CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY

How one company increased diversity in its IT function

Korn Ferry partners with multinational IT company in making diversity a core hiring metric

The challenge

Seeking out the workforce of the future

In early 2020, this IT company made a major change to its Global IT operating model which resulted in a significant increase in hiring. And while that meant accomplishing the incredibly difficult and complicated task of quickly hiring hundreds of qualified IT professionals into technical roles focusing on skills of the future across the globe, the team had another key goal: substantively increase diversity. In seeking out the workforce of the future, diversity and inclusion widens the field of focus of the talent pool. The company knows that diverse teams make better decisions resulting in stronger outcomes, that inclusivity aids in recruitment and retention, and understands the value of having teams which are reflective of their diverse customers and partners across the globe.

Partnering with Korn Ferry

Developing new programs and processes

The solution

“Core to success was to further involve both the client and Korn Ferry leadership to understand progress and any potential pitfalls.”

There was a big pitch on the table in New York, and they were determined to win it. After a successful 2-hour opportunity coaching session, having a sales methodology came into focus for them. They wanted to test it to see if it could streamline and focus their pitching process. The team started working on employing our sales methodology to this pitch. They spent 90 days working on the presentation, compiling data, and planning their approach. It paid off. They won the business, and a new focus on the value of sales process and strategy was born. Having seen the triumph of the New York pitch, the organization was keen to press on and pilot our sales methodology in two markets. The success of those pilots was enough for the initiative to be rolled out throughout the US sales force.

Increased underrepresented hiring and manager satisfaction

The results

“Korn Ferry has helped us to scale up or scale down our efforts as needed,” said the HR Director. “We will look to continue our strong partnership in 2021, focusing together on continuous improvement to drive hiring even more effectively than we did in 2020.” According to both the HR Director and Korn Ferry leadership, other business units within the company have taken note of the efforts and are already implementing similar programs.

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A global leader in enterprise technology

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The return on investment

Background

Deployment of our sales methodology as part of an end-to-end sales transformation delivered a increase in top-line revenues and a win rate increase to over

As the largest DE&I consulting practice, with over 40 years' experience giving DE&I advice and designing solutions, Korn Ferry was perfectly placed to help. The company partnered with the talent management experts at Korn Ferry to assist in developing programs and processes that would establish greater pools of underrepresented talent, shorten time to hire and create a quality experience for candidates, hiring managers and business leaders. Increasing underrepresented talent and creating inclusive teams is a key goal enterprise-wide, and the IT function sought to meet or exceed corporate expectations. The client and Korn Ferry moved quickly to create a comprehensive, multi-dimensional process to source, hire and onboard hundreds of qualified candidates, bringing the IT function’s new employee strategy to life. The teams faced several challenges, including a lack of consistency, transparency and clarity in hiring processes in different parts of the globe, and the need for highly qualified, scarce talent in niche markets around the world. Partnering together, they started by creating a new operating model with clear expectations, ongoing, frequent communication, and consistent guidelines for success. Korn Ferry provided an in-depth analysis in key hiring markets globally to help understand availability of talent, pay criteria and key competitors.

Home Insights Featured Topics Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

This US-based organization provides worldwide IT, technology and enterprise products, solutions and services. It has around 60,000 employees.

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half the time

The return on investment

Partnering with Korn Ferry

Assessment centres are now being filled in

"The firm's customer support underwent a remarkable transformation."

Core to success was to further involve both the client and Korn Ferry leadership to understand progress and any potential pitfalls. The hiring teams provided weekly reporting on progress, which was reviewed, discussed and acted upon at weekly leadership team meetings. “It was important to set clear expectations on what success was, and to hold the teams accountable for that success,” said the HR Director. “Core to this is the discipline and rigor that the Korn Ferry team helped us implement. We weren’t always going to hire the first candidate – we were going to hire the right candidate that would help us further our business and drive an increase in underrepresented populations on our teams.” The client recruits technical contributors including data scientists, engineers, security experts, technical support, and infrastructure architects. The CIO says that when they look to the future, “We need experts in AI and machine learning, people experienced in transforming to a service model. We need people who are cognizant at all levels of the transformation mindset.” When hiring, the CIO looks for customer focus, agility, and above all, talent versus competency. She believes competency gets old by the minute. What counts is an agile mindset, the ability to take risks, and the capacity to keep an open mind. A core part of the recruiting strategy was to implement a multichannel approach to promote jobs to new and underrepresented candidate pools (both active and passive job seekers), highlight commitment to diversity, and create a positive candidate and hiring manager experience.

Creating inclusive, inviting job descriptions using gender-neutral language and highlighting the benefits of working for the client.

Positive DE&I changes

Looking beyond the IT industry to find candidates from underrepresented industries and backgrounds.

Seeking out and insisting upon underrepresented candidates through proactive outreach, postings and job ads focused on women and underrepresented communities.

Bringing the experience of working for the client to life through employee blogs, videos and social media. “We want candidates to see and hear from real employees, especially from underserved communities, who can personally explain that you are valued as an employee,” said the HR Director.

Leveraging an employee referral program, actively reaching out to Black and Hispanic employee networks and offering referral bonuses.

Creating an inclusive interview process with at least two qualified underrepresented candidates and at least one underrepresented person on the interview panel for each position.

Developing a strong internship program, targeting HBCUs and institutions with a high percentage of underrepresented students to build a pipeline of talent to fill future hiring needs.

Implementing strong onboarding programs, including a monthly meeting with the CIO and breakout sessions with the respective VPs to welcome new hires.

Decreased time to offer acceptance to 49 days from 83 days in 2019

Increased diversity hiring to 46 percent, up from 24 percent in 2019

Hired 40% women in technical roles globally

Increased hiring manager satisfaction to 93 percent

Hiring outpaced projections, doubling the IT footprint in 2020

46%

Increased underrepresented hiring to

up from 24% in 2019

49 days

Decreased time to offer acceptance to

from 83 days in 2019

40%

Hired

women in technical roles globally

93%

Increased hiring manager satisfaction to

Identified additional business opportunities worth doubling

the IT footprint in 2020, with hundreds more to be added in 2021

"The company knows that diverse teams make better decisions."

Inclusive job descriptions

Seeking underrepresented candidates

Looking outside of the industry

Sharing diverse employee stories

Expanding the employee referral program

Developing an inclusive interview process

Developing the internship program

Strengthening the onboarding process

Positive DE&I changes

Increased underrepresented hiring to

up from 24% in 2019

46%

from 83 days in 2019

49 days

Decreased time to offer acceptance to

40%

Hired

women in technical roles globally

40%

Hired