Based on input from talent acquisition, development and
compensation experts from across the globe, Korn Ferry (NYSE: KFY)
has identified emerging global talent trends for 2020.
“The workforce is rapidly evolving. In the coming year we will
see an even greater focus on transparency, agility, culture and
purpose-driven leadership,” said Byrne Mulrooney, Chief Executive
Officer, Korn Ferry RPO, Professional Search and Korn Ferry
Digital. “Employers are also becoming more flexible in how they
embrace technology, attract and reward employees, and create
ongoing transformation at all levels of the organization.”
Following are several emerging talent trends (in no particular
order):
Goodbye control, consistency and closure. Hello trust,
purpose and agility.
In the not-so-distant past, structures and controls guided how
work got done. It was the boss’s job to set the strategy and
tightly control the process through to the outcome. Now, instead of
trying to energize people around an analytical strategy, leaders
are creating an agile and adaptable culture where teams trust each
other and understand the purpose of the work: “why” we exist, who
we are as an organization, and what we stand for.
In fact, in a recent Korn Ferry survey of professionals, nearly
two-thirds of respondents (59 percent) say their personal principal
driver at work is the belief that their work has purpose and
meaning. And purpose-driven leadership isn’t just good for the
individual—it’s critical for the bottom-line. The vast majority of
survey respondents (96 percent) agree that companies see a
long-term financial benefit when they make a strong commitment to
purpose-driven leadership.
Some companies are taking this concept one step further by
rewarding workers whose individual contributions help achieve the
greater purpose of the organization. From a leadership perspective,
there is an emerging trend to include ESG (environmental, social
and governance) metrics in CEO compensation packages, instead of
just financial metrics. These could take the form of rewarding for
emissions reductions or human rights initiatives.
Transparency in pay.
“How much do you make?” That question used to be taboo but
changing social norms have made pay transparency the way of the
future. A recent Korn Ferry survey of professionals found that
nearly one-quarter of respondents (24 percent) think it’s
appropriate to share their salary information with colleagues,
while more than a third (37 percent) believe that it’s more
acceptable to talk pay today than it was five years ago.
But that’s not the only way pay transparency is playing out
around the world. In an effort to promote pay equity, more than 80
countries have passed equal-pay-for-equal-work legislation. And of
those countries, more than a quarter have a mandatory reporting
requirement. There is also a much more concerted effort to make
executive salaries transparent, with the CEO pay ratio ruling in
effect in the U.S. and the Shareholder Rights Directive set to
impact the European Union in 2020.
With these trends in mind, it’s not surprising that in a recent
Korn Ferry global survey of human resources professionals, 75
percent say transparency on pay and rewards will become even more
important in the coming year. HR and pay teams are strategizing on
how to create equitable pay programs, more clearly articulate the
principles behind those programs, and help managers communicate
with employees who may feel they are undercompensated.
Closer to cracking the code on effective diversity and
inclusion.
Many companies have come a long way in identifying and
addressing unconscious bias toward specific employee demographics,
such as women, racial and ethnic populations, the LGBTQ community
and others. And while helping people become more aware of their own
unconscious bias is important for creating greater inclusion, it’s
not enough to bring about lasting transformation.
That’s why more and more organizations are addressing structural
inclusion, an approach that looks for ways conscious and
unconscious biases have been embedded into the talent systems
themselves, contributing to inequities in pay, promotions,
representation, visibility, access and opportunity. To surface
these inequities, companies are doing de-biasing audits of their
processes, building inclusive leadership capabilities in their
executive and senior management ranks, and creating greater
accountabilities for people managers in achieving greater diversity
and inclusion.
There’s a clear business case for focusing on the issue:
According to a recent Korn Ferry survey, nearly two-thirds (63
percent) of executives say their D&I programs help with
employee retention, while 76 percent say D&I initiatives lead
to greater innovation.
Cautiously controlling hiring and compensation.
Although unemployment in most parts of the globe is at
historically low levels, companies are beginning to take a more
cautious approach to hiring and compensation practices. Hiring for
roles that have a direct impact on the bottom line, such as R&D
and sales, is being prioritized over traditional service roles like
accounting.
Additionally, global digital transformation means that tech
skills are in high demand in just about every industry, which is
leading to more open positions and enhanced compensation for these
roles. Many companies are hiring people who have niche technical
skills, even if they don’t have an immediate role available for
them.
On the other hand, to avoid adding to fixed costs, companies are
becoming more reluctant to give across-the-board cost-of-living
increases. Instead, they’re using discretionary incentives, such as
bonuses, to reward key skill sets and performance.
Revolving door at the top creating continuous succession
planning.
Given the high pace of CEO turnover during the past three years,
both planned and unplanned, boards of directors are taking more
proactive, tactical steps to understand the depth and breadth of
the executive and enterprise leadership pipeline to enable
thoughtful, strategic transitions when needed. Strategic review of
top leadership talent has become critically important, and many
best-in-class boards have formed Compensation and Talent committees
to ensure this review is thoroughly approached. There is also a
parallel desire to address pay equity and pay transparency.
What this process does is transcend pure CEO succession into CEO
“progression” whereby planning for senior-level roles becomes an
ongoing, strategic process.
In addition, approximately, 25 percent of public board directors
are older than 70, meaning significant turnover is in process. This
succession activity has contributed to a greater level of
diversification in the board room, which is anticipated to
continue. This is also leading boards to measure their overall
effectiveness and chemistry as a team on a regular basis.
Candidate (and employee) care in the world of Artificial
Intelligence
When considering high-volume, fast turnaround hiring efforts,
it’s often impossible to keep every candidate in the loop. Enter
highly sophisticated artificial intelligence tools, such as
chatbots. More companies are now using AI programs to inform
candidates quickly and efficiently on where they stand in the
process, help them navigate career sites, schedule interviews and
give advice. This is significantly transforming the candidate
experience, enhancing engagement and elevating overall
satisfaction.
Chatbots are also increasingly becoming a tool for employees who
wish to apply for new roles within their organization. Instead of
trying to work up the nerve to ask HR or their boss about new
opportunities, employees can interact with a chatbot that can offer
details about open jobs, give skills assessments and offer career
guidance.
What’s more, some companies are offering “day in the life”
virtual simulations that allow candidates to see what a role would
entail, which can either enhance interest or help candidates
self-select out of the process. It also helps employers understand
if the candidate would be a good fit, based on their behavior
during the simulation. In Korn Ferry’s global survey of HR
professionals, 78 percent say that in the coming year, it will be
vital to provide candidates with these ‘day in the life” type
experiences.
Reskilling for the future.
As angst about the future of the economy grows, talent
professionals are recommending that people, even those who have a
job, look to sharpen their skill sets. But that doesn’t have to
mean going back to get additional degrees. Instead, professionals
across many industries are seeking programs to help them gain
certifications, accreditations and niche skills. (Of course, the
old standby of continual networking, both in-person and through
professional job sites, is still a must.)
Organizations have also made reskilling existing employees a key
initiative, as they know many of the skills that are critical today
may be irrelevant tomorrow. A Korn Ferry global survey of HR
professionals shows that more than a quarter (27 percent) say
reskilling workers is their top priority. To help enhance employee
capabilities—and increase retention—formalized, ongoing hard-skill
(such as programming) and soft-skill (such as agility) trainings
are becoming the norm. And this isn’t just about tech workers:
everyone from sales to HR needs to be trained to meet the demands
of tomorrow.
Continuous transformation.
Although reskilling workers is important, it’s not enough.
Companies today are moving toward continuous transformation, not
just one-time change initiatives. More than people development,
they are redesigning their jobs and structures for more agility and
scalability.
Moreover, any time a company makes a strategic change that
requires people to do things differently, they need to closely
examine how those changes impact company culture and amend as
necessary. This is critical because culture drives strategy
execution.
If this doesn’t happen, reskilled people who go back to their
old jobs and culture will create a recipe for failure.
Transformation must occur at every level of the organization.
Middle managers—and even entry-level employees—are being given more
control in how to structure their own work, as well as the work of
their teams and colleagues.
Rise of the “career nomad”.
Companies across the globe are grappling with the growing
phenomenon of “career nomads“—high-performing, talented
professionals who switch jobs, organizations and even careers at a
faster rate than others.
Although a recent Korn Ferry study found that 88 percent of
professionals believe frequent job switches have had a positive
impact on their careers, most organizations still consider hiring
career nomads a risk. But as Korn Ferry research shows, those
companies may often ignore the benefits of having nomads in the
workforce—gains that arise from their multidisciplinary
experiences, intellectual curiosity and high learning agility.
That’s why many employers are now taking steps to keep these
high-potential, diverse and agile job hoppers in their
companies.
Some organizations that are further along with their talent
management strategies are using success profiles to holistically
select and evaluate talent across disciplines, not just those with
experiences tied directly to a role. They are looking for
candidates who also possess the soft skills to deal with ambiguity
and uncertainty, which is needed to help them grow with the
company. As a result of this trend, more employees are also jumping
across roles, as there is more flexibility within an
organization.
Pick us! Pick us! Companies are upping their employer brand
to attract and retain top candidates.
A competitive pay package alone isn’t enough to attract the best
and brightest. Companies are increasingly creating comprehensive,
multi-channel initiatives, such as apps, events, videos and
chatbots, to entice a wide range of candidates with their unique
employer brand proposition.
Once they have an applicant interested, many organizations are
revamping their hiring process to be more candidate-centric,
including reducing the number of interviews and eliminating the
need to enter their information more than once.
Experts say the trick to becoming an employer of choice is to be
authentic and transparent. Many companies are stepping back to
understand the culture and what matters to employees, often gauging
the pulse of worker sentiment via short surveys and other listening
tools. They then are ensuring there is a top-down approach to
living that culture, day-in and day-out.
For example, as social responsibility becomes ever more
important, one growing trend seen at college recruiting events is
to donate to a candidate’s charity of choice in lieu of offering
gifts directly to the candidate.
About Korn Ferry
Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm. We work
with clients to design their organizational structures, roles and
responsibilities. We help them hire the right people and advise
them on how to reward, develop and motivate their workforce. And,
we help professionals navigate and advance their careers.
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Tracy Kurschner 612.309.3957 Tracy.Kurschner@Kornferry.com
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