Strong hires are the special ingredient in Fortune's most admired companies, according to Korn Ferry.
The management consulting firm has collaborated on Fortune's most admired companies list every year since 1997. This year, it surveyed more than 3,700 executives and directors and analyzed more than 600 firms to understand what sets admirable organizations apart.
Attracting, retaining and developing top talent is a hallmark of the most admired companies, the firm reported. Executives from these organizations were found to prioritize people-management more than their peers.
Five more findings from most-admired companies:
- More than half of executives rated their organizations highly for developing people for new or different work, compared with 39 percent of peer company executives.
- Seventy-six percent of executives said their organizations are effective at hiring the right people, compared with 68 percent of peer company executives.
- More than three quarters of executives said their organization conducts strategic workforce planning at least once per year.
- Nearly two thirds of executives said their biggest workforce challenges either were "re-skilling and upskilling current workers" or "hiring talent to staff new capabilities."
- Sixty-six percent of executives said a "shortage of human capital with key skills" was a top challenge.