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Encore careers: knowledge is an asset

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Unlike most other business assets, knowledge is intangible and relies on human cognition, memory, and experience. Defining or measuring a knowledge asset, therefore, means putting an individual and collaborative value on people. Because knowledge assets are so critical to maintaining a competitive advantage, it’s important to understand just what they look like and how they’re best managed.

As we’re working longer and later into our lives, instead of fully retiring, some people are opting to pursue their passions with an encore career. Harnessing the wisdom of experience will be essential.

When you hear or read the word assets, most people tend to think of physical things: properties, computers, vehicles, furniture and the like. Sometimes, you might even think of less tangible things, like patents or trade secrets. But one of the biggest assets any organization has is actually quite simple. It’s knowledge.

Although bringing in fresh eyes for ideas and details on the latest trends and topics can be incredibly helpful, we wanted to take some time out to talk about the importance of the knowledge that can mainly be gained through decades of experience.

Older workers, such as baby boomers or elder Generation Xers, tend to have a lot of experience and related insights that they’ve gained over the past several decades. Whether we’re talking about creating a repository for all of those insights and connections when someone leaves a post or building up a knowledge database in a new career venture, the world needs effective solutions for both retaining that knowledge and reinventing one’s career path after retirement.

As these workers approach traditional retirement age (and especially with the COVID-19 pandemic highlighting the importance of people and making memories), many of these generational fountains of knowledge are looking for ways to put their skills and expertise to use for projects that they find meaningful. Enter the encore career.

Encore careers are seen as a way for people to use their expertise and energy to make a positive difference — whether that’s on a local, community level or on a global scale. With a focus on social and emotional benefits (rather than just the financial focus of a job), these second-act careers combine passions and values while still supplementing the individual’s income and providing some structure to their daily life. But even though it sounds idyllic and indeed energizing, this cultural shift isn’t without its challenges.

“Baby boomers are the largest sector of the population, but they are also the segment where a significant amount of institutional knowledge resides,” wrote Carmel Joe and Pak Yoong in Harnessing the Knowledge Assets of Older Workers. “They have time on their hands, they have good health compared with past generations, and they have knowledge that is a valuable asset to organizations. They need to find ways of channeling these assets. They have capabilities to mentor other workers, and through this role, build a sense of security, be motivated in meaningful work and enjoy challenge and growth.”

Preserving that institutional knowledge when someone retires and moves on to their encore career is one of the first challenges for existing businesses, especially if people need to be incentivized to share. Historical knowledge — such as how processes and systems have evolved in the organization, observations about the company’s markets and customer relationships, details on key industry players and resources, awareness of unique skills and software languages that are no longer taught, and familiarity with the company’s culture, politics and norms — can offer the confidence to respond calmly in a crisis.

This knowledge isn’t always explicitly communicated and documented in an organization, and having a place to structure and pass on all of those tangible items (like emails, files, folders and links) and intangible insights (with comments that add context to content) is key. As Professor Martin Ihrig said in an interview with the World Economic Forum, “… the more you structure, the more you codify knowledge, the easier it is to share that knowledge, both internally and externally.”

But there’s an additional challenge for those looking to embark on their encore careers. Knowing where to start can be a problem right out of the gate, so seeking out organizations that understand the desire to co-create the future is helpful. Having a set of templates to guide you through it or a simple place to compile, organize and contextualize everything you need is incredibly important, too.

At Correlate, we’re trying to create just that: a simple, easy-to-use knowledge management system that addresses the problem of scattered and siloed information. Our mission is to make space (and time) for people to connect the dots, collaborate and focus on what really matters, moment to moment — in life and in work.

Want to help us build something better? Test out Correlate today, and share your feedback with us on how we can help create a better system that supports intentional productivity. Try Correlate for free

The post Encore careers: knowledge is an asset appeared first on Correlate.com.


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