Korn Ferry Study Reveals Data Overload is Clouding Decision Making, Cutting into Profits

Los Angeles, April 21, 2026 - Korn Ferry (NYSE: KFY) today announced findings from its 2026 Global Talent Analytics Survey, revealing that an overload of fragmented workforce data continues to undermine decision-making and cut into as much as one-third of annual profits for the average S&P MidCap organization.

The findings, based on responses from 1,600 C-suite and senior HR leaders across 10 countries, highlight a key challenge facing organizations today: the increasing volume of workforce data, often spread across multiple platforms, is not improving decision-making across talent practices such as succession, promotion, compensation, and workforce skills. Instead, it may have the opposite effect, with an average of 71% of leaders saying too much data causes them to rely on gut instinct.

The research also highlights a clear opportunity. Organizations that integrate their talent data achieve measurable gains in productivity, faster hiring, and stronger employee engagement. Yet for many companies, this potential remains unrealized due to fragmented systems.

"In today's age of AI, organizations have built more systems and collected more data, yet ended up with less confidence in their talent decisions. It's a paradox that's costing companies real money: they still can't answer the key talent question-what talent they have versus what talent they need," said Mathias Herzog, President of the Global Technology Practice at Korn Ferry. "Organizations that close this data gap with precision will make better talent decisions and see a measurable impact on their bottom line."

The report examines why workforce intelligence gaps are preventing leaders from driving performance and causing unnecessary stress on profitability. Key findings include:

• ‍More Data Than Ever, But Leaders Still Lack Actionable Insights: More than 8 out of 10 (84%) leaders operate between three to ten different talent platforms, yet just 5% have fully connected systems. More than one in four leaders (26%) say it can take weeks to access connected talent insights.‍
• Instinct Widens the Workforce Intelligence Gap: Only 34% of leaders trust their organization's talent insights, leading many executives (71%) to rely on gut instinct for talent decisions. Leaders with more than 10 workforce intelligence platforms are two times more likely to make intuition-led calls on promotions and succession, adding financial risk to every talent decision.‍
• HR's Credibility Caught in the Crossfire: Fragmented data can quickly become a credibility gap for HR leaders. When data is questioned, HR leaders are at risk of being viewed as less strategic and losing organizational support for initiatives. Further underscoring the importance of accurate data, more than half (55%) of leaders say that they rely less on HR for decisions when they don't trust the data.‍
• Disconnected Talent Data Drains Profits: Fragmented data can cost organizations up to 2.4% of gross revenue, translating to up to 30% of annual profit loss for the average S&P MidCap organization. Additionally, 31% of leaders say more than a quarter of their workforce is underutilized, representing payroll spending that isn't delivering full value.‍
• Connected Data Delivers Real Results: Confidence in workforce decision-making jumps from just 4% among those without integrated data systems to 55% among those with integrated insights. Organizations that have connected their talent data also report increased productivity (68%), faster time to hire (60%), stronger employee engagement(60%) and reduced costs (43%).

The full report can be found here.

Organizations looking to close the gap can learn more about Korn Ferry's Talent Suite-an integrated platform that combines AI technology with more than 10 billion data points and decades of research to connect talent decisions directly to business outcomes.

Survey Methodology

Korn Ferry surveyed 1,600 C-suite and senior HR leaders of large organizations to understand the impact of fragmented talent data on enterprise decision making. The survey was conducted in December 2025 through January 2026 and was carried out across ten major markets: the US, UK, France, Germany, Brazil, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Australia, and India. Respondents included C-Suite Leaders (CEO, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Technology Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Sustainability Officer) and HR Leaders (CHRO, Chief People Officer, Chief Talent Officer and heads of HR, Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Compensation & Benefits, Learning and Development, HR Transformation).

About Talent Suite

The Korn Ferry Talent Suite is a single talent platform that brings intelligence and consistency to every stage of the talent lifecycle. Anchored in success profiles,our proprietary, research-backed definition of what great looks like, it unifies your hiring, development, engagement, pay, and succession efforts to help you make smarter talent decisions faster and at scale.

About Korn Ferry

Korn Ferry is a global consulting firm that powers performance. We unlock the potential in your people and unleash transformation across your business-synchronizing strategy, operations, and talent to accelerate performance, fuel growth, and inspire a legacy of change. That's why the world's most forward-thinking companies across every major industry turn to us-for a shared commitment to lasting impact and the bold ambition to Be More Than.

As the Official Talent & Organizational Consulting Partner of LA28, Korn Ferry is powering the nearly 5,000 people who power the Olympic Games-bringing in the right talent, building strong leaders, and shaping the structure and culture that will deliver an unforgettable experience for the world.

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