Korn Ferry had a webinar at the end of this year revealing the company’s insights and observations during 2020. Korn Ferry is a management consulting firm founded in 1969 and as of 2019, operates in 111 offices in 53 countries with over 8000 employees worldwide, thus one of the world’s leaders in management consulting.
The key figures Korn Ferry revealed indicated a quite satisfying performance over the year. In 2020, the company increased its reach to 150 countries serving more than 25000 organizations over the years. The company also revealed statistics about its massive database: salary data for about 20 million employees! Korn Ferry had established such a massive platform with around a user logging in for payment every 7 seconds.
From the extensive amount of data the company has, Korn Ferry was able to detect work trends for 2020 not just economically but also structurally. For example, the report indicated that around 63% of work will be done virtually in the future and that amid the turbulence and uncertainty 24% of companies had to change their hierarchy and structure.
Furthermore, there are certain measures that have to be taken in the future by businesses for them to adapt proactively to change. These measures include clarifying accountabilities, encouraging partnerships, and keeping employees up to date with technologies. Organizations have been through profound changes with regards to workforce management practices, such as a more disciplined cost management, virtual workforce, and better communications with employees. To elaborate, organizations are most focused on changing their reward strategy and design in the following areas: “Overarching total reward strategy, Performance management processes, STI design, Job architecture, External benchmarking processes.”
One can also notice some of the conclusions mentioned in the report. The sectors least affected are the ones that had integrated the most technology such as telecom, banking, and software. The sectors that were affected the most however were those that haven't changed much in decades and these include restaurants, hospitality, retail, and entertainment.
