Insights, tips, and stories about preserving tribal knowledge in construction and skilled trades.
In today's rapidly evolving workforce, one of the greatest risks facing organizations isn't technological disruption or market volatility, it's the quiet departure of experienced employees carrying decades of unwritten knowledge.
If your team spends more time managing their inbox than doing meaningful work, you're not alone. The average professional receives 121 emails per day and spends 28% of their workweek reading and answering them.
When Sarah, a senior pharmaceutical researcher, retired last year, she took with her something no one could quantify: thirty-four years of pattern recognition about how certain compounds behaved under pressure.
In the late 1990s, a manufacturing plant had a legendary machinist named Joe. Joe could fix anything, but he guarded his knowledge like state secrets. When Joe retired, productivity dropped 30% for six months.
In 2023, a Fortune 500 manufacturer had a problem: they'd recorded over 10,000 hours of expert interviews, plant walkthroughs, and problem-solving sessions. The knowledge was there trapped in audio and video files that no one could search, reference, or use.
When Maria joined the maintenance team at the chemical plant, she received the standard package: 200-page safety manual, 8 hours of video training, and a checklist of procedures. But what actually prepared her for her first emergency?