Mitigating the Threat of Lost Knowledge within Information Technology Departments

Experienced information technology professionals leaving an organization creates a risk of losing crucia l knowledge. To mitigate this risk, an organization must identify key knowledge holders and develop a plan to transfer their knowledge before these employees leave the organization. This research develops the Knowledge Loss Assessment to identify employees with critical knowledge about important knowledge/skill areas within the IT department. We implemented the Knowledge Loss Assessment within an information technology department of a utility company which resulted in an actionable list of key knowledge holders and a prioritized list of knowledge and skills to transfer to other IT employees within the organization. The results of this study yielded several management principles for researchers and practitioners interested in mitigating the threat of lost knowledge within an information technology department.