It Takes 8 Attempts to Find an Accurate Search Result

SearchYourCloud announces findings from a recent search survey conducted in both the UK and US. The survey showed that a third of respondents spend between five and twenty-five minutes searching every time they want to find a document, while only one in five searches is correct the first time. The search for corporate information is eating into workplace productivity, according to the latest research from SearchYourCloud. Moreover, despite the mobile revolution and access to content via multiple devices, search remains a complex and time consuming exercise which wastes valuable time.

The research, conducted in both the UK and the US, found that on average, workers in both markets spent up to 25 minutes looking for a single document in over a third of searches conducted. The responses were similar in the UK and US except those reflecting differing attitudes on BYOD and mobile security between the markets. Furthermore, in 80% of cases it took up to eight attempts to find the right information. Only 20 percent of respondents reported first time successful searches.

Key findings from the survey include:

  • It takes workers up to eight searches to find the right document and information, according to 80% of respondents.
  • When the response are broken down still further, 67.52% of searches take at least three attempts.
  • Just over 30% of searches conducted take up to 25 minutes per document.
  • 58% of the entire sample responded that they could not search for work related information on their smart device, a figure that rises to 63% in the UK and falls to 48% in the US.
  • When asked if this inability reflected a threat to IT security, just over 50% said that it did.
  • Despite restrictions on remote smart device access to the corporate network, 56% of the entire sample spent up to 20% of the work week away from the desktop!
  • Of those working remotely, 46 percent needed access to the corporate network almost continually throughout the day.

Like this article?

Share on Twitter
Share on Linkdin
Share on Facebook
Share via email

Other posts that might be of interest

Blogging and 9/11

On September 11th 2001 I was on holiday with my wife Cathy and my son Elliot, who was nearly two years old at the time. We had been out to lunch and got back at

Read More »