Knowledge is retiring - Why companies need to act now
In German manufacturing companies, skilled workers have been operating the same machines for 30 or 40 years. They know every move, every peculiarity, every solution to problems that cannot be found in any manual. And they all leave - approximately at the same time. What happens then is not a theoretical risk. It is a ticking clock.
The Quiet Transformation on the Shop Floor
In hundreds of discussions with production managers, plant managers, and CEOs from the manufacturing sector, we consistently hear the same thing: The most experienced employees will retire in the next few years - and take their knowledge with them.
"Man, you know, just turn the screw, then it'll work again." - Such lines are not found in any manual. They describe experiential knowledge that has grown over decades and almost exclusively exists in the minds of individual people. Not in systems, not in documents, not in training materials.
The danger in this: This knowledge doesn't vanish eventually. It disappears a little more each day - with every sick leave, each vacation day, and every retirement notice.
Why Even Stable Workforces Are at Risk
Many companies believe they are safe: "Our turnover is low, and our people have been here for years." But that actually obscures the true risk.
Low Turnover | High Turnover |
|---|---|
Knowledge is concentrated among a few experts | Knowledge is constantly diluted through dissemination |
Risk: Sudden knowledge gap during retirement wave | Risk: Telephone game effect during each onboarding |
The problem is invisible - until it's too late | The problem is visible - but is accepted as "normal" |
Typical: Mid-sized companies with a mature workforce | Typical: Plants with international teams & temporary work |
Low turnover does not mean there is no problem - often, it only means the problem is not yet visible. When a handful of experts retire simultaneously, a knowledge gap emerges overnight that cannot be easily closed.
The Telephone Game Effect: How Knowledge Erodes with Every Passing
On the other hand, there are companies with high turnover, where new employees must be trained continually. In a plant with nearly 30 nationalities and over 15 language groups, onboarding at the line is particularly challenging.
The common practice:
An experienced colleague shows the new employee the process.
The new employee eventually shows it to the next person.
With each transfer a piece of quality is lost.
Like in the game of Telephone. Add to this paper-based instructions that no one reads and PowerPoint trainings forgotten after two days.
Three Reasons Why Companies Must Act Now
Companies are aware of the problem. Production managers openly admit they have no solution to retain the knowledge of their top staff. However, three developments are making the situation urgent right now:
1. Demographics are non-negotiable
The baby boomer generation is exiting production. This is not a trend that can be reversed. Reacting in three years means losing three years of knowledge.
2. The labor market offers nothing
Experienced specialists are scarce. New employees bring motivation but rarely 20 years of process experience. The gap between what machines and processes demand - and what new hires bring on their first day of work, is widening.
3. Compliance tolerates no improvisation
Whether IFS, ISO, or industry-specific audits - the requirements for documented training and demonstrable competence are increasing. "The foreman showed that to the new guy once" is not audit evidence.
Example calculation: A company with 150 employees, where 25% of the workforce will retire in the next 5 years, loses almost 40 experts along with all their undocumented experiential knowledge. Each of them has processes in their heads that no system knows.
What Companies Can Do - Before It's Too Late
The good news: The knowledge still exists today. It resides in the minds of experienced employees - and it can be secured. Not with complicated manuals, but with an approach as simple as the knowledge itself:
Capture experiential knowledge. Let your best people show what they know - via video, directly at the machine. No script, no film crew. Just capture the real know-how before it goes.
Prepare with AI support. The recording is automatically divided into logical chapters, edited, and subtitled - without manual effort.
Translate into all languages. AI dubbing makes the guide available in over 30 languages - so it's understood at any line, regardless of mother tongue.
Derive training and evidence. From a video, trainings emerge with understanding tests, step-by-step checklists, and versioned instructions - ready for any audit.
The result: The knowledge of your most experienced employees becomes a digital corporate asset - accessible to everyone, in every language, around the clock. Even if the person who shared it has long been retired.
Securing knowledge is a matter of priority, not technology
The companies that start systematically documenting their practical knowledge now will gain a decisive advantage. Not someday. Now.
Because in the end, it's not the machine that decides your product quality. It's the people who operate it. And their knowledge deserves to be preserved - before they retire.
Kraka is the platform that makes process knowledge in manufacturing visible, accessible, and scalable. From video recording to AI translation to auditable training - all in one solution. Learn more at gokraka.com.
