Starmind, the shared employee intelligence company, has today unveiled a new report shining a light on the talent, expertise and skills gap challenges facing global enterprises. Research conducted amongst over 1,000 knowledge workers in the UK and US for the Starmind Future of Work mini guide for Solving the Talent, Expertise & Skill Gap Challenge has revealed that:

• Employees use just 38% of their knowledge and expertise at work meaning organizations are failing to adequately unlock even half of the intellectual capital and brainpower of their people
• 61% of workers can’t find the information they need to do their job effectively
• 90% of employees want more opportunities to share knowledge and expertise

Only a fraction of employee intelligence is being put to use

Too much intellectual brainpower and expertise is going underutilized, with further statistics pointing to a critical disconnect between the knowledge and skills organizations have access to, and how they organize and leverage them:

• 61% of employees feel they could contribute more but they don’t know how
• Three quarters (75%) say their organization would benefit from accessing more of their expertise 
• 65% have knowledge their organization isn’t aware of / doesn’t capitalize on

Lost productivity is plaguing enterprises

Meanwhile, individuals that want to either share skills and expertise or ask questions lack direction on who to approach and how. The sheer quantity of data at our disposal coupled with an inability to find task-critical information easily is posing a huge threat to productivity as enterprises risk losing out to duplication, slowed innovation, mistakes and inhibited problem solving:   

• Information overload means individuals are lost for answers: 57% feel overwhelmed by the volume of information they receive each day and 56% state they receive too many notifications 
• An inability to track down organizational experts: 57% of workers experience having a question they need answering but don’t know who to ask and 52% avoid asking questions entirely because they don’t know who to approach
• Hours wasted on non-productive, repetitive tasks are costing enterprises heavily: Knowledge workers spend over a working month each year (26 days) searching for information, knowledge and the right expertise in their organization

“Not being able to quickly and efficiently access organizational intelligence is a huge burden on productivity,” commented Oliver Muhr, CEO of Starmind. “Failing to find, unlock and share knowledge effectively not only leads to a duplication of work and time wasted but makes brain drain a real threat. As the war for talent, expertise and skills heats up, organizations need to do more to make use of their collective brainpower and skills. Giving employees on-demand access to the information they need can plug productivity holes, enable them to excel in their job and solve problems quickly.”

Poor knowledge structures are impacting employee satisfaction 

It’s not only business productivity at risk, but employee satisfaction and retainment too. Starmind’s Future of Work Research found over half of workers have previously left a job due to not having access to the information they need to work effectively, while 83% feel happier at work when sharing knowledge and helping others. As Gen Z’s become a growing force in the workplace, bringing with them a greater propensity for collaboration and knowledge-sharing, firms need to do more to untap the power of their team’s intellectual capital.  

AI to help solve the future skills challenge

Leveraging and building skills in-house is fast becoming one of the most important components of enterprise strategy — one technology can support. 70% of respondents said they believe artificial intelligence adds value and can help them be more effective, while 71% feel more comfortable using a tech platform to search for information than calling a colleague. Despite this, 80% would put greater trust in a co-worker than an AI or automated response, showing the continued importance of human connections at work, even in the AI-age. 

Starmind itself combines human and AI to redefine the future of work. Using self-learning algorithms it creates neural intelligence networks that replicate how the human brain works. By learning who knows what in an organization, Starmind can unlock employee’s collective intelligence and expertise to supercharge productivity and innovation, while enabling workers to develop new skills rapidly. 

For more information, find the full research report here: www.starmind.ai/future-work-research