--Lack of Candidates with Leadership Skills Top Reason for Talent Shortage—

--Talent Acquisition Professionals Urged to See Talent as a Key Business Asset –

-- Quality of Hire and Competition for Talent Two Top Issues that Keep Recruiters Up at Night --

Editor’s Note: Full Report and Infographic Available

Los Angeles, May 16, 2017 – A new global study by the Korn Ferry division of Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) finds that talent acquisition professionals are increasingly focusing on the longer-term success of new hires instead of simply measuring the efforts of the hiring process itself.

In Part Three of Talent Forecast, Korn Ferry’s global survey of more than 1,100 hiring professionals, respondents said that while time-to-hire is the top priority metric, it is followed closely by the longer-term metrics of new hire job performance and retention.

“Traditionally, the job of a talent acquisition professional ended when a position was filled,” said George Vollmer, vice president, global accounts & strategic development, Korn Ferry. “But in today’s competitive marketplace, the focus has shifted to finding, hiring and retaining workers who are not only effective in their roles today, but who can also be the leaders of tomorrow.”

In the survey, talent acquisition professionals cited a lack of candidates who can move up the leadership pipeline as the top reason for today’s talent shortages.

“Tackling the leadership pipeline shortage requires that organizations do a more effective job of leadership assessments, development, and succession planning for specific positions,” said Vollmer. “Talent acquisition professionals need to take a strategic view and think of talent as a business asset that should be developed in a systematic manner to provide a foundation for superior organizational performance.”  

According to Vollmer, some organizations are implementing new reward structures to incentivize talent acquisition professionals to think longer term.

“We’ve seen members of the talent acquisition team receive bonuses based on the performance of candidates they brought into the organization – particularly for sales positions and other jobs where performance can be easily quantified,” said Vollmer. “While this is not a common practice, it very likely may become more popular as organizations seek to reward the recruitment of high performers.”

According to the survey, quality of hire and competition for talent are the two most significant issues that keep talent acquisition professionals up at night.

“Non-stop advances in technology and rapidly changing business strategies have led to the creation of jobs that didn’t even exist a few years ago,” said Vollmer. “In addition, there are demands for new skill sets in virtually every job and profession. Hiring and retaining workers who are agile and who can adapt to the fast pace of change is critical for staying ahead of the competition curve.”

About the Study/Report

Talent Forecast is a three-part global series by Korn Ferry. It contains survey data from responses garnered during a global survey of more than 1,100 talent acquisition and human resource professionals across several industries. The study was conducted in late 2016.

About Korn Ferry

Korn Ferry is the preeminent global people and organizational advisory firm. We help leaders, organizations and societies succeed by releasing the full power and potential of people. Our nearly 7,000 colleagues deliver services through our Executive Search, Korn Ferry and Korn Ferry divisions. Visit kornferry.com for more information. More information on Korn Ferry can be found at www.kornferry.com/Korn Ferry

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