Korn Ferry Expands Interim Talent Operations into France
October 7, 2024 – Korn Ferry is expanding its interim talent operation into France. As part of this expansion, the firm appointed Laurent David to lead this solution in France. He is located in the firm’s Paris office.
“Organizations today continue to pursue a blended approach to acquiring talent,” said Michael Distefano, CEO, global professional search and interim at Korn Ferry. “Korn Ferry is meeting the evolving needs of our global clients with not only the best permanent executives, but also world-class professionals who make significant impact on a shorter-term or bespoke project basis. Laurent has deep expertise in providing flexible talent to clients and will make a wonderful leader within our firm’s talent acquisition team in France.”
Mr. David joins Korn Ferry from a European interim talent management firm Robert Walters where he led the digital & technology and sales & marketing practices. He brings to the firm more than 20 years of experience across the media, telecommunications, sport and entertainment sectors, with vast interim credentials as a senior leader across multiple organizations. Earlier in his career, Mr. David was chief operating officer of Cellfish, Lagardère Group and partner and co-founder of Willie Beamen, a marketing agency working with the companies that need to activate rights acquired in sport & entertainment areas.
The Impact of Interim Talent
Business leaders today are finding that hiring the right talent is hard. What people are looking for in their careers is constantly evolving, organizational needs are changing rapidly, and the economy is driving the need for companies to pivot as conditions change, according to Matt Shore, CEO of StevenDouglas. “The traditional employee model, while still effective for some situations, does not always work for all companies and all employees,” he said. “Leveraging interim talent allows companies to get the right people with the skillsets they need for specific points in time. It provides flexibility to adjust the skillsets from what they have to what they need more rapidly than a traditional employment model.”
“Also, as workers desire to have flexibility and control over their work situation and their career development, more of them are gravitating to the interim or gig model to create a custom career experience,” said Craig Lewis, senior vice president – interim resources division at StevenDouglas. “Working through interim providers allows the worker to have consistency in their employment model while realizing the variety and flexibility they are looking for in their work experience. In a recent survey, 38 percent of respondents indicated that flexibility is important in choosing a job – the number one factor cited.”
Related: The Critical Role of Interim Executives
“Finally, sometimes you just have an urgent and unplanned opening and need someone to get things done right now,” Mr. Lewis said. “Using a highly qualified interim resource that can ramp quickly can make sure that you meet that deadline or get that project done on time and under budget.”
Hunt Scanlon Media asked StevenDouglas how often they see these roles turn into a permanent position? “While this happens occasionally it is not part of our model,” Mr. Shore said. “We look for people who are interested in the interim model as a career choice and they enjoy going into a client or engagement and making a difference and then moving on to the next one. In those situations where a client and associate decide they want to explore a different arrangement we do our best to accommodate that.”
Driving Results
Mr. Shore notes that stakeholders expect leaders to deliver results quickly. “Having the right talent in place when you need it is critical,” he said. “Whether driving continuous improvement initiatives to increase EPS, integrating a critical acquisition, or implementing a new system to enable the organization to scale, having the right skillsets can be the difference between success and failure. Technology and AI are rapidly changing the job environment, and tapping into the interim market can help with specific or niche skillsets, managing peak workloads, and maintaining cost flexibility while driving priority initiatives. Additionally, the outside perspective that interim talent brings to the table is valuable to avoid internal “group-think” and add thought diversity to any initiative.”
StevenDouglas has a group of interim experts with significant industry experience who find and engage people that want the flexibility and variety that the interim model offers. “Understanding the unique needs for each individual and what a specific client needs enables us to match the right person for each engagement,” Mr. Lewis said. “Our internal team consists of more than 150 people with experience and networks in this industry. Tapping into all of their networks and all of the people that we have talked to in our 41 years provides a great source of talent for our opportunities. Our talent management system enables us efficiently find what we need when a client contacts us for support.”
“In many markets, we have associates who have been with us for more than 15 years,” said Mr. Shore. “We match these people to client engagements that leverage their skills and experience and expose them to different environments where they can continue to enhance and expand their skills.”
Related: Robust Investment Niche Emerges as Interim Recruiting Gains Traction
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
