Abstract:
Knowledge workers are no longer limited to only one employer for a
lifetime, but they have “boundary-less” careers, they proactively,
consciously and independently build their careers by accumulating the
relevant knowledge and skills that will propel their employability in the
market. This makes it easy for knowledge workers to move from one job to
the next and become independent of a single employer.
It is difficult for employers to retain knowledge workers given the high
levels of mobility and increased competition for their skills, but the retention
of their knowledge is critical. Given this, technical succession planning
appears to be highly relevant in the new world of work. It is defined by
Rothwell (2010), as a form of succession planning that focuses on
retaining organisational and professional knowledge to be used by the
organisation in the future. It also refers to the transfer of knowledge from
more to less experienced workers.
This research aimed to explore factors that impact knowledge sharing
amongst knowledge workers and knowledge retention. The results showed
that; consultants which are the knowledge workers that were considered
for this study, engage in knowledge sharing out of autonomous motivation,
the multigenerational make up of knowledge organisations does not
negatively impact knowledge sharing, knowledge workers do not hoard
their knowledge because they fear that they will lose the power that comes
with holding that knowledge and the national and brand prestige of
knowledge organisations fosters employee commitment, but it is short term
commitment. The outcomes of this research highlight factors for
consideration by knowledge organisations and experts when developing
knowledge sharing and retention strategies.
