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CHAPTER 6
Intergenerational learning in organisations – A research framework 111

behind their working. However, this was a first attempt at using that
particular methodology and needs further work;
(d) new interventions for stimulating knowledge transfer and retention: as in
the first theme, prescriptive, design-based research can be done here as
well. This can lead to practical knowledge about how organisations can
transfer and retain crucial knowledge older employees have;
(e) developing new guidance and counselling models: as mentioned above,
guidance and counselling models directly related to ageing knowledge
workers have only recently started to emerge. Research is needed to
understand the differences between knowledge workersʼ needs and
employees in other sectors.

6.3. Theme two: retaining critical organisational
knowledge

This theme comes mainly from knowledge management literature and
explores how organisations can retain and reuse critical organisational
knowledge in face of an ageing organisational population. This theme too is
based on the idea that, considering demographic predictions of labour force
make-up, organisations will be faced increasingly with an ageing worker
population. In turn it means they will lose, at an increasing rate as well, not
only critical expertise, but also critical knowledge. Such a situation will be
especially problematic for knowledge intensive organisations because they
are dependent on using and reusing critical knowledge and know-how to
remain competitive. Because of the complex and rapidly changing nature of
the competitive environment in which firms operate, highly-skilled knowledge
workers are crucial to a firmʼs success. In organisations where intricate skills
and knowledge are difficult to codify, the knowledge worker forms the basis
for both organisational knowledge retention and transfer. Knowledge
management systems are just not advanced enough to deal with the
complexity alone. From a knowledge management perspective, organisations
will not only be challenged to keep their knowledge workers in service longer,
they will also need to develop ways in which organisational knowledge,
located in the minds of older workers, is transferred and subsequently retained
for reuse. The two concepts of retention and transfer are closely tied together;
without the latter, the former cannot really occur.
Knowledge retention is problematic for most knowledge-intensive firms, but
an ageing population confounds this further, making retention the biggest