Korn Ferry: A Complete Guide

Korn Ferry describes itself as a ‘global organizational consulting firm’. It specializes in working with clients to help with recruitment and retention.

With more than 100 offices worldwide, it is a dominant force when it comes to recruitment, data insights and data analytics.

The company prides itself on being able to work with Fortune 100 companies and has rewards data on more than 20 million professionals around the world.

What Is Korn Ferry?

As a recruitment specialist, Korn Ferry excels in providing executive assessments. It uses its knowledge and understanding of leadership positions to help businesses recruit the perfect candidate.

A typical recruitment campaign goes beyond job adverts and interviews. Instead, you can expect to find candidates participating in a variety of pre-set online assessments and live virtual assessments.

The success of Korn Ferry’s approach to recruitment means that:

‘Each business hour, the company places a candidate every three minutes’.

We’re sure you’ll agree that’s impressive.

Korn Ferry and the Success Profiles

A key part of Korn Ferry’s success is based on its ability to create ‘Success Profiles’.

These are a series of actionable data sets that allow businesses to establish ‘what good looks like’.

The profiles are compiled through a series of aptitude tests.

The data is used to look at the specific accountabilities of a certain job role, what capabilities are required to perform that specific role and what the key personality traits are of people who succeed in these roles.

In turn, companies can use these Success Profiles to influence their recruitment and retention campaigns.

What Services Does Korn Ferry Provide?

Businesses who sign up for Korn Ferry’s digital solutions will be provided with access to Korn Ferry’s digital platform. This can be used to compile data and make the most of data insights and analysis.

If you are applying for a job and you discover that your prospective employer is aligned with Korn Ferry, it’s important to be aware of why firms choose to invest in such a service.

Understanding their reasons will help you to prepare in advance for any specific aptitude tests or personality assessments that you may have to complete.

Typically, Korn Ferry works across three distinct areas:

• Recruit
• Assess
• Select

Recruit

Within Korn Ferry Recruit, clients can take advantage of AI technologies which are designed to streamline the recruitment process.

Clients can use the technology to filter through applicants several different ways including Success Profiles, pay scales, assessment data and other criteria.

The Korn Ferry Recruit system is designed to work in conjunction with a range of HRIS and Applicant Tracking Systems, making it easier and quicker for companies to make recruitment decisions.

As a candidate, you should ensure that your application will meet the criteria commonly set by these algorithms to pass through the AI filters.

A tip is to ensure that you use the same terminology/jargon on your application that is found within the job description. This will give you a greater chance of your application successfully passing through the technology.

Find out more about applicant tracking systems in our dedicated article.

Assess

Korn Ferry Assess is designed to help businesses make decisions on employee performance.

Thanks to these employee assessments, firms can make informed decisions on how to spot and develop talent, and how to leverage leadership potential.

Within Korn Ferry Assess, employers can make use of aptitude tests, personality tests and employee assessments to determine who has the traits that determine leadership capabilities.

The data used within these assessments can be used to influence employee development plans and ensure that firms are making the most out of their teams.

A key highlight of Korn Ferry Assess is the unique insights found through the Korn Ferry Leadership Assessment.

This is a specific aptitude test aimed towards mid-senior management executives to identify who is ready for career progression. The tests use the insights gleaned through the Success Profiles to look for skills, personality traits and motivations of high performers.

Select

Korn Ferry Select is designed to help employers make rapid hiring decisions.

Thanks to four different types of assessment, it uses data analytics to work through information beyond the CV or resume.

Companies can use the Success Profiles to identify who will be a good cultural fit and predict how a potential employee may behave in the role.

The first stage is an entry-level assessment. This is designed to measure core competencies as well as cognitive capabilities such as numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, checking and logic.

Once the applicant has completed the assessments, the hiring manager is provided with an easy-to-read report which can be integrated with an Applicant Tracking System to filter successful applicants through to the next stage.

Korn Ferry Select also has a graduate assessment. This is designed to identify high-quality graduates. In addition to the core competencies and cognitive capabilities as tested by the entry-level assessment, the graduate assessment will also explore motivational drivers and personality traits/characteristics.

The professional assessment is designed to find the right applicant for the job role. It understands that needs are changing, and the assessment is designed to avoid a ‘mismatch’ between employees and required skills.

Like the graduate assessment, participants will be tested on core capabilities, cognitive abilities, drivers and traits. But the output provided to hiring managers will include a ‘best fit’ suggestion based on the Success Profiles as well as a dynamic interview guide to help recruiters structure their interview questions around the participant’s results.

The final assessment is the robust manager assessment. This has been designed to factor in people management skills so employers can feel more confident that they are hiring the right people with the right capabilities for specific job roles.

What Are the Four Dimensions of Leadership and Talent?

Korn Ferry tests are based on four distinct dimensions of leadership and talent.

Each is designed to provide recruiters with the insights and understanding of who that candidate is and what sets them apart from others.

• Competencies. These are the tangible skills and attributes that make you successful at your job. Your core competencies show what you are good at now, and what you have the capability of being good at.
• Experiences. This looks at the applicant’s career history; what their achievements are and what they have done. Typically, a candidate’s experiences are tested via the Korn Ferry Leadership Assessment.
• Drivers. This is relevant to cultural fit and talent retention. The questions are based on motivating factors – what drives a person to remain motivated? What are individuals rewarded by and how can this align with the overall job role?
• Traits. What is a person’s personality traits and why is this so important when it comes to the workplace? Korn Ferry tests look at personalities to establish how a person can behave. It looks at whether someone’s personality can change as they take on new roles and responsibilities.

Thanks to the Success Profiles, Korn Ferry can identify what traits are common within specific job roles.

Who Are Korn Ferry’s Key Customers?

Korn Ferry specializes in working with Fortune 100 companies. The company is proud to work with 98% of the Fortune 100 to help clients find and develop talent.

Companies listed on the Fortune 100 include brands such as:

• Walmart
• Exxon Mobil
• Apple
• Amazon
• AT&T

How Is Korn Ferry Different From Its Competitors?

As executive search experts, Korn Ferry has many competitors. It differentiates its services in several ways:

• Globalised approach. As an international brand, with 56 offices around the world, Korn Ferry has a wealth of data available to make accurate predictions and analysis of employee behaviors, drivers and traits.
• Flexible solutions. The Korn Ferry approach is flexible and can be adapted to businesses of different sizes with changing needs.
• Blendable technology. The Korn Ferry digital platforms are designed to fit in with existing HRIS and Applicant Tracking Systems. This means that businesses can integrate the Korn Ferry digital solutions with their existing technologies.

Final Thoughts

It is likely you will come across a Korn Ferry assessment if you are applying for a graduate job and througout your career.

Knowing what the tests aim to assess will help you to prepare for your assessment and grab that dream job.