Developing the productivity of a dynamic workforce: The impact of informal knowledge transfer

Given the prevalence of career changes, job-hopping, and alternative work arrangements, how do you get a dynamic workforce up to speed? With all of the interest in the management of knowledge, what is the main knowledge transfer mechanism to use to enhance contract-worker and employee productivity? Today, more organizations are using a nontraditional workforce. These organizations are utilizing contract workers as well as employees as resources to provide services and manufacture products. This article focuses on enabling this dynamic workforce to be productive by addressing the organizational socialization “policy,” the formal knowledge transfer, and the informal knowledge transfer related to helping individuals perform at work. This article especially focuses on informal knowledge transfer via social networks, because it is the type of knowledge transfer that is the least understood by companies due to its being difficult to measure and improve. By using a case study of a Fortune 100 company, the article reveals what types of knowledge are important to transfer, the sources of the knowledge, and the mechanism used to transfer this knowledge. It also demonstrates how informal knowledge transfer impacts performance and provides an indication of the effectiveness of organizational socialization. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.