Hay Group

What Hay Group does

Hay Group is a global management consulting firm founded in 1943 and headquartered in Philadelphia, now operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary and brand within Korn Ferry (NYSE: KFY) following Korn Ferry's 2015 acquisition. The firm provides talent management and organizational consulting services to enterprise clients, organized around four core advisory lines: Organization Strategy, Leadership Development, Assessment & Succession, and Total Rewards. Its underlying technology stack combines human-delivered consulting methodologies with a software suite—the Talent Suite—comprising Korn Ferry Listen (employee engagement and listening surveys), Korn Ferry Pay (compensation benchmarking and pay equity analytics), and Korn Ferry Architect (organizational design and workforce planning).

Hay Group makes money primarily through professional services engagements, with quote-based, scope-tailored pricing that is not publicly disclosed. Its go-to-market is enterprise field sales, delivered through Korn Ferry's global network of consultants and offices. The combined Hay Group/Korn Ferry workforce totals nearly 7,000 professionals serving clients across ten named verticals: Consumer Markets, Financial Services, Government & Public Services, Healthcare, Higher Education, Industrial, Life Sciences, Private Equity, Sports, and Technology. Distribution is supported by an extensive content marketing apparatus—Briefings Magazine, Briefings for the Boardroom, the Korn Ferry Institute, a CEO newsletter, a podcast, and topical insight tracks targeting CEOs/boards and CHROs.

Strategically, the firm is positioned as Korn Ferry's people-and-advisory arm, differentiated by 80+ years of accumulated intellectual property (assessment tools, compensation databases, organizational frameworks) and by flagship brand partnerships such as the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Talent Suite signals a deliberate productization of the practice, intended to add a more recurring, technology-enabled revenue layer on top of the traditional consulting book.

Name

Hay Group

Legal name

Korn Ferry

Website

https://haygroup.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1943

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Hay Group, founded in 1943 and acquired by Korn Ferry in 2015, provides talent management and organizational consulting services to enterprise clients across ten industries, combining advisory engagements with a Talent Suite of software products delivered through nearly 7,000 combined professionals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Talent Management & Workforce Planning Consulting (BPAHAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Leadership Development & Executive Coaching (BPAHAGAD), People Analytics, Assessment & Psychometrics Consulting (BPAHAGAH)

Keywords

• Talent management consulting
• Organizational strategy services
• Leadership development consulting
• Succession planning services
• Total rewards advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Professional consulting engagements providing talent management, organizational strategy, leadership development, assessment and succession planning, and total rewards solutions to enterprise clients

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Hay Group is a global management consulting firm providing talent management and organizational consulting services. Its core offerings span Organization Strategy, Leadership Development, Assessment & Succession, and Total Rewards advisory, complemented by the Talent Suite software products (Korn Ferry Listen, Korn Ferry Pay, and Korn Ferry Architect) for employee engagement, compensation benchmarking, and organizational design.

Product overview

Hay Group operates as a talent management consulting division within Korn Ferry, offering a portfolio of advisory services and software products. The core consulting services include Organization Strategy, Leadership Development, Assessment & Succession, and Total Rewards. These are complemented by three technology products within the Talent Suite: Korn Ferry Listen (employee engagement surveys), Korn Ferry Pay (compensation benchmarking), and Korn Ferry Architect (organizational design and workforce planning). The combination brings together nearly 7,000 professionals to help organizations unlock human potential and achieve better business outcomes through agile, high-performing talent practices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hay Group: Talent management and organizational consulting services including organization strategy, leadership development, assessment and succession, and total rewards solutions.

Products and services

• Organization Strategy
• Leadership Development
• Assessment & Succession
• Total Rewards
• Korn Ferry Listen
• Korn Ferry Pay
• Korn Ferry Architect

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and minor.

• LA28 Olympic & Paralympic GamesflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Official Talent & Organizational Consulting Partner of the Los Angeles Olympics and Paralympic Games. Hay Group (through Korn Ferry) provides talent management and organizational consulting expertise to support the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games organizing committee.
• Korn Ferry TourminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the Korn Ferry Tour (professional golf tour), demonstrating commitment to excellence in talent development and organizational performance across industries.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Mercer: Marsh McLennan-owned global consulting firm offering talent strategy, organizational design, leadership development, and rewards advisory directly overlapping Hay Group's core consulting services.
• Willis Towers Watson: Global advisory firm providing human capital and organizational consulting, including talent management, rewards, and risk — competing head-to-head with Hay Group in enterprise HR mandates.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Executive search and leadership advisory firm overlapping with Hay Group's leadership development, assessment, and succession planning offerings for senior executive clients.
• Egon Zehnder: Global leadership advisory firm providing executive search, board consulting, and leadership assessment and development services that compete directly with Hay Group's leadership practice.
• Spencer Stuart: Executive search and leadership consulting firm with a strong assessment and succession practice, competing with Hay Group for senior-level leadership and board engagements.

Broad incumbents

• Aon: Large global professional services firm whose Human Capital practice (including Aon Assessment Solutions) competes with Hay Group in assessment, rewards, and leadership advisory.
• Deloitte (Human Capital practice): Big 4 advisory firm with a large Human Capital practice offering organization transformation, leadership, and rewards services that overlap with Hay Group's portfolio.
• McKinsey & Company (Organization Practice): Global strategy consulting firm whose Organization Practice delivers organizational design, leadership, and transformation work that competes with Hay Group at the top of the enterprise market.
• Bain & Company (Organization practice): Global strategy consulting firm with a results-oriented Organization practice that overlaps with Hay Group on operating model design, leadership, and transformation mandates.

Emerging players

• Culture Amp: Specialized employee engagement and listening platform that directly competes with Korn Ferry Listen, often winning standalone SaaS deals that Hay Group's bundled offering must defend against.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HayGroup
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/kornferryintl
• Facebookfacebook.com/HayGroupIndia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hay-group
• Instagraminstagram.com/kornferry

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hay Group