The fluctuation is seen as a danger for the company. The fluctuation is not dangerous, when the organization has a clear plan for the protection of know how and knowledge in the organization. The employee can leave the company, but the organization has to keep the knowledge to make sure, the smooth operation can continue.
When the managers speak about the fluctuation and the danger resulting from the employee turnover, they usually speak about the know how in the danger. It is very important role of the managers to keep the know how in the organization. The role of the manager is to protect the organization against the danger of losing know how.
The manager has to expect some level of the fluctuation and build enough tools for the smooth transition of the know how in the team. The most common managerial tools to protect know how in the team:
- Process Flow Charts
- Rotations of employees
- Shared Responsibility
The process flow charts are the most common tool to protect know how of the organization. They should help the new comer to understand the processes quickly, but it is just a piece of the paper. The real knowledge is not usually described and the process flow chart is really a last chance for the orientation of the new employee. The danger of the fluctuation cannot be cured by the description of the processes.
The rotations are the best cure for the danger of the fluctuation in the team. The employees have no chance to have the unique knowledge as they have to change their roles and responsibilities in the team from time to time. The rotations are very demanding for the manager and employees as they like to have their own responsibilities and to be the real experts in their area of the responsibility. The rotations build shared knowledge in the team and the employees have to be ready to take over the responsibilities of the leaving employee from day to day.
