perhaps a little more. Still, we would not have been able to achieve technological, chemical, engineering, and other achievements at the forefront of science. To achieve these accomplishments, we must build on the knowledge accumulated by our predecessors and move forward from there. A structured handover and role transition process must be performed to start at the highest possible point.
Preparations for role transition should be made under optimal conditions, but no less importantly, also under time constraints, non-cooperation constraints, and/or other constraints.
What are the guiding principles for such a process?
Several key principles can be identified that guide the entire process:
Practicality: The defined process must be practical; clear, simple to operate, and form-guided to ensure proper implementation.
Broad Mapping: All transferable knowledge areas should be mapped, even if, due to practical constraints, not all are transferred.
Learner Activity: An effective role transition process includes maximum activity by the trainee and the role recipient, not just by the one who is leaving.
Knowledge Content: Role transition includes professional, operational, and managerial aspects, including work interfaces with internal and external entities.
Referrals: The role transition process includes, in addition to the learning and handover process, referrals to additional resources that can be used in the future: knowledgeable people (such as experts in the organization and suppliers and colleagues outside the organization) and information and knowledge repositories (such as documents and internal organizational systems and websites, articles, and books outside the organization).
Learning Method: Actual learning methods are diverse, ranging from courses, information transfer meetings, documentation, observing the instructor while performing the role, to actual practice (as an apprentice or under supervision). Combining multiple learning methods is recommended, according to the nature of the knowledge being learned and the actual learning constraints.
Management: The role transition process must be managed and controlled to ensure its implementation as planned.
Process Guidance: To instill a structured but useful methodology for role transition, supporting templates should guide all stages of the transfer, from planning through implementation and structured control.
How is it recommended to perform the role transition?
Role transition is a project in every sense. It must be planned, its contents predetermined and defined, and managed and controlled during implementation.
To implement this in an organized but also efficient manner, it is recommended to use structured forms that guide its implementation:
The first form
Helps define the "what": Using a Top-down approach, analyzing the areas derived from the job definition; simultaneously, Bottom-Up, recording typical "knowledge questions" and from these two, together defining a list of recommended topics for study. After recording the topics, one should assess for each a reasonable timeframe for learning, possible risks if not transferred, and from these derive prioritization for learning the various topics (including partial learning). The role transferor will complete this form in consultation with less experienced performers of similar roles (if it's a team). The completed form will be signed by him and his manager, who will be responsible for managing and controlling the process.
The second form
Helps define the "how": From the list of topics defined above, this form will contain only the prioritized and included in the learning list (according to the overall timeframe for performing the transfer). For each such topic, a further drill down of subtopics will be done, optimal means for learning (reading, interview, practice, observation, mentoring, and more), and an operational learning plan (the order of learning between the lines, start date, and end date for each topic). This form will also be completed by the departing role transferor and signed by him and his manager. This form will serve as a work plan for implementing the actual transfer. Emphasis - It is recommended that the transfer plan include roles that are as active as possible for the role recipient. Activity has always been the most effective way to ensure actual absorption.
The third form
Assists in the transfer control process: Warning note—This form is not required if the time/scope of the role transfer is small. It will contain weekly status lines that include the planned rate of progress versus the actual implemented rate. This form will be completed jointly by the role transferor, the role recipient, and the manager responsible for them.
If we plan and implement, there is a good chance that the next person in the role will enter their position more smoothly, and we will all benefit.
If you have additional suggestions regarding transferring roles in organizations, please send responses (below), and we will be happy to publish them in the newspaper.
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