All talk no substance - Anonymous employee Korn Ferry Employee Review

2.0
9 Sept 2021
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

It's a good brand to have on your resume and almost anyone you reach out to will take your call no matter the topic. They also generally don't care where you work from as long as your considerable work is done.

Cons

This is a toxic place to work. I’ve seen "entrepreneurial" in a lot of reviews, and you need to know what that means: there's no centralized strategy, everyone is fighting for resources, and the company is a collection of partner fiefdoms that have competing agendas. The only people who are successful have strong personal networks of people that can sign contracts. What this means: you need to be a well-connected, wealthy, and have sharp elbows. Also, while they don't care about where you work, they do expect that you are "on" at all times including weekend, vacations, weddings, and funerals. A note for LGBTQ+ talent: run. The LGBTQ+ affinity group only seems to exist to fill out the HRC application. The firm doesn’t communicate support for LGBTQ+ issues (except one token post during pride month), the firm doesn’t have any out leaders, doesn’t promote or develop LGBTQ+ employees, nor do they include LGBTQ+ in their diversity investment or data strategies. In fact, I’ve been told by one of the leaders of Korn Ferry’s “Power of all” that LGBTQ+ talent is not part of the diversity conversation at this time, so the firm doesn’t plan to invest.

Explore other reviews about Korn Ferry

5.0
10 Feb 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I am a consultant through a firm acquired by Korn Ferry and have had a great experience with both the firm (Salo) and with Korn Ferry as a parent company. Great to have benefits and PTO as a consultant and great training and resources available - good communication as well!

Cons

Transitional period during acquisition had a few bumps but nothing major and all ironed out as more time has gone on.

4.0
16 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The client diversity across industries and regions is top notch. Great brand recognition. The marketing investments in Korn Ferry Tour and LA28 paid off. Smart people. Remote work is a plus as 75% people work remotely. No push for facetime in offices. Work from anywhere! Everyone knows of Korn Ferry!

Cons

A culture of long hours and interrupted vacations. Clear demarcation between haves(fee earners) and have nots (execution). High expectations with outdated systems, manual processes, inefficient. Low pay as there are no merits due to market/company performance. Hard to get food at the holiday party so stop at Five Guys prior.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All