When Experts Leave – How Labs Preserve Knowledge and Train New Employees Faster

Knowledge loss due to employee turnover, retirement, or role changes is one of the greatest—yet often underestimated—risks in the laboratory. This white paper provides practical insights into how fragile dependencies on individuals arise—and how they can be systematically reduced. Using concrete examples from medical laboratories and industry, it highlights typical problem areas: lengthy training periods, unnecessary service calls, quality risks, and unstable processes involving complex methods (e.g., LC-MS, FAME analysis). The white paper examines: what types of knowledge must be safeguarded in the laboratory (SOPs vs. experiential knowledge), how knowledge management, equipment management, and logbooks can work together effectively, what structured onboarding and training concepts might look like, what steps

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