Socrates’ Law of Questions: Creating a Single Source of Truth
In 1965, Gordon Moore, an engineer and co-founder of Intel, posited that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubled every year. In 1975, he revised this forecast to say the number of transistors would double every two years and thus, impact the ability to process more information in less time – and that has mostly remained true even today.
Known as Moore’s Law, his observation is based on an empirical relationship linked to gains from experience in production. In other words, as the industry gets more efficient at producing chips, Moore predicted there would be exponential growth in device complexity and processing speed at reduced costs over time.
While not as well-known as Moore’s law (at least not yet), Socrates’ Law of Questions draws a similar conclusion. Developed by Socrates.ai, this law stipulates that as the complexity of work and the magnitude of challenges increase, the number of questions in the workforce doubles about every two years. It is based on an empirical relationship linked to the pace of change, the amount of information confronting the workforce and the speed at which organizations need to adapt and change direction. When each question surfaces, it becomes what Socrates calls a “moment that matters.” Companies succeed in these moments when the question is addressed quickly, clearly and in a way that’s comfortable for the employee. Successful moments that matter help increase the inherent trust between a company and its workforce. In today’s world, digital transformation is the path that progressive organizations select to create a single source of truth with answers delivered in a straightforward, easy to understand way.
More questions need more answers
Consider the many questions employees can have on any given day, whether simple questions about dress code or time-off policy to more complex inquiries about health insurance. HR often spends hours each week answering these questions – many of which come up again and again. And as new issues arise, especially in the face of the ongoing COVID pandemic, companies have to be prepared to address them.
The solution to Socrates’ Law lies in the transistors and chips that inspired Moore 55 years ago, and that power the digital devices we rely on today to get information in real-time.
The Socrates.ai employee experience platform leverages the latest in artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide answers to employee questions – automatically and instantly. That means HR doesn’t have to spend their valuable time responding to each and every query. Employees meanwhile get instant responses in conversational, easily understood language, rather than complicated jargon only fellow HR people understand.
Unlike common employee FAQ documents updated once a year, the Socrates platform can be continuously revised to address new questions, provide in-depth answers, and leverage best practices or content from other businesses. So, as the number of questions increases exponentially, you’ll be prepared with a single source of truth, enabling accurate, informative and instant answers.
A productive and well-informed workforce
One of the principles of Moore’s Law is that as the number of transistors increases, it enables technology to be produced at a lower cost. The same holds true when those ever-growing number of questions are answered by Socrates.
Our platform enables companies to cut the time wasted when employees have to chase down answers or sort through lengthy policy documents, not to mention the time HR experts would spend answering those questions. As a result, the company can reduce the costs associated with lost productivity while ensuring a productive and well-informed workforce.