Retiring Minds

Facilities keep buildings safe, running smoothly, and inspection-ready, but retirements and shortages of skilled workers don’t bode well for planning with decades of disorganized institutional knowledge haunting many organizations.

Eye-Opening Statistics Create Fears for the Future

• 40% of facilities managers are expected to retire by 2026 (IFMA)
• The industry faces a shortage of 158,000 skilled workers through the end of the decade
• Institutional knowledge is walking out the door—undocumented, unshared, and unrecoverable

“Even when processes are written down, what’s lost is the experience—the why behind the how.” —Danielle Gathje, VP of Hospital Operations, St. John’s Hospital

What Happens When Knowledge Walks Away?

• Increased Downtime – Fewer experienced techs mean more time diagnosing problems
• Higher Costs – New hires require extensive training
• More Risk – Safety protocols, shut-offs, and emergency responses are harder to execute
• Lost Momentum – Innovation, process improvement, and sustainability efforts stall
• Burnout – Remaining staff stretched to cover more ground

How ARC Facilities Helps Teams Organize & Share the Knowledge

• Knowledge Captured

  Digitally document what retiring staff know—from shutoffs to floor plans to equipment details—so it’s never lost.

• Instant Access for All

  Field teams get mobile access to building information 24/7, even in emergencies.

• Onboard Faster, Smarter

  New hires get up to speed quickly with accurate, accessible building information.

• Maintain Continuity

  Protect institutional memory and keep operations smooth—even through staffing transitions.

Effectively Captured: A Half Century of Facility History

Still growing at more than 20 million square feet, 60+ year old St. Francis Hospital has been renovated many times of the over years. In the process, the accumulation of facility documentation has grown, too. While key individuals have left the hospital over the years, veteran team members and new hires are using tablets, and the ARC Facilities app helps them respond quicker to situations and eliminate the need to travel back and forth to find critical data.

Taking Action: Protect Your Team’s Legacy

Labor trends may be out of your control, but preserving your team's hard-earned knowledge isn’t. Whether you're onboarding new techs, preparing for retirements, or improving emergency response, the key is shifting institutional knowledge out of file cabinets and people's heads—and into a centralized, mobile platform.