Knowledge Management and the Great Crew Change

As you know, “The Great Crew Change” refers to the disruptions within the oil and gas industry as workers are retiring and leaving a large gap in experience and knowledge. The inevitable loss of talent is alarming because as the aging workforce exits, qualified industry workers are few and there currently is an insufficient pool of talent to draw from.

Additionally impacting the talent shortage, is the fact that the industry has had to streamline its workforce in order to remain competitive financially within the global market. All of this equals a talent shortage like none other in recent memory.

Industry leaders need solutions to ensure their organization’s knowledge base is maintained during this Great Crew Change. Actual experience is different than theoretical knowledge, so management will need to integrate new talent and technology to competitively deliver products and services.

Here a couple of statistics to help illustrate the point:

1.    Ninety percent of oil and gas executives know talent shortage is an issue. But, knowledge isn’t enough. What are you going to do with that knowledge? Will you be proactive or reactive in implementing a solution?
2.     Fifty percent of the workforce is retiring within the next five to seven years. That only leaves half of your seasoned and knowledgeable workforce. Who is going to replace your other half?
3.    There’s a huge demographic gap in the industry of workers aged between 35 and 55+ in years. That’s a span of twenty years, and it can affect the way you do business. How are your workers communicating with each other? Do you have a universal system that is user-friendly to all of your workers?
4.    Two workers retire as one new employee enters the workforce. Are you doubling up on your hiring and training efforts? How are you transferring your knowledge base from the seasoned worker to the new worker? Do you have the tools to make sure you have an efficient and accurate transfer?

The Solution

So what’s the solution? Technology can help the industry transition efficiently and effectively during this change. Specifically, many organizations are adopting web-based technology solutions to protect established knowledge reserves.

One way web-based technology helps businesses do more with less, is that it offers an efficient transfer of information among workers who may be stationed remotely or may have diverse geographical locations.

Another benefit of web-based solutions is that it ensures protection of valuable information while allowing for real time updates so you can serve your customers efficiently. Web-based solutions are especially effective in knowledge management and communication because any authorized worker can access the information he needs 24/7 and share it as necessary.

Lastly, web-based solutions are valuable to your business because this is a form of technology that attracts the younger workforce.  The younger generation has grown up with technology and is skilled in its use. This fact could offer your organization a win/win training solution because it narrows the experience gap as knowledge is transferred.

Going Forward

The bottom line is that all of these points affect your bottom line. Web-based solutions can appear to be a luxury to decision makers who are responsible for budget decisions.  However, the fact remains that once your solution is in place, the returns on your investment are measurable and offer the peace of mind of protecting your organizational knowledge base.  Being proactive in the transfer of your knowledge base is the best solution to the Great Crew Change problem.