Bersin & Associates Research Survey Shows Costs of Time Searching for
Information Can Exceed $50,000 Annually for Each Executive
NORWOOD, Mass., Dec. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Books24x7(R), a
subsidiary of SkillSoft PLC (Nasdaq: SKIL) and the developer of online
Referenceware(R) for IT, business, engineering, financial and government
professionals, today announced the availability of a new research report, "How
Executives Stay Informed: A Study of Resources Used and Time Spent Locating
Critical Business Information." The study, written by Bersin & Associates,
finds that most senior-level executives spend hours each week searching the
Internet in frustration for business-related information that will help them
stay informed and current. The largest group of respondents, 37%, reported
spending four or more hours each week searching for information; 36% spent two
to four hours each week on information searches.
"The most surprising finding in this survey is the large amount of time
executives spend searching for information," said Josh Bersin, president and
founder of Bersin & Associates. "At today's executive salary levels, four
hours of search time can cost companies $1,000 or more per week -- not
including the cost of lost opportunities, delayed decisions, or other work not
completed. If you apply this estimated figure to Fortune 500 companies, the
money spent adds up to $60M each year."
Other study findings include:
* 91% of executives routinely use the Internet when searching for
business-related information. Respondents relied on the Internet more
than any other source, including trade journals, books, newspapers, and
webinars.
* 47% indicate that unproductive searches and the need to sift through
"too much information" are primary challenges associated with using the
Internet.
* A majority of executives spend four or more hours reading each week to
stay informed and current. More time is spent reading at home or while
traveling than in the office.
* 67.5% of respondents said they don't read books or articles in entirety
but read summaries, skim, or read specific sections.
* 14.4% read seven to ten business books a year, 21.4% read four to six
books, and 45.8% read one to three books. 74.9% of respondents said
they'd like to read more, but are limited because of time.
"This research supports our belief that executives are information seekers
who place highest value on information that is current, easy to find, to-the-
point, and written by reliable sources," said John Ambrose, general manager of
Books24x7. "While executives regularly use the Internet to help locate
information because of its speed and ease, they also indicated that they are
repeatedly frustrated by too many irrelevant web results. The best resources
for this audience combine powerful search technologies with highly relevant
and credible information."
"The highest, most mature level of corporate learning is learning on
demand," said Bersin. "While executives would never use this phrase, that's
exactly the way they learn. They want the ability to obtain highly specific,
relevant information whenever and wherever it's needed. Companies should
factor this need into the learning resources made available to their senior
executives."
A copy of the full report can be downloaded at http://exec.books24x7.com.
Of the study's 202 respondents, 43% were over age 50 and 40% were between
36 and 50 in age. The vast majority, 84%, were male. 49% of respondents had
C-level or vice president titles; 51% had director-level titles.
About Bersin & Associates
Bersin & Associates is the only research and advisory firm solely focused
on corporate-learning with a comprehensive research program targeted to the
needs of learning professionals and executives. In 2001, Bersin & Associates
introduced the What Works series, primary research that offers learning
practitioners factual and practical insight that can improve program
effectiveness and results, reduce costs, and avoid time-consuming and costly
mistakes. The company specializes in six research areas: planning and
strategy, blended learning, content development, learning management systems
and infrastructure, measurement and analytics, and talent management. The
company develops industry-leading research studies and provides advisory
services to corporations and e-learning vendors. For more information, go to
http://www.bersin.com or call (561) 939-6345.
About Books24x7
Books24x7, a subsidiary of SkillSoft PLC, offers subscription clients
online access to more than 9,500 unabridged IT and business books, reports and
book summaries. Books24x7's patent-pending technology platform enables users
to pinpoint business-critical information quickly by performing multi-tier,
online searches of the company's Referenceware collections: ITPro(TM),
BusinessPro(TM), EngineeringPro(TM), FinancePro(TM), ExecBlueprints(TM),
ExecSummaries(TM), ExecSuite(TM), GovEssentials(TM) and OfficeEssentials(TM).
Books24x7 Referenceware bridges the gap between what employees know and
what they need to know in hundreds of leading organizations, including Bank of
America, CSC, Deloitte, EDS and Lockheed Martin. The company has
relationships with more than 290 leading publishers, including AMACOM, Apress,
ASTD, Harvard Business School Press, McGraw-Hill, Microsoft Press and John
Wiley & Sons. For more information, visit http://www.books24x7.com
About SkillSoft
SkillSoft is a leading provider of comprehensive e-learning content and
technology solutions for business and IT professionals within the Global 2000.
SkillSoft's multi-modal learning solutions support and enhance the speed and
effectiveness of both formal and informal learning processes and integrate
SkillSoft's in-depth content resources, learning management platform, virtual
classroom technology and support services.
In addition to Books24x7 Referenceware collections, SkillSoft offers
business and IT skills courseware collections and environmental health and
safety compliance courseware by GoTrain. SkillSoft's complementary
technologies include SkillPort(R), the company's learning management system
with its powerful Search-and-Learn capabilities, and SkillSoft(R)
Dialogue(TM), the company's newly introduced virtual classroom offering with
associated tools for blended learning solutions.
For more information, visit http://www.skillsoft.com.
Contacts:
Linda Galloway
Apollo Associates LLC
203 790 1591
lgalloway@apolloassociates.com
SOURCE SkillSoft PLC
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Related links:
http://www.skillsoft.com
http://www.books24x7.com http://www.bersin.com
CONTACT:
Linda Galloway of Apollo Associates LLC for
SkillSoft, +1-203-790-1591, lgalloway@apolloassociates.com
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