Fosway 20

When Fosway Group celebrated its twentieth anniversary, we curated a collection of research and analysis into HR, Talent and Learning since 1996 from the Fosway archives. It contains the most useful and practical insights from the last 20 years – and much of it remains very much relevant today.

Since Fosway Group was founded in 1996, a valuable library of research, insight and analysis has built up, containing some invaluable content and reference material. Our twentieth anniversary was a unique opportunity to open the archives and highlight some of the most useful resources across HR, Talent and Learning.

Fosway Group, originally known as Elearnity, was formed with a focus on how understanding how technology was enabling new ways of working. The objective was to provide research and insights that would help organisations accelerate their progress with technology, whilst de-risking their decision making. These goals remain unchanged to this day. This landmark occasion gave us a unique chance to look back on and reflect, but always with a mind to the future and the trends and innovation that lie ahead.

‘The last 20 years brought about massive changes both in technology and how we interact with it. Whilst this anniversary was an important landmark for us, looking back is not what we’re about. Fosway has always tried to stay ahead of the curve – from our original focus on collaborative and social learning and criticisms around the isolation of ‘click next’ e-learning, through to our early advocacy of cloud computing and the transformation of HR.’
David Wilson, CEO, Fosway Group

To mark this occasion, we curated content from the Fosway archive and surfaced insights from the past 20 years that remain relevant even as organisations embrace the next generation of HR, Talent and Learning. We also gathered reflections via #Fosway20.

FOUNDING INSIGHTS

Fosway Group CEO, David Wilson, shared some key insights on the last 20 years in learning and HR. He has witnessed huge change with trends that have come and gone since 1996. But much has stayed the same, with certain key challenges still testing organisations today. Find out more in our this video series.

EARLY RESEARCH

  • The Future of Learning
    In one of Fosway’s early whitepapers, our analysts explore the opportunities that e-learning presented for organisations as we entered the new millenium. And warned even then that success would be about so much more than simply transferring training content online. Read more…
  • Building E-learning Solutions
    In this second whitepaper of the series exploring the future of learning, Fosway sets out the importance of creating an integrated e-learning technology framework. From early learning portals to the original virtual classrooms, much of the advice on systems architecture remains relevant 16 years later. Read more…
  • Exploring E-learning Content
    The third whitepaper in this original series sets out a practical roadmap for e-learning implementation. From proof of concepts and selecting pilot projects to evaluating its impact and effectiveness – lessons which can still be learned from. Read more…
  • Recipes for E-learning Success
    An early look at the challenges surrounding e-learning, setting out flexibile technology solutions and approaches, this paper kicked off a new series analysing what factors made e-learning successful back in 2001. Read more…
  • The Volume Vs. Value Equation
    15 years ago, Fosway recognised a real danger that in the ‘e-gold rush’ to put content online and make it interactive, we might miss the point and focus on the size of the e-catalogue rather than the value of the learning it delivers. As we look back, it seems many of these warnings were not heeded by L&D. Read more…
  • Blended or Integrated Elearning
    The term ‘blended learning’ became popular in the year 2000. But blending implies the seamless use of all modes all of the time, all as one. Fosway felt at the time that this might not be a good description of the reality of how these things are delivered in practice. And with many organisations still battling to create the perfect blend, this paper interrogates the challenges and pitfalls. Read more…
  • Design Dynamics For E-learning
    Understanding the underlying dynamics of a specific learning requirement, and then being able to map into a viable learning delivery approach, is fundamental to any successful e-learning project. This paper was written in 2001 but many of the design principles still apply. Read more…
  • Building Learning Communities
    Learning is not just about knowledge transfer, and in most cases of successful learning it involves the building of a community of learners. Nowadays, online communities are becoming commonplace but at the turn of the millenium they were few and far between. This practical paper provides high level advice that remains applicable in 2016 (and beyond). Read more…
  • Synchronous Vs. Asynchronous
    As technology has evolved, the opportunities for different types of learning abound for L&D. Here, Fosway analysts explore the early benefits of both synchronous and asynchronous learning. Read more…
  • E-learning Standards
    An introduction to the various e-learning standards that were available as the market for online content grew rapidly in the early 2000s. This paper provides useful background reading as standards including xAPI continue to evolve. Read more…

FROM THE ARCHIVE

  • All hail the learner!
    Long before the current trend for a learner-centric focus became fashionable, Fosway advocated for this approach in an article that could have been written yesterday…but was first published in 2002. Read more…
  • Human Capital
    Discover the origins of the term Human Capital Management (or HCM) from the early 2000s. Read more…
  • People, Learning and Knowledge
    A critical look at the importance of joined-up thinking between HR, learning and knowledge management. Read more…
  • LMS vs HRMS
    The integration of systems is still a major challenge for organisations today. This article explores where an LMS fits in if your HR management system says it manages learning too. Read more…
  • Learning Content Management Systems
    CEO David Wilson introduces the ‘new kid on the block’ in learning technologies back in 2003, the LCMS. Read more…
  • It’s All In The Blend
    Rather than worrying about which subjects e-learning is unsuitable for, in the early 2000s, Fosway believed L&D would be better off thinking about how e-learning could add value to the learning process through a blended approach. Read more…
  • Top 10 Lessons For Corporate E-learning
    As the early learning technologies market jumped on bandwagon after bandwagon, this article from 2002 pauses and looks at the lessons learned – many of which transcend the intervening years and still provide much value. Read more…
  • Picking Pilot Projects
    When organisations initially start to explore the potential for different learning technologies, it is important that their early experiences are positive and show real value. Choosing the right context and the right projects is key. Here’s how. Read more…
  • Out Of The Catalogue And Into The Workplace
    How to increase actual take-up of learning from a learning portal or LMS is an ongoing challenge for corporate L&D. But the answer isn’t necessarily about internal marketing and adoption. This prescient piece explores the power of pull over push. Read more…
  • E-learning Strategy And Direction
    As the e-learning market evolved, this article provided practical advice on the cornerstones of an organisational approach to e-learning, what L&D’s priorities should be and what it really means to talk about a ‘strategy’ for e-learning. Advice that many could still benefit from. Read more…
  • Better Blending
    A direct look at the benefits and challenges associated with the early days of blended learning. Read more…

OTHER KEY RESEARCH

Over 20 years we have published hundreds of reports, sharing our research, data and insights. Here is a selected list of other key research which you might find interesting.

Check out our latest research here