Amogelang Montane | Partner | Human Resources Business | Business Partners Limited | mail me |
A recent survey, The Great Retirement, found that 51% of the global workforce is expected to retire or leave within five years.
For South African Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) already struggling with skills shortages, this could place additional pressure on business continuity, productivity and growth. Moreover, more than 60% of South African businesses already cite skills gaps as a barrier to progress.
Skills transfer is critical for succession planning
Losing experienced employees doesn’t just create vacancies; it deepens an existing structural constraint. For SMEs in particular, the departure of long-serving employees can mean the loss of critical knowledge, operational insight and client relationships that are difficult, if not impossible, to replace overnight. As a result, these businesses risk significant disruptions to long-term growth.
Succession planning plays a critical role in mitigating this risk. Rather than treating it as a once-off exercise triggered by retirement, businesses should make succession planning an ongoing, embedded process. Planning ahead allows businesses to identify critical roles, prepare successors, and ensure a smoother transition when employees eventually exit.
Beyond formal succession planning, businesses must incorporate knowledge sharing into everyday practices. Too often, knowledge transfer only takes place reactively, when an employee has already resigned or announced their retirement. A more sustainable approach is to create a culture where information and expertise are continuously shared across teams.
Making skills transfer critical to business continuity
Practical interventions such as mentorship programmes, job shadowing and cross-training can help businesses transfer critical skills. These approaches enable less experienced employees to learn directly from seasoned professionals. They also expose them to real-world scenarios and decision-making processes that manuals or training materials cannot always capture.
Making skills transfer critical to everyday operations helps SMEs preserve institutional knowledge and prepare future leaders.
Businesses can further strengthen these efforts through initiatives such as the SME Youth Jobs Fund. The fund supports businesses in expanding their workforce by creating employment opportunities for young people. By bringing younger talent into the business, SMEs can pair new employees with experienced colleagues through structured workplace learning and mentorship. In this way, they can simultaneously address succession planning, skills transfer, and youth employment.
Businesses should also take deliberate steps to document processes and capture tacit knowledge. Experienced employees often hold valuable information, from client preferences to problem-solving shortcuts, that exists informally and remains unrecorded. By formalising this knowledge through documentation, digital tools and knowledge management systems, organisations can preserve critical insights, reduce dependency on individuals and improve operational resilience.
In some cases, SMEs may also benefit from retaining retirees in advisory or mentorship roles on a part-time or contractual basis. This approach allows businesses to maintain access to valuable expertise while allowing experienced professionals to support and develop the next generation.
Retaining expertise and strengthening internal capability
Retaining institutional knowledge does not always mean retaining employees in full-time roles. Flexible arrangements can help businesses bridge the gap while strengthening internal capability.
The bottom line is that effective skills transfer strengthens productivity, supports growth and improves the long-term sustainability of SMEs. Making skills transfer critical to business strategy can help organisations preserve expertise, develop future talent and prepare for workforce transitions.
South African businesses that prioritise succession and knowledge retention are better positioned to adapt, innovate and remain competitive. Failing to manage skills transfer is like setting up your business to fail.
