Transferring Intellectual Property Across Generations

In the United States, 2015 served as a year unlike any other. For the first time in history, the labor force was comprised of three distinct generations equally: Baby boomers, Gen Xers and millennials stood at approximately 50 million each. As such, intellectual capital becomes a vital concept for companies that want to pass on their culture to younger generations.

The main reason businesses must take advantage of this historic division of labor is because of talent migration, wherein experienced workers divulge intangible tricks of the trade to other employees as intellectual capital. This is not a transfer of actual assets from one account to another. Instead, this process talks about how people pass along experience, job knowledge, human relationships and the value of employees to the next generation of business leaders.

Baby boomers will continue to retire in droves for the next 20 years. Before that happens, there is a specific window of time during which older workers can pass on tricks of the trade to the younger millennials who eventually fill senior roles in companies. As baby boomers leave executive positions, Gen Xers step into those vacated roles and then millennials form the basis for mid-level management positions.

The time is right for companies to pass on intellectual capital from one generation to the next before it's too late, ensuring survival. Baby boomers have plenty to offer younger generations, including business strategies, marketing tactics, processes and, most importantly, relationships in the field. Firms must create coherent strategies to pass this critical knowledge to younger workers.

Collaboration is the key as everyone must work together towards a common goal. Everyone must understand their roles in this process. People in Generation X have a pivotal role in the middle as baby boomers pass on their leadership knowledge to a younger generation, and millennials must earn the respect of this middle generation. Gen Xers deserve respect from younger peers, but they still have a lot to learn from baby boomers.

Older people must be willing to impart intellectual capital on others, while the two youngest generations should show a willingness to learn. Baby boomers relied on hard work and sacrifice to get where they are today. A 2013 study from the University of Southern California shows the two generations after baby boomers value teamwork, greater flexibility and a better work-life balance as opposed to greater work demands. When talent migration occurs, older executives must take into account the needs of younger workers when they consider the legacy they leave before retirement.

Speed and efficiency remain important concepts within intellectual capital, and technology creates a better way of doing things in many office settings. Much of the technology in workplaces today wasn't available 20 years ago, and younger generations thrive with office tech. Companies can pass knowledge with training videos, emails, newsletters and infographics just as much as a one-year mentoring program.

Intellectual capital survives when everyone participates in the dissemination of knowledge. The best way to pass knowledge from one set of workers to another is to have a concrete plan in place so everyone knows what to expect. That means executives must take the lead and set the example.

Photo courtesy of Sephyr_Raon_Noxor at Flickr.com