Intergenerational sharing of knowledge in the organization

AE Trainer

Learning at work involves all employees, it is significantly influenced by the conditions and the culture of the organization. Knowledge management aims at the organizational development by sharing and using information and knowledge within the organization, both inside and outside.


In terms of organization, working groups or teams, knowledge management is about gaining knowledge from those who have it and passing it to those who need it. Hidden (tacit) knowledge is a substantial part of the organization’s knowledge (see Ambrosini & Bowman, 2001).

Figure 2: Relationship between explicit and tacit knowledge (Hroník, 2007)

The personnel management system must support the creation of knowledge and skills of employees, the transfer of knowledge between individuals and groups and the preservation of knowledge within the organization. Age management requires measures to promote cooperation of all generations of employees at organizational level, intergenerational learning has an essential role in the workplace.

Mutual knowledge sharing in the framework of the cooperation of generations is very important for organizations. The ability to share and pass experience is important for older employees, it reinforce their sense of own value, the importance of their abilities. The knowledge transfer from older employees to younger people could be of great benefit, preservation of experience might be of major importance to many organizations.

It is essential for organizations to reflect the specifics of all generations of employees, especially their different ways of learning, and use various tools (e.g. mentoring, shading) to facilitate the process of knowledge sharing (Milligam, 2014). The employee´s motivation and willingness to pass their knowledge to their younger colleagues is crucial. Organizations should create the environment that supports and stimulates this process (see Brčić & Mihelič, 2015).