Searching for answers in the new world of work

How do employees in large organizations find the information they need to do their jobs? Answer: with great difficulty. Research shows that today’s average office worker spends a staggering 36% of each day consolidating and searching for information — time they could and should be spending doing high-value work. Even when employees can find the information they’re looking for, it’s often inaccurate, redundant or out of date. In fact, almost half (44%) of searches end in complete failure. 

Why are answers so hard to come by? The first big challenge is that only 20% of organizational knowledge is documented. In other words, most of the information people are searching for is not written down — it is locked inside other employees’ heads. In startups and other very small companies, this isn’t such a problem. Just call out your question and the person with the most knowledge on the topic will respond.In large organizations, however, the “expert” is most likely in a different office or function —  perhaps even on a different continent. They are almost certainly unknown to the person who needs answers. Without any means of connecting these two colleagues, the employee with the question is forced to spend hours sifting through inadequate knowledge management systems instead. 

Endless searches for answers in workplaces are not new. But they are growing more frequent, time-consuming and costly — and the shift to remote working is making things worse. With watercooler moments gone, and conference calls proving a poor substitute, employees have even fewer opportunities to tap into each other’s expertise. Collaboration tools may aid communication between colleagues who already know each other, but they do not solve the basic problem of how to share knowledge across locations, teams and different hierarchy levels. As data points multiply, the problem grows exponentially. If organizations do not find a solution — and fast — they face an existential threat to workplace productivity.

That’s where we come in.

Freeing expert knowledge for everyone

Starmind is the smartest, fastest, most intuitive way to connect employees to the expert knowledge they need. It works by using patented AI to analyze non-confidential data and work out who knows what about what at that specific point in time. Then, when someone asks a question on that subject, it sends them straight to the person or people who can help — connecting people who might otherwise never meet. 

Questions are anonymous so nobody feels embarrassed, and answers are peer rated to guarantee quality. Most important of all, Starmind only uses non-private information, which means no snooping, now or ever.

Power of connection

Over recent years, some of the world’s largest companies have adopted Starmind and are now using it to boost productivity, break down silos, retain knowledge and help new starters get quickly up to speed. This has given us fresh insight into how  our platform enables true knowledge sharing and collaboration. It has also given us a renewed purpose: to transform the way the world works by freeing expert knowledge for everyone.  

That’s why, today we launched a bold new identity for Starmind. Shaped by conversations with our customers, employees and network, our revitalized brand homes in on the biggest challenges large enterprises are currently facing. We understand how difficult it is to connect and share knowledge across the organization. We can see that traditional knowledge management solutions aren’t up to the job. We want to offer organizations a quick-to-implement, easy-to-use AI platform that can solve this problem for good. 

Underpinning all the changes we are making is one simple thought: the power of connection. This is the unique quality that separates us from unwieldy knowledge management systems and inward-looking collaboration tools. So, we’ve made it the basis for our new-look brand. Colors, graphics, typography, even our logo — everything has been redesigned. Everything now clearly conveys how Starmind can help organizations connect people and knowledge across teams, functions and geographies. 

Future of work starts here

We believe effective knowledge collaboration is the foundation of a more productive workforce. In companies that are already using our platform, employees are now able to go straight to the answers they need 97.8% of the time. This saves them hours spent tediously searching — time they are able to devote instead to more interesting, value-creating work. Result? Higher productivity, less stressed managers and much happier employees. 

As we kick off a new chapter in our history, we invite you to let us help you discover the power of connection. By freeing up expert knowledge in your organization, we can transform the way you and your team work.