Korn Ferry (KFY) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Korn Ferry first quarter fiscal year 2026 conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded for replay purposes. We have also made available in the Investor Relations section of our website at kornferry.com a copy of the financial presentation that we will be reviewing with you today.

女士們，先生們，感謝你們的支持，歡迎參加光輝國際 2026 財年第一季電話會議。（操作員指示）提醒一下，本次電話會議將會被錄音以供重播。我們也在我們的網站 kornferry.com 的投資者關係部分提供了財務報告的副本，我們將在今天與您一起審查該報告。

Before I turn the call over to your host, Mr. Gary Burnison, let me first read a cautionary statement to investors. Certain statements made in the call today, such as those relating to future performance, plans and goals constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

在我將電話轉給主持人加里·伯尼森先生之前，請允許我先向投資者宣讀警告聲明。今天電話會議中所做的某些陳述，例如與未來績效、計畫和目標有關的陳述，構成《1995 年私人證券訴訟改革法案》所定義的前瞻性陳述。

Although the company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Actual results in future periods may differ materially from those currently expected or desired because of a number of risks and uncertainties, which are beyond the company's control.

儘管公司認為此類前瞻性陳述中反映的預期是基於合理的假設，但還是提醒投資者不要過度依賴此類陳述。由於許多風險和不確定因素超出了公司的控制範圍，未來期間的實際結果可能與當前預期或期望的結果有重大差異。

Additional information concerning such risks and uncertainties can be found in the release relating to this presentation and in the periodic and other reports filed by the company with the SEC, including the company's annual report for fiscal year 2025 and in the company's soon to be filed quarterly report for the quarter ended July 31, 2025.

有關此類風險和不確定性的更多信息，請參閱與本簡報相關的新聞稿以及公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的定期報告和其他報告，包括公司 2025 財年的年度報告以及公司即將提交的截至 2025 年 7 月 31 日的季度報告。

Also, some of the comments today may reference non-GAAP financial measures such as constant currency amounts, EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA. Additional information concerning these measures, including reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures is contained in the financial presentation and earnings release relating to this call, both of which are posted in the Investor Relations section of the company's website at www.kornferry.com.

此外，今天的一些評論可能會參考非 GAAP 財務指標，例如恆定貨幣金額、EBITDA 和調整後的 EBITDA。有關這些指標的更多信息，包括與最直接可比較的 GAAP 財務指標的對賬，包含在與本次電話會議相關的財務報告和收益報告中，兩者均發佈在公司網站 www.kornferry.com 的投資者關係部分。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Mr. Burnison. Please go ahead, Mr. Burnison.

說完這些，我會把電話轉給伯尼森先生。請繼續，伯尼森先生。

Okay. Thank you, Regina, and thanks to everybody for joining us. I'm really, really pleased with our performance in the quarter. The team is going to get into the results in a little bit. But when I look at the results, even over the past few quarters, with all the choppiness, the uncertainty around tariffs, the labor and economic environment, it's clear that our strategy is working.

好的。謝謝你，里賈娜，也謝謝大家的參與。我對我們本季的表現非常非常滿意。團隊很快就會知道結果。但當我回顧過去幾季的結果時，儘管存在各種波動、關稅、勞動力和經濟環境的不確定性，但很明顯我們的策略正在發揮作用。

In fact, when you consider our diversification strategy and the current and future demographic trends alone, the opportunity is immense. And I think that's evidenced this quarter by the growth in all of our solutions. And today, we're driving performance with a far more sophisticated, holistic approach that delivers our expertise and robust IP through integrated solutions in every region of the world.

事實上，當你考慮我們的多元化策略以及當前和未來的人口趨勢時，機會是巨大的。我認為本季我們所有解決方案的成長都證明了這一點。今天，我們正以更複雜、更全面的方式推動業績，透過全球各地區的整合解決方案提供我們的專業知識和強大的 IP。

In the quarter, we won a number of notable engagements. I'll highlight a couple, a top pharma company with over 20,000 employees where we're building a globally aligned leadership team, helping them foster a culture of innovation and streamline talent development across the regions.

本季度，我們贏得了許多值得注意的合作。我將重點介紹其中幾個，一家擁有超過 20,000 名員工的頂級製藥公司，我們正在建立一支全球協調的領導團隊，幫助他們培養創新文化並簡化各地區的人才發展。

It's part of a multiyear engagement or a FTSE 100 retailer, we're now the exclusive assessment provider across all levels of the organization using our consulting-led assessments and our digital at-scale solutions with the ambition to deliver our capabilities from the shop floor to the boardroom.

這是與富時 100 指數零售商多年合作的一部分，我們現在是該組織各個層面的獨家評估提供商，使用我們的諮詢主導的評估和我們的數位規模解決方案，並致力於將我們的能力從車間擴展到董事會。

And finally, a top provider of HR management software, where we're going to deliver a subscription-based digital solution, a global leadership offering that includes content, instructor-led materials, micro learning and more and that complements the consulting engagement that includes leadership assessments and coaching. And these are just three examples of how we're integrating multiple solutions to create enduring client partnerships.

最後，作為人力資源管理軟體的頂級供應商，我們將提供基於訂閱的數位解決方案、全球領導力產品，包括內容、講師指導的材料、微學習等，並補充包括領導力評估和指導在內的諮詢服務。這只是我們如何整合多種解決方案來建立持久的客戶合作關係的三個例子。

We also continue to make measured capital investments that extend our offerings and solutions and expand our impact with clients. And a case in point is Talent Suite, which offers seamless integration of proprietary IP and data and talent applications into one digital SaaS platform, which enables our clients to make better hiring decisions, structure their organizations, assess, develop and reward their talent. In other words, Talent Suite enables clients to unlock human and organizational potential at scale.

我們也將繼續進行有節制的資本投資，以擴展我們的產品和解決方案並擴大我們對客戶的影響力。一個很好的例子就是 Talent Suite，它將專有 IP、數據和人才應用程式無縫整合到一個數位 SaaS 平台中，使我們的客戶能夠做出更好的招募決策、建立他們的組織、評估、發展和獎勵他們的人才。換句話說，Talent Suite 讓客戶能夠大規模釋放人力和組織的潛力。

Our evolution towards large-scale, multi-solution client engagements is real. As we change the fundamental composition and scale of our business, and when I just look at the tail of the tape, today, we have loyal, repeatable clients of scale.

我們正朝著大規模、多解決方案客戶合作的方向發展。隨著我們業務的基本組成和規模的改變，當我看著磁帶的尾部時，今天，我們擁有忠誠的、可重複的規模客戶。

Marquee & Diamond accounts generating almost 40% of our revenue, a 10-year revenue CAGR of 10%, driven by an expanding set of diversified solutions. We have strong top line synergies with 25% of revenue generated from cross-solution referrals.

Marquee & Diamond 帳戶創造了我們近 40% 的收入，10 年收入複合年增長率為 10%，這得益於不斷擴展的多元化解決方案。我們擁有強大的營收綜效，其中 25% 的收入來自跨解決方案推薦。

Clearly, this diversification is driving resilience and durability in our business and contributing to sustained shareholder value, and that's evidenced through our balanced capital allocation strategy, which includes six dividend increases in the last five years and a demonstrated track record of M&A and share repurchases.

顯然，這種多元化正在推動我們業務的彈性和持久性，並為持續的股東價值做出貢獻，這體現在我們平衡的資本配置策略中，該策略包括過去五年中六次增加股息以及良好的併購和股票回購記錄。

I'm optimistic, truly optimistic about the trajectory of this firm and more importantly, the impact we're making. We have a strong foundation with incredible brand permission that is fostering deep client relationships. We have relevant, diverse, scale and increasingly more integrated solutions that are even more closely aligned with the talent needs of our clients. And through our disciplined approach, I'm confident we are poised and well positioned for the future.

我對這家公司的發展軌跡以及更重要的是我們正在產生的影響感到樂觀，真正樂觀。我們擁有堅實的基礎和令人難以置信的品牌許可，可以培養深厚的客戶關係。我們擁有相關的、多樣化的、規模化的、日益整合的解決方案，這些解決方案與客戶的人才需求更加緊密地結合在一起。透過我們嚴謹的方法，我相信我們已為未來做好了準備。

With that, Regina, I'll now turn it over to Bob. Bob, it's all yours.

好了，里賈娜，我現在把發言權交給鮑伯。鮑勃，這都是你的了。

Great. Thanks, Gary, and good morning, good afternoon, depending on where you're at. The global business environment over the last quarter remained extremely uncertain with many lingering economic challenges, keeping investment spending cautious. Unresolved tariff issues added to ongoing geopolitical tensions, readings on inflation cause uncertainties as to whether interest rates would remain higher for longer.

偉大的。謝謝，加里，早上好，下午好，這取決於你所在的地方。上一季全球商業環境仍極不確定，許多經濟挑戰揮之不去，投資支出保持謹慎。未解決的關稅問題加劇了持續的地緣政治緊張局勢，通膨數據導致人們對利率是否會長期維持在高點感到不確定。

And despite the impact of these uncertainties on business sentiment, our clients continue to see the impact and value of our services and solutions. Our financial results for the first quarter of fiscal '26 remained strong providing further proof that our integrated business strategy, which is really diversified across industries, geographies and solutions is working.

儘管這些不確定性對商業情緒產生了影響，但我們的客戶仍然看到我們的服務和解決方案的影響和價值。我們 26 財年第一季的財務表現依然強勁，進一步證明了我們跨產業、跨地區和跨解決方案的多元化綜合業務策略正在發揮作用。

In fact, the current economic environment has created opportunity for Korn Ferry to really strengthen our client relationships and continue becoming a trusted global partner of choice, helping our clients solve complex talent in organizational performance challenges.

事實上，當前的經濟環境為光輝國際創造了機會，使其能夠真正加強與客戶的關係，並繼續成為值得信賴的全球合作夥伴，幫助我們的客戶解決組織績效挑戰中的複雜人才問題。

And today, we're helping our clients resolve these challenges with both our skilled workforce and our proprietary data and IP, which is really a product of decades of behavioral science research. Additionally, we focus our efforts to sell larger, more integrated solutions via our Korn Ferry go-to-market strategy. We're paving the way for stronger, more durable long-term growth.

今天，我們正在利用我們熟練的員工隊伍和專有數據和智慧財產權來幫助我們的客戶解決這些挑戰，這實際上是數十年行為科學研究的成果。此外，我們也致力於透過光輝國際的行銷策略銷售更大、更整合的解決方案。我們正在為更強勁、更持久的長期成長鋪平道路。

I'm also pleased to share that we remain on track for the market launch of our new Talent Suite platform that Gary referenced this November. Talent Suite will enable our consultants and clients to more easily derive and prioritize insights across our multiple Talent products using client data, our own proprietary data and select third-party data to help them make better and more insightful talent decisions.

我也很高興地告訴大家，我們仍在按計畫推出 Gary 今年 11 月提到的新 Talent Suite 平台。Talent Suite 將使我們的顧問和客戶能夠更輕鬆地利用客戶資料、我們自己的專有資料和精選的第三方資料從我們的多個 Talent 產品中獲取見解並確定其優先順序，從而幫助他們做出更好、更有洞察力的人才決策。

Now in addition to the detailed results found in our posted earnings presentation, I just want to go over a couple of company-wide solution-specific highlights for the first quarter. As Gary mentioned, the Marquee & Diamond accounts remained strong at almost 40% of our consolidated fee revenue. And that program delivered a little better than 7% fee revenue growth when you look at it year over year.

現在，除了我們公佈的收益報告中的詳細結果之外，我還想介紹一下第一季全公司範圍內的幾個特定解決方案的亮點。正如加里所提到的，Marquee & Diamond 帳戶保持強勁，占我們合併費用收入的近 40%。從年比來看，該計劃的費用收入成長率略高於 7%。

Our cross-solution referrals also remained strong at 25% of our consolidated fee revenue. Executive search fee revenue also remained strong, growing 8% in the quarter, and that's our fifth consecutive quarter of year over year growth in that solution area. Professional search and interim fee revenue was up 10% year over year with growth in both professional services perm placement, plus 5% and interim was up 14%.

我們的跨解決方案推薦也保持強勁，佔合併費用收入的 25%。高階主管搜尋費收入也保持強勁，本季成長 8%，這是我們在該解決方案領域連續第五個季度實現同比增長。專業搜尋和臨時費用收入較去年同期成長 10%，其中專業服務永久安置成長 5%，臨時費用成長 14%。

Our digital subscription and licensed new business grew 10% year over year in the first quarter and with 39% of total digital new business, and that's going to continue to add stability and predictability to our overall revenue base. And last, our average bill rates in consulting and interim both grew year over year, consulting by 9% and interim by 4%.

我們的數位訂閱和授權新業務在第一季同比增長了 10%，佔總數位新業務的 39%，這將繼續增加我們整體收入基礎的穩定性和可預測性。最後，我們的諮詢和臨時業務的平均收費率均較去年同期成長，諮詢業務成長了 9%，臨時業務成長了 4%。

Now turning to company overall results. Our consolidated fee revenue grew 5% year over year to $709 million, which is a second consecutive quarter of positive growth. Earnings and profitability also continued to grow.

現在談談公司整體業績。我們的綜合費用收入年增 5%，達到 7.09 億美元，這是連續第二季實現正成長。收益和獲利能力也持續成長。

Adjusted EBITDA grew $9 million or 8% year over year to $120 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin grew 50 basis points year over year to 17% and our adjusted diluted earnings per share grew $0.13 or 11% year over year to $1.31.

調整後的 EBITDA 年增 900 萬美元，即 8%，達到 1.2 億美元。調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率年增 50 個基點至 17%，調整後的每股攤薄收益年增 0.13 美元或 11% 至 1.31 美元。

Total company new business, excluding RPO, grew 5% year over year led by strength in EMEA and APAC. Our RPO delivered $99 million of new business in the quarter, 46% of that came from new logos, 54% from renewals and the renewals included one large financial institution at $32 million. Estimated remaining fees under existing contracts also remained strong in the first quarter.

受歐洲、中東和非洲地區以及亞太地區業務強勁成長的帶動，公司新業務總量（不包括 RPO）年增 5%。我們的 RPO 在本季度帶來了價值 9,900 萬美元的新業務，其中 46% 來自新標識，54% 來自續約，續約對象包括一家大型金融機構，價值 3,200 萬美元。第一季現有合約的預計剩餘費用也保持強勁。

Now as a reminder, this operating metric that we introduced last quarter is the quarter ending estimated fees under existing contracts to be recognized in future periods.

現在提醒一下，我們在上個季度推出的這個營運指標是根據現有合約在未來期間確認的季度末估計費用。

At the end of the first quarter, this amounted to $1.67 billion, which was up 9% year over year. Of this amount, we expect approximately 58% or $972 million will be recognized as fees within the next year and 42% or $702 million to be recognized thereafter.

截至第一季末，這一數字達到 16.7 億美元，年增 9%。其中，我們預計約 58% 或 9.72 億美元將在明年確認為費用，42% 或 7.02 億美元將在此之後確認。

Now turning to our regional results. Fee revenue in the Americas was down 2% year over year, with growth in executive search and RPO being offset by slightly lower demand in consulting, digital and professional search and interim. EMEA fee revenue was strong, growing 19% year over year, and we saw growth in all solutions. APAC fee revenue was also strong, growing 12% year over year also with growth in all solutions.

現在來看看我們的區域結果。美洲的費用收入年減 2%，高階主管搜尋和 RPO 的成長被諮詢、數位和專業搜尋以及臨時需求的略微下降所抵消。歐洲、中東和非洲地區費用收入強勁，年增 19%，我們看到所有解決方案均實現成長。亞太地區的費用收入也表現強勁，年增 12%，所有解決方案均成長。

And finally, our capital allocation in the first quarter remained balanced as we returned $36 million to shareholders through combined share repurchases and dividends, and we invested $22 million in capital expenditures focused on Talent Suite, our new technology platform as well as productivity tools and other product enhancements.

最後，我們第一季的資本配置保持平衡，透過股票回購和股息向股東返還了 3,600 萬美元，並投資了 2,200 萬美元用於 Talent Suite、我們的新技術平台以及生產力工具和其他產品增強的資本支出。

Now turning to our outlook for the second quarter of fiscal '26. Assuming no further changes in worldwide geopolitical conditions, economic conditions, financial markets and foreign exchange rates, we expect fee revenue in the second quarter of fiscal '26 to range from $690 million to $710 million.

現在來談談我們對 26 財年第二季的展望。假設全球地緣政治條件、經濟狀況、金融市場和外匯匯率沒有進一步變化，我們預期26財年第二季的費用收入將在6.9億美元至7.1億美元之間。

Our adjusted EBITDA margin to range from approximately 17% to 17.5% and our consolidated adjusted diluted earnings per share to range from $1.23 to $1.33. Finally, we expect our GAAP diluted earnings per share in the second quarter to range from $1.10 to $1.16.

我們的調整後EBITDA利潤率將在約17%至17.5%之間，合併調整後稀釋每股盈餘將在1.23美元至1.33美元之間。最後，我們預計第二季GAAP稀釋每股盈餘將在1.10美元至1.16美元之間。

Now I'd like to note that our GAAP diluted earnings per share includes approximately $10 million or $0.14 per share of accelerated depreciation, and that's related to our current product technology platform, which will be sunsetted as the Talent Suite is commercially launched at the beginning of the third quarter in November.

現在我想指出的是，我們的 GAAP 稀釋每股收益包括約 1000 萬美元或每股 0.14 美元的加速折舊，這與我們目前的產品技術平台有關，該平台將於 11 月第三季初 Talent Suite 商業化推出時停止使用。

We remain committed to controlling what we can control, leaning into identified growth opportunities and driving operational excellence. We will continue to promote a culture of innovation and remain focused on delivering outstanding client service.

我們將繼續致力於控制我們能夠控制的事情，抓住已確定的成長機會並推動卓越營運。我們將持續弘揚創新文化，並持續致力於提供卓越的客戶服務。

Korn Ferry is a global consulting firm that powers client performance. We're focused on improving our go-to-market efforts, engaging with our clients as one firm, we are Korn Ferry. We are well positioned for the next step in our growth, and I'm more confident and excited than I've ever been about what this company can become.

Korn Ferry 是一家致力於提升客戶績效的全球顧問公司。我們專注於改善我們的市場推廣工作，以一家公司的身份與客戶合作，我們是光輝國際。我們已經為下一步的發展做好了準備，我對公司的未來比以往任何時候都更有信心，也更加興奮。

With that, we would be glad to answer any questions you may have.

因此，我們很樂意回答您的任何問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Trevor Romeo, William Blair.

特雷弗羅密歐、威廉布萊爾。

Hi, thanks so much for taking the questions. Just maybe I had a couple on your digital business to start, the Talent Suite rollout coming up in November. As you're getting ready for that commercial launch, I guess, what are some of the key milestones you'll be tracking there? And how should we be thinking about maybe the time line for the benefits there to start flowing through the financials?

你好，非常感謝您回答這些問題。也許我剛剛對您的數位業務有一些了解，Talent Suite 將於 11 月推出。我想，當您為商業發布做好準備時，您將追蹤哪些關鍵里程碑？我們應該如何考慮這些收益開始流入財務的時間表？

Well, I think the benefits will take some time. I think it will be towards the end of calendar '26 realistically when we start to see the true benefits of it. Some of the milestones that we are working on include the partnerships that we have and further accelerating the go-to-market strategy around those partnerships. That's very important, particularly with the three or four large HCM players, that's certainly one thing we're working on.

嗯，我認為好處的顯現還需要一些時間。我認為，要到 2026 年底我們才能真正看到它的好處。我們正在努力實現的一些里程碑包括我們擁有的合作夥伴關係以及進一步加快圍繞這些合作夥伴關係的市場進入策略。這非常重要，特別是對於三到四個大型 HCM 參與者而言，這當然是我們正在努力的事情之一。

The second is enabling our colleagues and training our colleagues. We have a robust schedule in front of us to train all of our 1,800 frontline consultants on awareness and provocation, and selling of the Talent Suite. That's going to be happening over the next six months starting in October.

第二是賦能我們的同事，訓練我們的同事。我們有一個緊湊的時間表，要對我們所有的 1,800 名一線顧問進行培訓，提高他們的意識和激發能力，並銷售 Talent Suite。這將從十月開始的六個月內發生。

And we also have a targeted strategy with milestones there around our Marquee & Diamond accounts. So it's really kind of a balanced approach here, a multipronged approach. Outside with partners, with our Marquee & Diamond accounts top down, bottom up with many of our clients, then there's an internal mobility strategy as well.

我們也制定了針對 Marquee 和 Diamond 帳戶的里程碑策略。所以這其實是一種平衡的方法，一種多管齊下的方法。外部與合作夥伴合作，自上而下與我們的 Marquee & Diamond 帳戶合作，自下而上與我們的眾多客戶合作，此外還有內部流動策略。

Thanks, Gary. Maybe just one quick follow-up on digital. The subscription and license piece of the segment going above, I think, 40% of segment revenue now. Could you maybe just remind us what is your kind of long-term aspirational target for how big those subscriptions could grow as a percentage of that segment?

謝謝，加里。也許只是對數字的一個快速跟進。我認為，該部門的訂閱和授權部分目前已占到部門收入的 40% 以上。您能否提醒我們，對於這些訂閱量在該細分市場中所佔的百分比，您的長期目標是什麼？

Well, we'd like to see it be north of, say, 60%, but that's certainly not in the next several months. But I just think there's this opportunity to impact a lot of people's lives and the destination of organizations through our IP, and we just have to figure out the best way to drive scale. And I think the best way to drive scale in that business is through our partnerships that we have. And we -- that's something that we're going to pursue very aggressively.

好吧，我們希望看到這個數字超過 60%，但這肯定不會在未來幾個月內實現。但我認為，我們有機會透過我們的 IP 影響許多人的生活和組織的目標，我們只需要找到推動規模的最佳方式。我認為擴大該業務規模的最佳方式是透過我們現有的合作夥伴關係。我們將非常積極地追求這一目標。

Trevor, this is Bob. One thing I would add to that, as you think about Talent Suite, obviously, selling subscriptions and licenses is important for us. But it is -- also think about it as an enabler of the delivery of our other services solutions.

特雷弗，這是鮑伯。我想補充一點，當你想到 Talent Suite 時，顯然，銷售訂閱和授權對我們來說很重要。但它是——也可以將其視為我們提供其他服務解決方案的推動因素。

So whether it's Talent acquisition, it's consulting, other areas in the organization are going to really benefit from having all of the assets, IP, data content, what we call foundational assets at the center of the organization, right? And they're going to be able to much easier -- gain much easier access and utilization of those.

因此，無論是人才招募、諮詢，或是組織中的其他領域都將真正受益於擁有所有資產、智慧財產權、資料內容（我們稱之為組織中心的基礎資產），對嗎？他們將能夠更輕鬆地存取和利用這些資訊。

And then we have a reporting and analytics layer. And then when you layer on AI and GenAI in terms of being able to access, slice and dice data much faster, easier, quicker you have to think about it more broadly than just selling subscriptions and licenses.

然後我們有一個報告和分析層。然後，當您在 AI 和 GenAI 上分層以便能夠更快、更輕鬆、更迅速地存取、切分資料時，您必須更廣泛地考慮它，而不僅僅是銷售訂閱和授權。

Great, thank you. And then maybe one more, if you don't mind. Maybe for you, Bob. Just on the guidance, I think typically, Q2 is a little bit of a stronger seasonal revenue quarter for you. So I guess the guidance may be a slight dip at the midpoint sequentially for revenue. Can we just maybe reconcile that. Should we read that as a little bit of conservatism or any reasons across the businesses that would make you think you wouldn't see a little bit of an uptick?

太好了，謝謝。如果你不介意的話，也許還可以再來一個。也許對你來說是這樣，鮑伯。僅從指導來看，我認為通常情況下，第二季度對你們來說是一個收入稍微強勁的季節性季度。因此，我猜測預計收入中點可能會比上一季略有下降。我們能不能解決這個問題？我們是否應該將其解釋為企業的一些保守主義或任何原因，讓您認為不會看到一點上漲？

I would say, Trevor, just given the uncertainties in the backdrop out there, we're probably on little bit on the conservative side.

我想說，特雷弗，考慮到外界背景的不確定性，我們可能有點偏向保守。

Okay. Understood. Well, thanks very much. I really appreciate it.

好的。明白了。嗯，非常感謝。我真的很感激。

Tobey Sommer, Truist.

托比·索默 (Tobey Sommer)，Truist。

Thank you. I wanted to ask what you're hearing from clients. You mentioned in your -- that uncertainty out in the economy prompted some conservatism in guidance, we see the BLS revision lower here this morning for job creation over the last year, maybe rates starting to come down here at the Fed sometime soon. What are customers telling you?

謝謝。我想問一下您從客戶那裡聽到了什麼。您提到——經濟中的不確定性促使指導方針中出現了一些保守主義，我們看到今天上午美國勞工統計局對去年就業創造的修正值有所下調，美聯儲的利率可能很快就會開始下降。顧客告訴了您什麼？

Well, it depends where you are in the world. Look, everybody has got to play on the pitch. Everybody is dealing with the same economic and labor environment. I've spent the last several months with clients and colleagues in Europe in many different countries.

嗯，這取決於你在世界的哪個地方。瞧，每個人都必須在球場上比賽。每個人都面臨著同樣的經濟和勞動力環境。過去幾個月，我與歐洲許多不同國家的客戶和同事一起度過了一段時光。

And I think, broadly speaking, there's a great deal of optimism. And in the Americas, I think people are dealing with the lack of pricing power and the fact that costs have escalated 50% over the last 5.5 to 6 years.

我認為，從整體來看，人們普遍抱持樂觀態度。而在美洲，我認為人們正在應對定價權的缺乏以及成本在過去 5.5 到 6 年間上漲了 50% 的事實。

And look, I'm not surprised at all by the downward revision in those BLS numbers. I mean that's not shocking. There's been a labor recession for two years. And so companies are -- they're not doing massive downsizing, but they're letting natural attrition take its course and they're not replacing those hires. And then the other big thing not only in Europe, but in America and Asia is what does AI do long term in terms of how does an organization get work done.

而且，我對 BLS 數據的下調一點也不感到驚訝。我的意思是這並不令人震驚。勞動力衰退已經持續了兩年。因此，公司不會大規模裁員，而是讓人員自然流失，不會更換已聘用的員工。另一件大事不僅在歐洲，而且在美國和亞洲都是如此，那就是人工智慧在組織如何完成工作方面將發揮什麼長期作用。

And with how many people. We've seen a really good rebound in Asia. And we've seen it in the numbers, both Europe and Asia really performed well. That was fairly broad-based in both regions.

以及有多少人。我們看到亞洲出現了非常好的反彈。我們從數據中看到，歐洲和亞洲的表現都非常好。這在兩個地區都相當普遍。

Life Sciences clients are -- that's a tougher deal as well as health care. We've seen a lot of great activity in industrial, which is 30% of the company. Private equity has been a source of significant strength because they have thousands of companies that are past their sell by date.

生命科學客戶和醫療保健客戶一樣，都是比較棘手的交易。我們看到工業領域有許多出色的活動，占公司總業務的 30%。私募股權一直是其強大力量的源泉，因為它們擁有數千家已經過期的公司。

And because of that, they're actually having to go in and think about how you really operate the company beyond just cutting costs and increasing EBITDA. So those would be the major themes that I've heard from clients directly.

正因為如此，他們實際上必須深入思考如何真正經營公司，而不僅僅是削減成本和提高 EBITDA。這些就是我直接從客戶那裡聽到的主要主題。

Just sort of a specific question on consulting if I could. With respect to your merger and divestiture kind of services in playbook. What are you seeing there? Because we've seen sort of an uptick in at least announced deals. And many of them seem to be sort of corporate breakups, I'm wondering if you're participating in that from a consulting perspective?

如果可以的話，我只是想問一個關於諮商的具體問題。關於劇本中的合併和剝離類服務。你在那裡看到了什麼？因為我們至少看到已宣布的交易數量上升。其中許多似乎都是公司拆分，我想知道您是否從諮詢的角度參與其中？

There's actually -- there are a couple that we are participating. I can't talk about it, but there are a couple. But I think the bigger activity has actually been on the private equity side. And I think that's a direct result of firms hanging on to portfolio companies longer and the work that has to be done beyond three, four, five years.

事實上——我們正在參與一些活動。我不能談論它，但有幾個。但我認為更大的活動實際上是在私募股權方面。我認為這是公司長期持有投資組合公司以及必須在三、四、五年之後完成的工作的直接結果。

Appreciate that. Last question for me is if we do see an appreciable uptick in demand or across the businesses and get a little bit faster revenue growth for the firm. Do you have some excess capacity now sort of in the businesses to be able to meet that? Or might you need to step on the gas with hiring and have sort of flat to down-ish margins for a quarter or two while you ramp things up?

非常感謝。對我來說，最後一個問題是，我們是否確實看到需求或整個業務的顯著上升，並且公司的收入成長是否更快一些。你們現在的企業中是否有一些過剩產能可以滿足這項需求？或者，您是否需要加強招募力度，並在提高業績的一兩個季度內保持利潤率持平或略有下降？

No. We're continually managing that talent. And I do think that there is capacity. And I think the big question what do you have to believe for this economic environment that we've seen now for a couple of years to actually turn.

不。我們一直在管理這些人才。我確實認為我們有能力。我認為最大的問題是，對於我們已經看到幾年來的這種經濟環境，你必須相信什麼才能真正轉變。

There's got to be some significant rate cuts. The Fed has been slow. It was never transitory several years ago. Anybody with any common sense could have said that. And that's what you have to see to get this thing going.

必須進行一些大幅的降息。聯準會行動遲緩。幾年前它從來都不是短暫的。任何有常識的人都會這麼說。這就是為了讓這件事繼續下去你必須看到的。

Hey Tobey, it's Bob. The other thing I would add to that, too, is we've set ourselves formally organized around AI, GenAI and we're driving that into the organization. So from a capacity perspective, I would expect that to help us get through any groundswell that comes out of a more rapid rebound.

嘿，托比，我是鮑伯。我還要補充的是，我們已經正式圍繞 AI、GenAI 組織起來，並將其推向組織。因此，從容量角度來看，我希望這能幫助我們度過更快速反彈帶來的任何浪潮。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

George Tong, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的喬治通 (George Tong)。

Hi, this is Sami on for George. Could you talk about how consulting new business performed in the quarter? What is your outlook for consulting for the remainder of the year? Any -- and the key drivers behind your expectations?

大家好，我是薩米，代表喬治。能談談本季諮詢新業務的表現如何嗎？您對今年剩餘時間的諮詢業務有何展望？有什麼——您期望背後的關鍵驅動因素是什麼？

Well, I think it's going to depend regionally too. I'm not looking -- I just don't think the economic environment particularly is going to change dramatically unless we see the Fed take action. And I think it's been a very, very difficult consulting market for eight quarters now.

嗯，我認為這也取決於地區。我並不是觀察——我只是認為，除非聯準會採取行動，否則經濟環境不會發生巨大變化。我認為八個季度以來諮詢市場一直非常非常困難。

And when you look at the overall firm results quarter on quarter-on-quarter and what I would characterize as the labor recession, it is incredibly, incredibly impressive. And so I would assume that in Europe and Asia, we're going to see continued momentum with our consulting solutions. And in the Americas, I think it's going to be a bit more challenging given the backdrop of what we're dealing with.

當你查看公司季度環比的整體業績以及我所說的勞動力衰退時，你會發現這非常令人印象深刻。因此我認為，在歐洲和亞洲，我們的諮詢解決方案將持續保持強勁發展勢頭。而在美洲，考慮到我們所面臨的背景，我認為情況將會更加困難。

And then the other move that we're making and this is not new. But many, many years ago, we said, look, we've got to get into bigger, larger scale and as Bob said, more integrated solutions, delivering impact to our clients. And so we purposely made an effort towards bigger, more transformational assignments. And it shows in the numbers. This isn't just rhetoric.

然後我們正在採取的另一個舉措並不是什麼新鮮事。但很多很多年前，我們就說過，看，我們必須進入更大、更大規模，正如鮑伯所說，提供更整合的解決方案，為我們的客戶帶來影響。因此，我們刻意努力完成更大、更具變革性的任務。這從數字上就可以看出來。這不僅僅是說說而已。

When you look at the average look at rate per out as an example. That has gone from -- it's gone up 50% from $300 an hour, just a few years ago, to now almost $500 an hour, $470 an hour. When you look at the backlog, the backlog is actually increasing in consulting, 42% of that backlog is engagements over $1 million. And when you look at the new wins, those are also a good part of them, not the majority, but a good part are over $1 million.

當您查看平均值時，請以每次出場率為例。這一數字已經從幾年前的每小時 300 美元上漲了 50%，到現在的每小時將近 500 美元、每小時 470 美元。當你查看積壓訂單時，你會發現諮詢方面的積壓訂單實際上正在增​​加，其中 42% 的積壓訂單金額超過 100 萬美元。當你看到新的獎金時，你會發現這些獎金也佔了很大一部分，雖然不是大多數，但很大一部分獎金超過了 100 萬美元。

So what's happening is we're moving the entire organization towards more integrated solutions. The numbers reflect that. And with that then becomes a slower consumption by clients of the backlog. And so when we look at new business, it was your specific question in consulting, in the quarter, it was decent. I mean it was definitely on the plus side.

所以，我們正在推動整個組織走向更整合的解決方案。數字反映了這一點。這樣一來，客戶對積壓訂單的消耗就會變慢。因此，當我們審視新業務時，這是您在諮詢方面的具體問題，在本季度，情況還不錯。我的意思是這絕對是好的一面。

But I tend to look at the firm as a whole and what we're doing there. And I just think you look quarter on quarter in the environment that's been very difficult and looking at the company's profitability, it's impressive.

但我傾向於從整體上看待公司以及我們在那裡所做的事情。我認為，在非常困難的環境下，逐季觀察公司的獲利能力，這是令人印象深刻的。

Got it. And on digital, the number of consultants was down significantly this quarter. Could you talk about what drove the decision to reduce digital head count, especially given you have the launch of Talent Suite coming up? And is the head count now fully aligned with the current demand? Or could we see further rightsizing?

知道了。在數位領域，本季顧問數量大幅下降。您能否談談是什麼促使您做出減少數位員工數量的決定，特別是考慮到您即將推出 Talent Suite？現在的員工數量是否完全符合當前的需求？或者我們可以看到進一步的調整？

Well, we are always managing the workforce, and so we've done it over the last two to three years, if you look at professional search and interim, for example, you'll find there that we've made significant changes in that workforce and reposition that workforce, and we've done the same thing in digital. So for us, it's -- again, it's around the firm.

嗯，我們一直在管理勞動力，所以我們在過去的兩到三年裡一直在這樣做，例如，如果你看看專業搜索和臨時工作，你會發現我們對勞動力做出了重大改變並重新定位了勞動力，我們在數字領域也做了同樣的事情。所以對我們來說，這又跟公司有關。

And it's not around these segments. It's around enabling the entire firm to be able to deliver the platform. And that platform is at its very, very foundation, how do you unlock human and organizational performance. How do you design an organization? How do you assess what type of leaders do you need? How do you develop and how do you pay them? That's what it's about.

並且它並不圍繞這些部分。這是為了讓整個公司能夠提供這個平台。這個平台的根本問題是，如何釋放人類和組織的表現。你如何設計一個組織？您如何評估需要什麼類型的領導者？你們如何發展以及如何支付他們的費用？這就是它的意義。

So it's not strictly around the 236 digital sellers that we have. It's around the entire firm. And the 1,800 frontline consultants that we have and their ability to deliver the entire firm.

因此，這並不嚴格圍繞我們擁有的 236 個數位賣家。它圍繞著整個公司。我們擁有 1,800 名第一線顧問，他們有能力為整個公司提供服務。

That's helpful. Thank you for taking my questions.

這很有幫助。感謝您回答我的問題。

Joshua Chan, UBS.

瑞銀集團 Joshua Chan。

Hi Gary and Bob, thanks for taking my questions. If I look at the -- if I look at the geography, the North American part of the business, most parts of the business is down somewhat, which jives with the macro, but exec search is still up in North America. So what's going on in exec search that's allowing that part of your business to really seemingly outperform the environment?

嗨，加里和鮑勃，謝謝你們回答我的問題。如果我看一下——如果我看一下地理位置，業務的北美部分，大部分業務都有所下降，這與宏觀情況相符，但高管搜尋在北美仍然上升。那麼高階主管搜尋中究竟發生了什麼，使得您的這部分業務看起來確實比環境表現更好呢？

Yeah. It's a combination of [founders]. It's the phenomenon where I've talked about this for a good six quarters, seven quarters, it's peak 65, so there's the demographic shifts and trends that I referred to in my opening comment. So you've got that playing out. You've got the fact that many of the executives in the C-suite we're probably in the C-suite during COVID.

是的。這是[創始人]我已經談論這個現象六個季度、七個季度了，這個數字達到了 65 歲的峰值，這就是我在開場白中提到的人口結構變化和趨勢。所以你已經把這個事情搞清楚了。事實上，我們許多高階主管在 COVID 期間可能都擔任高階主管。

And so you had a period of going from light to darkness to light and all the things in between around that time than the subsequent pent-up demand and great resignation. And so you've got people that are making the decision for themselves around work-life balance.

因此，你會經歷一段從光明到黑暗再到光明的時期，以及其間的所有事情，然後是隨後被壓抑的需求和巨大的順從。所以人們需要自己決定如何平衡工作與生活。

Then you have boards looking at the C-suite and saying, is the leadership team that I need over the next five years what are their skills that will be needed and versus the past five years. So it's really those combination of factors that I believe are driving the executive search business.

然後，董事會就會審視高階主管，並詢問我未來五年需要什麼樣的領導團隊，以及與過去五年相比，他們需要哪些技能。所以我相信這些因素的結合才是推動高階主管搜尋業務發展的真正因素。

Great. Well, thanks for the color there, Gary. And I think you guys also mentioned that in a choppy environment that could provide some opportunity for you to strengthen your position. I'm sure you'd love a stronger environment, but curious how you can still win business in a weaker environment and what kind of opportunities those might be?

偉大的。好吧，謝謝你的色彩，加里。我想你們也提到過，在動盪的環境中，這可以提供你們一些機會來鞏固自己的地位。我相信您會喜歡更強大的環境，但好奇您如何在較弱的環境中仍然贏得業務以及這些可能是什麼樣的機會？

Yeah. This is the best environment. I mean it's we're on most motivated. This is where good companies become great companies. It's only in these types of environments because people don't change unless there's a reason to change.

是的。這是最好的環境。我的意思是，這是我們最有動力的。這就是優秀公司成為偉大公司的地方。只有在這種環境下，人們才會改變，除非有改變的理由。

And I think the environment gives us that reason to change. So I look at it and I -- it's not a question of just dealing with ambiguity, but it's embracing the ambiguity. And I love the environment and it does present opportunities for us, and it presents an opportunity even internally around how we think about ourselves and do we think about ourselves as business segments or do you think about yourself as Korn Ferry?

我認為環境給了我們改變的理由。所以當我看著它時，我發現——這不僅僅是一個處理模糊性的問題，而是一個接受模糊性的問題。我喜歡這個環境，它確實為我們提供了機會，甚至在內部也為我們提供了機會，圍繞我們如何看待自己，我們是否將自己視為業務部門，還是將自己視為光輝國際？

And the truth is that we don't have the five businesses. We have one business, which is Korn Ferry. We have five solutions, but we have one business. And so the ability to change mindset in an environment like this, you have to take advantage of it. And that's what we're doing, and that's what we plan to do over the next several months is to continue to change mindset particularly around how we go to market.

而事實是，我們並沒有這五項業務。我們有一家公司，那就是光輝國際 (Korn Ferry)。我們有五種解決方案，但我們只有一項業務。因此，你必須利用在這樣的環境中改變思考方式的能力。這就是我們正在做的事情，也是我們計劃在接下來的幾個月裡做的事情，那就是繼續改變思維方式，特別是關於我們如何進入市場。

One of the things that I've talked about quite a bit with investors is when the world is somewhat chaotic. It's actually, as Gary mentioned, a good thing for us. Think about COVID hit, everybody went home. Work got done differently, different work had to be get done and organizations turn to us to help figure that out. Right now, there's a lot of uncertainty out there, AI, GenAIs out there.

我經常與投資者談論的一個話題是當世界變得有些混亂時。事實上，正如加里所提到的，這對我們來說是一件好事。想想新冠疫情爆發時，大家都回家了。工作以不同的方式完成，必須完成不同的工作，組織向我們尋求協助來解決這個問題。現在，存在著許多不確定性，包括人工智慧 (AI) 和 GenAI。

How do I change -- how does that impact my workforce? Does it change my job profiles? Do people have the right skills, to any different people. So when there's chaos out in the world and organizations are trying to figure their way through it, they turn to us to help them do that. So for -- as Gary indicated, it's actually a good thing for us.

我該如何改變──這會對我的員工產生什麼影響？它會改變我的工作概況嗎？人們是否擁有合適的技能，對任何人來說都是不同的。因此，當世界陷入混亂，組織試圖尋找出路時，他們就會向我們尋求幫助。所以——正如加里所說，這對我們來說實際上是一件好事。

That's an interesting perspective. Yeah, thank you for both for your color -- the color and the time.

這是一個有趣的觀點。是的，謝謝你們的顏色——顏色和時間。

Mark Marcon, Baird.

馬克馬孔，貝爾德。

Hey, good afternoon, and thanks for taking my questions. Gary in your discussion, you talked a lot about some of the bigger deals that you've been signing and you specifically noted one with a big HCM company. I'm wondering if you can elaborate in terms of what you're going to do for them?

嘿，下午好，感謝您回答我的問題。加里，在你們的討論中，你談了很多你們簽署的一些較大的交易，並且特別提到了與一家大型 HCM 公司簽署的交易。我想知道您是否可以詳細說明您將為他們做些什麼？

I'm not going to get into -- it's really a transformational program centered around leadership development. And so it's a big learning engagement where that particular client is not only licensing our IP around developing and transforming a workforce, but it also includes consulting with assessments in coaching. So it's really around kind of transforming a workforce in transforming not just skill set, but mindset, and it's using both our IP and consulting.

我不想深入探討——這實際上是一個以領導力發展為中心的轉型計劃。因此，這是一個重要的學習活動，特定客戶不僅授權我們的智慧財產權來開發和改造勞動力，還包括諮詢和指導評估。因此，這實際上是一種勞動力轉型，不僅要轉變技能，還要轉變思維方式，並且要利用我們的智慧財產權和諮詢服務。

That's really interesting. How big of a program could something like that be?

這真的很有趣。這樣的程序能有多大？

These are typically multiyear and several million dollars. I'm not saying that this particular one is that, but that's generally what these look like. And part of it then is it gets consumed by the clients, not the digital piece, but the consulting wraparound on these leadership development programs, they have to consume it. They have to pull it down on the shelf. And that's why I can think of one that is huge.

這些通常需要多年時間和數百萬美元。我並不是說這就是那樣，但一般來說它們看起來都是那樣的。其中一部分是被客戶消費的，不是數位部分，而是這些領導力發展計畫的諮詢包裝，他們必須消費它。他們必須把它從架子上拉下來。這就是為什麼我能想到一個很大的原因。

It was an eight digit sale to a massive, massive organization. And we are now -- we've just completed year three, and we've touched about 40% of that organization. And so the consumption of all of those services, not the IP, obviously, but the consumption of the services is really dependent on the client's speed, not on us. And that's one reason why you see the backlog, for example, in consulting increasing is because of that phenomenon moving to multiyear, multimillion dollar engagements.

對於一個龐大的組織來說，這是一筆八位數的銷售額。現在，我們剛剛完成了第三年的工作，並且已經涵蓋了該組織的約 40%。因此，所有這些服務的消耗，顯然不是 IP，而是服務的消耗實際上取決於客戶端的速度，而不是我們。這就是為什麼你會看到諮詢業務積壓不斷增加的原因之一，因為這種現象正在轉向多年期、數百萬美元的合作。

That's great. Gary, we have been in a labor recession. You guys have held up the best of arguably any of the major players that are out there that most investors look at. You've been getting more and more into professional search and interim. You've made a number of acquisitions there.

那太棒了。加里，我們正處於勞動衰退之中。你們可以說是大多數投資人所關注的主要參與者中表現最好的。您越來越關注專業搜尋和臨時工作。您在那裡進行了許多收購。

I'm wondering as the environment remains relatively uncertain, what's your posture there? What have you learned from the acquisitions that you've made in terms of, what are the types of acquisitions, the best spaces where you guys actually fit? And how many more opportunities are there in terms of bolstering the areas where you really do fit?

我想知道，由於環境仍然相對不確定，您在那裡的姿態是什麼？從你們所做的收購中學到了什麼？收購的類型有哪些？你們最適合的領域是什麼？在加強您真正適合的領域方面還有多少機會？

I think the pro search -- let me bifurcate that. The pro search market, as you said, is enormous. Today, most of that business that we have, most of that solution is in the US. What we've learned is the contingent part of that market opportunity does not work for us for the most part.

我認為專業搜尋——讓我將其分為兩類。正如您所說，專業搜尋市場非常龐大。今天，我們的大部分業務、大部分解決方案都在美國。我們了解到，市場機會的偶然性在很大程度上對我們不起作用。

So the learning there is we love the market. We want to go into it, but we also want to be eyes wide open. We don't want to be in contingent recruiting. It doesn't fit well with the brand in the Marquee & Diamond account strategy.

因此，我們學到的是，我們熱愛市場。我們想要深入其中，但我們也希望保持清醒的頭腦。我們不想進行臨時招募。它與 Marquee & Diamond 帳戶策略中的品牌不太契合。

And there is a -- still a big opportunity outside the US, we're underpenetrated there. And we have to be very cognizant both in pro search and interim as to what technology is going to do to a company's labor force over the next 5 or 10 years. So we have to be very, very targeted there and very smart.

美國以外仍然存在著巨大的機遇，我們在那裡的滲透率還不夠。我們必須非常清楚，無論是在專業搜尋還是臨時搜尋中，科技在未來 5 年或 10 年內將對公司的勞動力產生什麼影響。因此，我們必須非常有針對性，而且非常聰明。

On the interim side, what we've learned is that it is, number one, why did we get into it? We got into it because we see a mega trend that's playing out that we continue things going to play out even with AI, with fractional workers.

從中期來看，我們了解到的是，首先，我們為什麼要參與其中？我們之所以進入這個領域，是因為我們看到了一個正在發生的大趨勢，即使有了人工智慧和分散工人，這種趨勢也將繼續下去。

And so we think that megatrend is something that we should invest into. What we've learned there is that it is very synergistic with our brand. And similar to pro search, the opportunity is quite significant outside of the United States. And in fact, when you look at both pro search and interim, you would find that 70% or so of our solution today is in the United States. And there's an enormous market opportunity.

因此我們認為，大趨勢是值得我們投資的。我們了解到，它與我們的品牌具有很強的協同作用。與專業搜尋類似，美國以外的市場機會也相當巨大。事實上，當你查看專業搜尋和臨時搜尋時，你會發現我們今天 70% 左右的解決方案都在美國。這其中蘊藏著巨大的市場機會。

I think you would see us on the acquisition side, more oriented towards interim than pro search because on the pro search side, there are a number of transactions we could do today. But will those transactions would come with a large pro search contingent piece, which we don't think is commensurate with our brand.

我認為你會看到我們在收購方面更傾向於臨時搜索而不是專業搜索，因為在專業搜索方面，我們今天可以進行多項交易。但這些交易是否會伴隨大量的專業搜尋附帶部分，我們認為這與我們的品牌不相稱。

Appreciate that answer.

感謝您的回答。

Mark, just maybe a little bit more color. A couple of things for me that have been learning, Gary mentioned the synergistic in the ability to sell across the organization within the interim business itself, since we started down that path, we've created over 1,200 incremental opportunities by referring work across the system that never would have existed in those organizations had they stayed independent.

馬克，也許顏色再多一點就好了。對我來說，有幾件事我一直在學習，加里提到了在臨時業務內部進行跨組織銷售的能力的協同作用，自從我們開始走這條路以來，我們通過在整個系統內推薦工作創造了超過 1,200 個增量機會，如果這些組織保持獨立，這些機會就不會存在。

And the other thing is I talk to people in the field that I find very interesting is a lot of our clients are asking us, you do my firm hiring now, why wouldn't you help us with the interim or temporary labor force as well. So I think there's -- the market is used as Gary indicated, and there's great demand amongst our client base. And it is extremely synergistic as you bring it into this organization.

另一件事是，我與該領域的人士交談時發現，非常有趣的是，我們的許多客戶都在問我們，你們現在負責我公司的招聘，為什麼不幫助我們招聘臨時或臨時勞動力呢？所以我認為——正如加里指出的那樣，市場已經被利用，我們的客戶群中存在著很大的需求。當你將它帶入這個組織時，它會產生極其顯著的協同效應。

That's terrific. Thanks, Bob. And then can I just ask about AI, twofold question. One is, clearly, there's been a labor recession for anybody who's been following the labor market for some time. And the question revolves around like even if we do see some (inaudible) a little bit more actively. Gary, what do you think about the chance of uncertainty around AI kind of freezing certain employers.

太棒了。謝謝，鮑伯。然後我可以問一下關於人工智慧的雙重問題嗎？顯然，任何長期關注勞動市場的人都會發現，勞動市場已經出現了衰退。問題在於，即使我們確實看到一些（聽不清楚）更加活躍。加里，您認為人工智慧的不確定性可能會凍結某些雇主嗎？

And in some cases, we are seeing some sections where labor demand is being reduced by AI. So I'm just wondering what you're seeing on the client front. And then secondly, you mentioned you're injecting [AI] processes.

在某些情況下，我們看到一些領域的勞動力需求因人工智慧而減少。所以我只是想知道您在客戶端看到了什麼。其次，您提到您正在註入 [AI] 流程。

Wondering if you can be a little bit more specific in terms of specific areas that you're injecting to AI? How much are you spending there? And do you expect it to be an efficiency driver? And what's that impact going to be in terms of your own headcount?

想知道您是否可以更具體地說明您注入人工智慧的具體領域嗎？你在那裡花了多少錢？您是否期望它成為效率驅動因素？這對你們的員工人數會有什麼影響？

I'll let Bob -- Bob, you can address the second part. I guess I would -- none of us have a crystal ball. I would say when you look at the -- take the America, there's no question that lower birth rates over the last 30 years, are going to result in significantly less people coming into the labor force over the next many years.

我讓鮑勃——鮑勃，你可以解決第二部分。我想我會的——我們都沒有水晶球。我想說的是，當你看看美國，毫無疑問，過去 30 年較低的出生率將導致未來許多年進入勞動市場的人數大幅減少。

And so therefore, if a country wants to grow productivity like America has done at 2% a year, how does that supply and demand imbalance get corrected. Well, it gets corrected through technology. So I think there will be whether -- in whatever form that is, agentic AI, whatever it is, I think there will be a massive sucking sound, and it will be this huge pull that technology will have to bridge that -- less people into the American workforce. So I think that's undeniable. That's mathematics, that's data.

因此，如果一個國家想要像美國一樣以每年 2% 的速度提高生產力，那麼該如何糾正供需失衡呢？嗯，它可以透過技術得到糾正。所以我認為，無論代理人工智慧以何種形式出現，我認為都會產生巨大的吸力，而科技的巨大吸引力將彌補這一缺陷，使更少的人進入美國勞動市場。所以我認為這是不可否認的。這就是數學，這就是數據。

And in this environment, that companies have been dealing with now for a couple of years, the reality people can talk about inflation at 2% or 2.5% to 3%, that is like such [belly glazing] the fact is costs are up 40% to 50%, and that's a direct result of COVID.

在這種環境下，企業已經應對了幾年，現實情況是人們談論的通貨膨脹率為 2% 或 2.5% 到 3%，這就像 [令人震驚] 事實是成本上漲了 40% 到 50%，這是 COVID 的直接結果。

So in this environment, companies are having to look at ways to deliver impact to their customers more efficiently. And that has played out in the labor force over the last eight quarters by letting -- for the most part, letting attrition take its course and not being so hell-bent on replacing those people that leave.

因此，在這種環境下，公司必須尋找更有效地為客戶帶來影響的方法。過去八個季度，勞動市場就出現了這種情況，大多數情況下，勞動力的流失都是自然而然的，而不是拼命尋找替代者來填補流失的勞動力。

There's no doubt that when you look at what you can do today with AI that any CEO would be absolutely looking at their organization and saying, what does this mean for my workforce strategy and it invariably has to mean, but I'm probably going to have less employees. I don't see how one would come to a different conclusion than that.

毫無疑問，當你看到今天人工智慧所能做的事情時，任何一位執行長都會審視他們的組織並說，這對我的勞動力策略意味著什麼，而且它必然意味著，我可能會減少員工數量。我不明白為什麼人們會得出與此不同的結論。

And so for us, -- we are -- broadly, there's inside out and outside in inside out. We're doing the things that you would expect around our own workforce and how we mobilize that workforce with AI. And then there's the outside in with our delivery services and not only the consulting engagements, such as we have today around going into an organization and saying, are they AI ready, which we have many, many of those engagements, we're actually using, again, our IP to assess and benchmark company's AI readiness.

所以對我們來說，廣義上講，有由內而外和由外而內而外兩種情況。我們正在做一些您期望的事情，圍繞我們自己的勞動力以及如何利用人工智慧來調動這些勞動力。然後，我們的交付服務涵蓋了外部，而不僅僅是諮詢業務，例如我們今天走進一個組織，詢問他們是否已為 AI 做好準備，我們有很多這樣的業務，我們實際上正在使用我們的 IP 來評估和衡量公司的 AI 準備情況。

But we're also using it relative to our assessment and coaching engagements. So Bob, maybe you could take the second part of Mark's question.

但我們也在評估和指導活動中使用它。那麼鮑勃，也許你可以回答馬克問題的第二部分。

Sure. So Mark, we're -- we actually are making investments into this area that are fairly substantial. Now we haven't gone out and hired a bunch of people. What we've done is we've taken approximately 40 individuals who had been within each of our solution areas, working on various aspects of AI, GenAI and we've organized them under a central leader only, Bryan Ackerman. And Bryan is driving the AI, GenAI usage in the firm.

當然。所以馬克，我們——我們實際上正在對這個領域進行相當大的投資。現在我們還沒出去僱用一堆人。我們所做的是，我們從每個解決方案領域中選取了大約 40 名人員，負責 AI、GenAI 的各個方面，並將他們組織在唯一的中央領導人 Bryan Ackerman 的領導下。Bryan 正在推動公司內 AI 和 GenAI 的使用。

We -- so we've taken those roughly 40 people centralize them. We now have rolled out licenses depending on your skill level or what your job role is and so on, the licenses may have -- some might be more -- have more efficacy than others.

我們 — — 因此，我們將大約 40 個人集中起來。我們現在已經根據您的技能水平或工作角色等推出了許可證，這些許可證可能（有些許可證可能更有效）比其他許可證更有效。

And we're going through right now and figuring out the impact that the AI, GenAI is going to have on our work. I guess where we are today, if you think about AI and GenAI, it's -- to me, it's -- mantra is human plus AI. So it's really looking at those as efficiency tools.

我們現在正在研究人工智慧、GenAI 將對我們的工作產生什麼影響。我想，如果我們今天考慮一下人工智慧和 GenAI，對我來說，它的咒語就是人類加上人工智慧。因此，它實際上將其視為效率工具。

I think where it potentially gets more interesting is with the use of agents ultimately as they will be integrated into workflows work process, and so the impact of that is obviously something that we're going to -- we'll figure out, but that's down the road.

我認為最終使用代理可能會變得更有趣，因為它們將被整合到工作流程中，因此其影響顯然是我們要弄清楚的事情，但這是未來的事情。

I would say that as I look at our workforce scale, Gary mentioned a couple of times on the call, our backlog, right? So to me, it's not just about how do I look at AI and GenAI as a way to get our head count down.

我想說，當我查看我們的員工規模時，加里在電話中提到了幾次，我們的積壓工作，對嗎？所以對我來說，這不僅僅是關於我如何看待人工智慧和 GenAI 作為減少員工人數的一種方式。

But it's also a way is how do I take out some of the menial tasks that folks are doing today and I could take that freed-up capacity and use that to deliver the backlog that we have. So in my mind, it's sort of a combination of, yeah, will it have an impact on our overall head count?

但這也是一種方法，即我如何擺脫人們今天正在做的一些瑣碎任務，我可以利用釋放的能力並用它來完成我們積壓的工作。所以在我看來，這是一種組合，是的，它會對我們的總人數產生影響嗎？

Absolutely. But it's also going to give us the ability to free up capacity to provide and deliver services to our clients more -- on a more rapid basis.

絕對地。但它也將使我們能夠釋放產能，以更快的速度為客戶提供更多服務。

Thank you very much. That was terrific.

非常感謝。太棒了。

And it appears that there are no further questions, Mr. Burnison.

看來沒有其他問題了，伯尼森先生。

Okay. Regina, thank you for hosting us, and we certainly appreciate you listening to our story. And we look forward to talking to you here over the next few days and over the next quarter. Thanks a lot.

好的。里賈娜，感謝您的接待，我們也非常感謝您傾聽我們的故事。我們期待在接下來的幾天和下一季與您交談。多謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, this conference call will be available for replay for one week starting running through the day September 16, 2025 and at midnight. You may access the echo replay service by dialing 800-770-2030 and entering the access code 5927-661 followed by the pound key.

女士們，先生們，本次電話會議將從 2025 年 9 月 16 日開始至午夜提供重播一週。您可以撥打 800-770-2030 並輸入接入碼 5927-661 再按井號鍵來存取迴聲重播服務。

Additionally, the replay will be available for playback at the company's website, www.kornferry.com in the Investor Relations section. This concludes our call today. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect.

此外，您也可以在公司網站 www.kornferry.com 的「投資者關係」部分播放重播。今天的通話到此結束。感謝您的加入。您現在可以斷開連線。