The impact of corporate memory loss: What happens when a senior executive leaves?

Purpose: The author is a nursing management practitioner, whose purpose in writing this paper is twofold: to examine the impact of corporate memory loss on a health care institution, caused by increasing retirement rates of senior executives; and to use this research as an opportunity for action learning where both the author and the institution can benefit from the learning outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach: Using qualitative research methods based on ethnographic interviewing techniques and grounded theory, the author interviews 12 senior executives from four diverse health care facilities. The purpose is to determine the point at which corporate memory loss, in the form of tacit knowledge in the heads of departing executives, becomes a problem for the institution.

Findings: The research determined that the requisite managerial competencies normally assumed for senior management positions are insufficient to minimize the negative impacts of corporate memory loss caused by departing senior executives. Effective knowledge management and knowledge transfer within the organization are fundamental for ongoing organizational effectiveness.

Research Limitations/implications: The research is limited to 12 senior executives. The grounded theory nature of the research provides a framework for more research in other institutions to test and further explore some of the findings.

Practical Implications: One of the most significant threats facing the majority of health care organizations related to the aging workforce is the greater number of staff who are retiring from all levels within the organization. The development of techniques to reducing the impact of corporate memory loss on the culture of an organization will increase its effectiveness, help build continuity, and provide a more secure footing for the workforce of the future.

Originality/value: The exit of knowledge workers is causing a major problem for Canada's health care organizations. This study throws more light on to this problem from the point of view of senior executives who have been specifically impacted by the problem of corporate memory loss.