Less Than a Third of HR Professionals are Confident They Have the Right Leaders for the Future, According to Global Korn Ferry Survey

A new Korn Ferry (NYSE: KFY) survey reveals that the majority of HR professionals don’t believe they have the right people to lead their organizations into the future, and nearly half admit they don’t have programs to identify and develop high-potential talent within their organization.

Only 29 percent of survey respondents say they are confident their organization has the right people to guide the company into the future. And while nearly half (48 percent) say they would prefer to promote people from within the organization, 45 percent say they do not have programs in place to help them identify and develop high-potential talent.

The good news is that the vast majority (91 percent) of leaders do see the benefit of creating high-potential programs, and 82 percent say that compared to five years ago, their organizations are placing greater emphasis on establishing ways to identify and prepare the leaders of the future.

Of those who do have high-potential programs, more than a third (38 percent) say participants are chosen based on nominations by a line manager or internal champion. Five percent say anyone can participate in the program through self-nomination.

“Our survey shows that only 14 percent of HR professionals are very confident that their organizations have selected the right people for their high-potential programs,” said Lisa Niesen, Korn Ferry vice president and general manager, Assessment. “It’s critical to take a look at the business strategy and the type of talent that will be needed to achieve goals, then properly and scientifically assess which people have the potential to grow and guide the company into the future.”

Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of respondents say their organizations would benefit from a consistent, science-based approach to identifying potential.

The survey also found that HR leaders think most programs are too top heavy, with 66 percent saying they are not looking deep enough in the organization to identify those with potential. Only 10 percent say their programs include entry-level/graduate talent.

“Your future CEO could be sitting in that small cube doing entry level work,” said Niesen. “If you don’t identify this future leader early on and help develop their talents, you can rest assured that they’ll leave and one day be leading another company, not yours.”

About the survey

The Korn Ferry global survey of talent acquisition professionals took place in late 2019 and garnered 1,009 responses. (note: due to rounding, responses may not equal 100 percent).