Less than a third of HR professionals think their leaders are fit for future

The majority of HR professionals don’t believe they have the right people to lead their organisations into the future, according to a global survey.

The survey of 1000 people, commissioned by Korn Ferry, found only 29% of respondents were confident their organisation has the right people to guide the company into the future.

And while nearly half say they would prefer to promote people from within the organisation, 45% say they do not have programmes in place to help them identify and develop high-potential talent.

Lisa Niesen, Korn Ferry vice president and general manager, Assessment, said: “Our survey shows that only 14% of HR professionals are very confident that their organisations have selected the right people for their high-potential programmes.

“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.”

More than nine in ten leaders see the benefit of creating high-potential programmes, and over eighty percent say that compared to five years ago, their organisations are placing greater emphasis on establishing ways to identify and prepare the leaders of the future.

However the survey also found that HR leaders think most programmes are too top heavy, with two thirds saying they are not looking deep enough in the organisation to identify those with potential. Only 10% say their programmes include entry-level/graduate talent.

Niesen said: “Your future CEO could be sitting in that small cube doing entry-level work, 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.”