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Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, has released its latest 9-Grid™ for Talent & People Success. The research shows that the market is resilient and forward looking, while still focused on continued AI-focused innovation across both Suites and Specialists, as well as experiencing an ongoing trend of consolidation.

“Investing in talent and people success continues to be an important strategic priority despite stresses in the economy. Creating a high performing workplace, which is great place to work, with skilled, energised and focused teams, is a necessity and not a fashion accessory. ” commented David Perring, Chief Insights Officer at Fosway Group and Lead Analyst on the 2023 9-Grid™ for Talent & People Success. “

This year’s research builds on last year’s trend for adoption of more talent empowering processes . Key focus areas for 2023 include workforce optimisation and employee experience as well as a prioritisation of skills and competencies, and of course, the rapid adoption and rollout of AI.

The 2023 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent & People Success incorporates both Talent Suites and Specialists. Talent & People Success Suites provide a range of talent functionality, from talent acquisition through to development, performance and employee wellbeing. Specialists provide a more focused set of functionalities within Talent & People Success – for example, focusing on specific topics such as skills, talent mobility, or employee listening.

Fosway research into Talent & People Success this year shows that useability also continues to be a huge driver of HR buying decisions. According to this year’s Fosway HR Realities research, only one in three HR leaders believe their systems are fit for the modern workforce. HR teams want change, but can the vendors in this space deliver the game changing experience their clients and their workforce so badly needs?

This year’s analysis does indeed show that the shift from talent management to people success is still continuing. Employees and employers alike are demanding more from their talent solutions. Vendors are responding, with Specialists and Suites offering solutions that are increasingly more people focused.

“The changing economic climate is putting even more pressure on companies to upskill and reorganise their workforce to adapt faster and perform better. Maximising the success of employees is critical as well as energising, developing and retaining them,” said David Wilson, CEO, Fosway Group. “This focus on people success is in turn driving new and innovative approaches to talent and skills, as well as how work is managed and optimised. AI will only accelerate these trends further and faster, automating the ability to build more personalised experiences and pathways for employees to develop and perform at higher levels.”

The full report can be downloaded online now.

Fosway’s CEO, David Wilson, and Chief Insights Officer, David Perring, will take questions in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 29 November 2023. Register for your free place online today.

Fosway Group’s latest analysis of the Cloud-based HR systems market, the 2023 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Cloud HR, reveals an environment that is responding to the challenges of social, business and digital transformation with a widespread embrace of cloud-based HR solutions. And, while there are a handful of Specialists new to the 9-Grid™ in this cycle, it is still the Suites which are benefitting most from a market that remains under pressure to consolidate.

The 2023 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Cloud HR also shows that, in what is arguably the most significant 12 months for public awareness of the potential of artificial intelligence, providers are rapidly integrating AI technology but corporate customers have yet to come to terms with the challenges as well as opportunities of AI. Whilst vendors are adopting generative AI, few have delivered solutions of real substance as HR tech continues to grapple with compliance, security and privacy issues, as well as the cultural implications of widespread AI adoption.

This year’s Fosway 9-Grid™ for Cloud HR also highlights the increasing disruption of corporate payroll with a shift towards real-time payroll processing. The ability for workers to access their earned salary when they need it, not just weekly or monthly, has an impact on financial wellbeing of workers as well as improving employee engagement and potentially future talent retention.

“This year’s 9-Grid™ report shows encouraging signs of corporate and market resilience.” said Sven Elbert, Head of Analyst Services and lead analyst for the Fosway 9-Grid™ for Cloud HR “The HCM Suites continue to consolidate their influence on the Cloud HR systems market, but Specialists increasingly enable a transformational impact in a diversified tech environment.”

There are several reasons for this resilience: European businesses have increasingly embraced digital HR transformation, recognising the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of cloud-based HR solutions. The global shift towards hybrid work and the need for seamless collaboration and data access have amplified the need for innovation as well as a connected cloud-based ecosystem. In addition, Europe is continuing to grapple with a significant skills crisis, making investment in new solutions even more valuable.

“Cloud HR has always been a dynamic market space in which vendors of all sizes and specialisms operate,” said David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group. “It’s going to be a crucial year ahead for the market, as we see ongoing concerns such as skills strategy vie for attention alongside transformative tech initiatives such as generative AI and low code/no code. Other areas including payroll and strategic workforce planning will also undergo significant change thanks to developments in Cloud HR tech.”

The full 2023 9-Grid™ for Cloud HR report can be downloaded online now.

Fosway’s David Wilson and Sven Elbert will take questions on the research in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 2 November. Register for your free place here. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, has revealed the headline insights from its annual Digital Learning Realities research, in association with Learning Technologies, the world’s leading workplace learning tech event. Now in its 9th year, the research explores how L&D teams rise to the challenge of a fast-changing business environment and tech landscape

Crucial to L&D teams is the support of the C-Suite. Organisations where the executive team believes learning and people development are central to success are almost twice as likely to have seen their overall L&D budget grow in 2023. Even more importantly, an enthusiastic C-Suite is almost three times more likely to accelerate investment in new digital learning projects.

“What our research this year shows is just how important influencing senior stakeholders is to unlocking investment in people”, says David Perring, Fosway’s Chief Insights Officer and lead analyst on this latest research.

“We all intuitively know that executive engagement is critical in any aspect of business. If you don’t have it. I think we’d all say you’re going to struggle. But, the research shows that L&D teams that have C-Suite support are twice as likely to see their learning budgets increase, especially when the economy is so tight, shows just how essential it is for L&D managers to have an influencing strategy for the C-Suite. If you don’t, you really are selling all your people short.”

If last year’s research findings were characterised by a sector struggling to accelerate the impact of digital learning at a time when these same organisations are facing severe skills shortages, results this year offer a more circumspect look at the ongoing focus on skills.

Whilst this year’s research has revealed a similar focus on skills, respondents acknowledge the importance of a pragmatic yet holistic view of the skills landscape. It’s not just tech skills that are in demand now – leadership and change management also figure highly in digital learning success.

Other key insights from the Digital Learning Realities 2023 research include:

• 91% say upskilling and reskilling is a top or medium priority for the year ahead.

• Collaboration skills match technical skills in future development importance (94%)

• 49% say their learning platforms are still not fit for the modern workforce.

• Sustainability is yet to be seen as a critical learning priority – only 24% list ESG as a top priority

“In what looks once again like a challenging landscape for L&D teams, respondents to our latest research are at least aware of the need to improve their digital solutions in search of a stronger business outcomes as well as a better employee experience,” comments David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group. “and, despite the increased pressure on L&D budgets for many organisations, it’s good to see that investment in digital learning has been largely resilient. It’s now up to L&D to repay this by raising its game and proving value.”

Lead analyst David Perring concludes: ”We also know that nearly half of companies don’t think they have learning technology that is fit for the modern workforce.”

“That might make providers worried, but it’s also a great opportunity to drastically improve innovation and adoption of learning technology – IF we start to make the right choices. Fosway are playing an active role in many organisations as we help them make the better choices through private advice. Our research gives us a unique insight and resources, but it’s the advice our analysts can give that truly helps to accelerate and de-risk solution choices. And help buyers be more successful faster.”

You can download the full research here.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, has released its new 2023 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition. Despite the recessionary pressures on organisations, the talent acquisition (TA) market in Europe remains resilient. However, this research reveals a new wave of market disruption as specialist technology providers put pressure on TA suites, who were themselves disrupting the market only a few years ago.

The research finds that TA Specialists are heavily disrupting the market with new capabilities in intelligence, automation and experience. Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are accelerating this disruption further and transforming both the application process as well as how organisations attract, hire, assess, select, onboard, and develop their staff.

The 2023 report highlights other key TA market trends, including preparation for the next Great Resignation, the battle between HCM, TA suites and specialists, the evolution of the technology ecosystem and increasing investment in Eastern European talent. The report also explores solution trends, including the growth in generative AI solutions, developments in programmatic advertising and interview management, as well as innovation in assessment and onboarding.

AI’s impact continues to be felt across talent acquisition as vendors adopt solutions such as ChatGPT. As a result, almost every vendor is trying to rethink their entire TA experience and reassessing the relevance of traditional hiring tools such as cover letters and CVs.

“Innovation is having a huge impact on talent acquisition technology,” said David Wilson, CEO, Fosway Group. “And it is speeding up. In only three years we have seen a big leap forward in what vendors are able to provide their customers. This is reflected in this year’s 9-Grid™ which sees the addition of eight new TA Specialists. The pace of change provides corporates with the opportunity to build TA technology ecosystems that deliver increasing value and impact.”

The Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition provides market and solution insights for buyers in the European talent acquisition market at a time of accelerating change and innovation. With buyers facing more choice than ever before, Fosway’s analysis provides an assessment of solutions based on whether they are part of a talent acquisition suite, or a specialist focused on certain parts of the recruitment process such as candidate experience, CRM, employee referrals and onboarding.

The research is created with input from Fosway’s Corporate Research Network of more than 250 organisations. Its aim is to demystify the supply options available to organisations and help HR teams make better buying decisions when it comes to investing in their technology solutions.

Lead analyst on the 2023 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition, Sven Elbert, added, “In last year’s 9-Grid™ report we highlighted the growing importance and impact of AI in the recruitment process. The arrival of generative AI technologies will accelerate these developments further. To benefit from these technologies, corporate buyers must understand the opportunity and how to best integrate them into their ecosystem. Why? Because there is a huge opportunity to transform the TA experience.”

The full report can be downloaded online now.

Fosway’s David Wilson and Sven Elbert will take questions on the research in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 13 June 2023. Register for your free place now. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR Industry Analyst, today announces the appointment of Myles Runham as Senior Analyst and lead analyst for digital learning. The appointment is a part of Fosway’s ongoing growth and continued investment in its research and analyst team and follows the recent appointment of Claire-Marie de Vulliod as lead analyst in France.

Myles Runham has joined Fosway Group as a Senior Analyst and lead analyst for digital learning. Myles joins the growing analyst team and follows the recent appointment of Claire-Marie de Vulliod as lead analyst in France. Myles will be responsible for Fosway’s digital learning research including the Fosway 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning and other related research themes.

Myles joins Fosway Group with more than 25 years’ experience of the digital learning market. He has worked as an inhouse learning leader, including leading digital for BBC Academy. And as an independent digital consultant Myles focused on the impact of technology on the workplace. He helped learning teams to develop their digital capabilities and encouraged the adoption of a product mindset and user-centred design to enhance digital learning services.

He also supported digital learning buyers in their vendor selection processes and worked with learning vendors on their product development and go to market strategy.

“Digital learning has been a strategic market for Fosway research and analysis for over 20 years. The market has grown continually and the pandemic and shift to hybrid working only accelerated that further, consolidating the role of digital as a lead driver for all corporate learning,” said David Wilson, CEO, Fosway Group. “Myles is a key addition to the Fosway analyst team. His proven experience as a corporate leader as well as understanding of learning strategies, technology and the partner landscape, will help Fosway further strengthen our digital learning research leadership as well as our services to corporate clients.”

“I have known the Fosway team and their work for many years as a customer and a partner and admired their rigorous approach to evidence and clarity of insight,” said Myles. “The industry is changing rapidly and in fundamental ways and this role gives me the chance to understand that change from the centre and to help the learning community navigate the developing landscape.”

Fosway Group’s latest analysis of the digital learning market, the 2023 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning, reveals a market that remains resilient despite cuts to corporate learning budgets. The shift to hybrid working accelerated the use of digital learning and now corporates are looking to digital to support more flexible ways of learning whilst improving the learning experience.

The 2023 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning shows that skills are having a significant impact on corporate buying decisions. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) to support career development and talent mobility is disrupting the employee experience and these shifts are starting to filter through to learning with vendors evolving their solutions to better support skills development.

For the first time, this year’s Fosway 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning distinguishes between Digital Learning Suite Providers and Digital Learning Specialist Providers. This reflects Fosway’s view of the evolution of the digital learning technology ecosystem. In this year’s 9-Grid™, Specialist Providers focus predominantly on off-the-shelf content libraries or more immersive simulations including scenario-based digital learning experiences. Digital Learning Suite Providers support a range of digital learning services, including bespoke digital learning content, blended learning enablement, coaching, digital learning consulting and platform opportunities.

The research also reveals that the demand for skills is putting pressure on organisations to align skills to strategic business goals. Some organisations are starting to embrace opportunity marketplaces to help upskill employees rapidly and at scale. These marketplaces are powered by AI technology which links skills to learning opportunities and work projects.

Much of the innovation around skills has been driven by HR technologies but that is now changing as learning technology providers invest in skills enablement.

David Perring, Director of Research at Fosway Group, commented, “This year’s 9-Grid™ report shows that digital learning is the one area of the learning budget where corporates feel that they can make their investment go further. Skills and AI technologies are big drivers here and although AI has yet to fully prove its worth it is starting to have a significant impact on the digital learning landscape.”

Despite the opportunities for AI to accelerate the business impact of learning, the research suggests that L&D teams continue to struggle to show their value. And this at a time of growing availability of business data. This is compounded by the fact that, according to Fosway research, less than 20% of L&D teams describe their approach to business transformation, upskilling, learning culture or career development as very effective.

“Skills are a strategic priority for organisations, something we see reflected on the buyer and vendor side of the market,” said David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group. “However, innovation in this area is only now beginning to seriously impact the learning technologies market. L&D teams must be alive to the opportunities of these technologies and how they can significantly impact the future success of their organisations.”

As well as the 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning, which is a market analysis of solutions that provide content and resources, Fosway Group also produces the 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems, which concentrates on the platforms that power that content and those resources.

The full 2023 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning report can be downloaded online now.

Fosway’s David Wilson and David Perring will take questions on the research in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 26 April 2023. Register for your free place here.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR Industry Analyst, today announces the appointment of Liam Butler as Head of Corporate and Investor Services. The appointment supports the continued growth of Fosway’s corporate and investor business and the commercial growth of the business as a whole.

Liam Butler has joined Fosway Group as Head of Corporate and Investor services. In this newly created role, Liam will be responsible for growing Fosway’s corporate and investor business. He will also work alongside Fosway Group CEO, David Wilson, on the strategic growth of the business.

Liam joins Fosway with more than 20 years’ experience working across HR, talent and learning, and has a strong record of commercial success, most recently as global chief revenue officer for learning and talent management provider SumTotal. He has a deep understanding of Fosway’s corporate market and a successful track record in building teams and businesses.

“Fosway has known Liam for a long time, and I have always respected his knowledge of the market, his approach, and his ability to drive successful outcomes for customers,” said David Wilson, CEO, Fosway Group. “This is a key period of growth for Fosway as we continue to build our brand as the number one HR industry analyst in Europe and internationally. Liam is a very strong addition as we look to grow the business further and strengthen our leadership team.”

Liam added, “I’m excited to be joining Fosway to head up Corporate and Investor Services. I have known the team for most of my career in HCM. I was always impressed with the level of insight and knowledge Fosway possesses. It feels like a natural step to move to the other side of the fence.”

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, has released its new 2023 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems. The research shows that, despite growth in some parts of the learning systems market, some vendors are already cutting costs to prepare for an economic slowdown in 2023.

Revealing the market and solution trends in the learning systems market, the 9-Grid™ report shows how vendors are preparing for uncertain economic times. As well as mergers and acquisitions, this includes cost reduction for some, as well as increasing investment in new regions – such the DACH region and France. According to the report, there is still significant growth in the mid-enterprise market and vendors are looking to capitalise on that. But it is a busy and competitive market so growing market share will be a challenge. Leading vendors and disruptors will also look to capitalise on this by consolidating their market position via further acquisitions in the coming year.

The report also shows that consolidation at the large enterprise end of the market has reduced buying choices for some corporates. Some midmarket vendors are looking to step up and compete in this space, but the report warns that this can be a huge step for a smaller vendor – not just geographically, but also functionally, as well as forcing them to scale their business model, partner networks, and wider ecosystem.

The 2023 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems incorporates both Suites and Specialists. Learning System Suites are platforms that support a broad range of traditional and next generation learning approaches. Learning System Specialists focus on specific areas of capability with a disruptive high impact agenda.

This year’s 9-Grid™ sees the addition of several new vendors – both suites and specialists – and reflects the innovation that continues to shape the market, despite the uncertain economic outlook.

As well as becoming a strategic priority for corporates, skills challenges continue to affect learning system vendors themselves. Meeting the post-pandemic demand for digital learning has also become a challenge due to a lack of developer talent in the vendors. As a result, many are looking to build technical capacity through partnerships and acquisitions.

The 2023 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems also shows that digital customer and partner education is one of the fastest growing parts of the market as it forges ahead with digital transformation. As well as a differentiated sub-market with its own specialists, the learning suite vendors have also woken up to the opportunities and are adding extended enterprise functionality to better compete.

Fiona Leteney, Senior Analyst at Fosway Group, commented, “Economic uncertainties are shaping the market this year. We can expect to see more consolidation in the market and learning system vendors reviewing their go to market strategies as the seek to differentiate themselves from the competition. The rise in extended enterprise learning – customer and partner education – is one to watch as vendors build out functionality to serve this huge market that has traditionally been owned by functions outside of HR and learning.”

“Not surprisingly, we are seeing the learning systems market adapt to recessionary pressures,” said David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group. “These are tough times more widely but the market remains buoyant and healthy, and continues to evolve and innovate. Our research shows that the digital transformation of learning is still ongoing and that the vendors are helping, and in many cases, driving corporate innovation. Success for learning will always require alignment with ever-changing business priorities.”

The full 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems report can be downloaded online now.

Fosway’s CEO, David Wilson, and senior analyst, Fiona Leteney, will take questions on the research in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 9 February 2023. Register for your free place here.

Please find the full report here.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst in partnership with Learning Technologies, Europe’s leading learning workplace event, has opened the annual Digital Learning Realities research survey. Now in its eighth year, the research aims to uncover the business priorities that are shaping digital learning strategies and the approaches L&D professionals are adopting to help organisations successfully support hybrid working and organisational transformation.

Last year’s research revealed that a systemic weakness for L&D teams in developing a learning culture, onboarding, upskilling, business change and transformation. Less than 20% of L&D professionals who responded to the survey said they believe are effective at upskilling and reskilling, onboarding or business change.

Only 45% of L&D professionals said that their C-Suite see learning and development as

central to the future success of their organisation.

This year’s survey continues to track L&D’s impact on the business as well as identifying the most successful approaches to learning. Questions explore how learning teams are managing to reskill and upskill employees, which technologies are working and levels of customer satisfaction with learning technologies. The survey also explores:

– learning strategy

– creating effective learning experiences

– learning tech ecosystem and solution maturity

– learning investment trends

– skills

The research, with an annual average of over 1,000 respondents worldwide, will remain open for the first quarter of 2023 and results will be shared at Learning Technologies in London in May.

“Recessionary pressures mean that L&D teams face some tough challenges,” said David Wilson, CEO, Fosway Group. “It is imperative that L&D teams add real business value by aligning with organisational goals and priorities, while at the same time staying true to the narrative and processes of a modern people-focused agenda. It’s a real balancing act, and one that this year’s Learning Realities research will explore.”

Learning Technologies Event Director, Mark Penton, commented, ‘Digital learning technologies continue to help L&D teams transform the learning experience and the value and impact of learning. Our joint research with Fosway Group helps identify the factors that enable this transformation, as well the strategies, technologies and investment that underpin success. The findings will help L&D leaders learn from each other as they navigate accelerating change and recessionary pressures.”

All respondents will receive priority access to the research findings.

To take part, complete the survey online now

David Wilson, CEO, Fosway Group, highlights the need for HR teams to align productivity and performance with strategic objectives to have real business impact.

There’s no doubt about it: HR and L&D professionals have their work cut out in 2023. There is so much going on for organisations now, with all the usual pressures around skills, talent shortages, employee engagement, business agility, productivity, performance, digitization, ESG, climate-impacted supply chains and so on.

On top of these ever-present challenges, there’s also the current economic climate to contend with. For the past couple of years, the focus has been on surviving and adapting to pandemic conditions. That focus has now shifted to surviving and adapting to a recession economy.

All of this is generating some big questions for organisations and for HR and L&D professionals. What is your organisation trying to achieve? Where is it now? How are your goals and aspirations affected by the current economic and business landscape? How can HR/L&D support the organisation and help it to navigate its way through to achieve its goals? It is imperative that HR and L&D add real business value by aligning with organisational goals and priorities, while at the same time staying true to the narrative and processes of a modern people-focused agenda. It’s a real balancing and juggling act at the moment.

The employee experience is key, from an organisational and individual perspective. And recent Fosway research shows that HR/L&D recognises that. For our HR Realities Research 2022 , we surveyed CHROs about their top priorities during these turbulent times and 77% of them said the EX was their number one priority for achieving success as an HR team. However, only 17% said their HR team delivers an irresistible employee experience currently (38% said maybe, 42% said not and 3% didn’t know), with only 8% rating it as excellent (44% said quite good, 41% average, 6% quite poor and 1% awful).

When asked about their organisation’s most significant business challenges, availability of skills came out on top, followed by increasing organisational performance, improving customer satisfaction and service quality and then organisational resilience.

What all of this indicates is that there is a strong need to focus on typical HR/L&D issues such as employee productivity and performance, skills and the EX, wellbeing, and engagement, and to align it all to strategic objectives to have real business impact.

Skills and talent continue to be a major headache for a lot of employers. The supply of available talent is not going to suddenly improve, so learning teams need to really hone in on what the business-critical skills are, where the skills gaps are and how to upskill and reskill the workforce to meet those business needs. It’s about aligning the needs of the business with the aspirations and career trajectory of individuals.

The cost-of-living crisis is fast becoming the number one priority for many people right now, as they grapple with financial pressures and basic realities such as ‘Can I pay my mortgage?’ and ‘Can I afford to heat my home?’ And employers are grappling with basic realities such as ‘Can I afford to keep my existing workforce?’ and ‘Can I meet my energy costs?’

The question for HR/L&D teams is: ‘How can we optimise our contribution in this pressured environment?’ The focus needs to be on helping organisations achieve against a set of specific business goals, while still moving forward with skills transformation, with innovations in areas such as AI and the metaverse. It’s about transformational HR/L&D, without neglecting the transactional side of things. No organisation can afford to stand still, even in a recession environment.

As I said at the beginning of this piece, there’s an awful lot for HR and L&D professionals to do and think about in 2023 and it will be very interesting to see where we are this time next year and how much progress has been made.

Talent shortages are becoming more of a challenge to business success as organisations continue to struggle to cope with the fallout from the pandemic, the impact of digital transformation, changing demographics, climate instability and sustainability, and strengthening economic headwinds. Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, in partnership with UNLEASH, today launches its HR Realities 2022 research which reveals the biggest HR challenges facing employers as well as insights on HR strategy, technology and innovation.

With 95% of respondents seeing the availability of talent as their most significant business challenge, the research shows that HR priorities have realigned to address skills shortages. This year, reskilling and upskilling, employee retention, and facilitating digital transformation have surged up HR’s strategic priority list compared to 2021.

Skills challenges have elevated strategic workforce planning as a lever for HR success. Respondents say the most important factors for the future success of HR teams are leadership and people management (68%), change management (64%), business consulting (45%), coaching (44%) and strategic workforce planning (42%). The research shows a shift to more of an influencing approach by HR as business consulting and coaching overtake business partnering, moving from 4th in 2021 to 10th place this year.

David Perring, director of research at Fosway Group, said, “Skills really are the number one game in town, according to this year’s HR Realities Research. Not only are they key to solving the shortage of available talent, they are also critical for the employee experience. HR teams also see skills development as the number one initiative to help futureproof the organisation. But are HR solutions able to live up to expectations of a modern employee experience?”

For the first time since the research began in 2014, employee experience is now seen as the top driver for HR’s future success, followed by HR data, employer brand and values, the integration of HR and business systems and strategic influencing. HR teams report they have C-Suite backing to improve the employee experience, with 65% saying they have complete or significant support, and only 8% saying they don’t have buy-in.

However, the research shows there is a long way to go to deliver on this, with only 17% of HR teams describing their employee experience as irresistible.

“It’s very fashionable in HR to use the ‘experience’ label,” said David Wilson, CEO Fosway Group. “But what does it mean really? This research shows creating a great employee experience remains a huge challenge for employers because it is so much more than simply creating a great user experience for HR systems. That is important but so are all the other human factors that drive the experience.”

The research reveals that HR teams are looking to improve the employee experience through several initiatives, including a progressive approach to flexible working (56%), building a reputation for being a great place to work (54%), employee diversity and equal opportunities (49%) and a proactive approach to career progression (48%).

But, with only one in four HR teams thinking their HR solutions can deliver the employee experience they want for their workers, delivering a high-quality employee experience remains a significant challenge. Solution choices are becoming more complex which makes creating a joined up experience across the employee lifecycle more difficult.

Research for Fosway’s 2022 HR Realities was carried out between June and October 2021, with input from 311 HR professionals including chief HR officers, HR directors, Talent and L&D Directors, HR managers and technologists.

A full copy of the infographic is available to download HERE.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, has announced the expansion of its analyst research process for the French market, as well as the appointment of Claire-Marie de Vulliod as lead analyst in France.

Claire-Marie joins Fosway with more than 20 years’ experience as an industry analyst in the HR technology market in France, and with prior experience of HR systems implementation. Fosway already works with many leading corporates and vendors in France. As well as generating deeper insight into the French market, Claire-Marie’s appointment will also enable Fosway to provide direct input and assistance to companies in France and the wider European market.

Fosway’s website and all key research reports are also now available in French, including all the 2022 Fosway 9-Grids™. The focus on France also follows Fosway’s previous expansion to increase presence and insights into Germany and the wider DACH region in 2020, and further cements its position as Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst.

“Deepening our engagement in the French market is a strategic opportunity for Fosway,” said David Wilson, CEO, Fosway Group. “We already actively research and help many leading French corporations, and many of the main vendors. We can now further accelerate our insight and influence in this increasingly dynamic market, as well as strengthen the value of our research and insights for multi-national companies too.”

“I’m excited to be joining Fosway to help grow its influence and impact in the French market,” said Claire-Marie de Vulliod. “There is a lot of innovation in the French market and I’m looking forward to expanding Fosway’s deep industry research as well as helping our corporate customers and the wider HR market as a whole.

The French version of Fosway’s website is available here.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, has released the new 2022 9-Grid™ for Talent & People Success. The research shows that the market is growing fast as HR teams look to bring innovation across the entire talent lifecycle, from skills and engagement to talent mobility.

This year’s research reveals the continued replacement of outdated talent management processes with new talent approaches and technologies to deliver better outcomes for employees and support the needs of the modern workforce. Key focus areas include delivering personalised employee experiences based on individual skills and aspirations, as well as enabling an agile workforce with greater talent mobility and the future skills for success.

“The trend for employers to replace legacy talent management processes with more agile and effective approaches continues at pace,” commented David Perring, director of research at Fosway Group. “There is a huge focus on skills and upskilling the workforce, improving employee experiences, and making the workforce more flexible to meet the future needs of the business. Macro-economic challenges will accelerate this further, accelerating innovation, as well as increasing the value of attracting and retaining the best talent.”

Fosway research shows that the employee experience continues to be a huge driver of HR buying decisions. According to forthcoming data from Fosway’s HR Realities 2022 research, only 26% of HR professionals believe their HR systems are fit for the modern workforce. Research from the 2022 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent & People Success shows artificial intelligence (AI) and its capability to personalise the employee experience has become a huge differentiator in the market. AI tools are helping provide a unified people experience across multiple systems.

The 2022 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent & People Success incorporates both Talent Suites and Specialists. Talent & People Success Suites provide a range of talent functionality, from talent acquisition through to development, performance and employee wellbeing. Specialists provide a more focused set of functionalities within Talent & People Success – for example, focusing on specific topics such as skills, talent mobility, or employee listening.

Fosway insights are generated from ongoing research programmes involving more than 1,500 organisations. Our research and insights aim to demystify the supply options available to organisations and help HR teams make better buying decisions when it comes to investing in their technology solutions.

This year’s analysis shows the addition of several specialists to the 9-Grid™. This reflects the innovation taking place across engagement, culture, skills intelligence and employee listening. Specialists and Suites are also focused on developing their AI capability to support organisations becoming more agile and resilient.

“The innovation agenda is writ large over the 2022 Talent & People Success 9-Grid™, said David Wilson, CEO, Fosway Group. “From a customer perspective, there is an increasing amount of choice in the market, with increasing numbers of specialist providers offering new approaches and transforming the employee experience. This means that the HR ecosystem is now more complex and important than ever. Buyers must understand how effective different providers will be as a part of their HR strategy, because it will be the ecosystem as a whole that will drive the impact and transformation they are seeking.”

The full report can be downloaded online now.

Fosway’s CEO, David Wilson, and director of research, David Perring, will take questions in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 1 November 2022. Register for your free place online today.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, has released its new 2022 9-Grid™ for Cloud HR. The operating context for HR teams continues to be challenging as organisations grapple with yet another new normal; rampant inflation, broken supply chains, regional conflict and extreme weather. This new research explores the trends and vendors transforming the Cloud HR market.

Organisations are focusing on becoming more resilient because of geopolitical and environmental crises. This comes on top of HR’s ongoing work in supporting the health and wellbeing of employees and overcoming skills challenges. Fosway’s latest research into the Cloud HR market shows that employers are also looking to support the financial wellbeing of employees as the cost-of-living crisis starts to bite. Flexible working is here to stay with organisations making it a central part of their approach to hybrid work.

HR teams are also looking to embed processes in the flow of work, to provide a seamless people experience through an ecosystem of Cloud HCM Suites and Cloud HR Specialists. Fosway research shows that nearly 75% of HR leaders believe their current HR solutions can deliver the UX their organisation expects, but only 15% say they are delivering an irresistible people experience.

Despite the desire to improve the experience of HR processes, organisations are starting to find that Cloud HR vendors are not able to provide the agility and flexibility they require. They also see rising total cost of ownership as a result of needing more help from consultants and system integrators to meet their changing needs.

“HR is being challenged to really raise its game, both to deliver agile and effective people operations as well as transforming people experience across the organisation,” said David Wilson, CEO, Fosway Group. “So, it is incumbent on vendors to be able to also deliver truly agile platforms and a seamless experience for their customers. To see that there are fault lines appearing in Cloud HR vendors’ ability to deliver the required experience is a cause for concern.”

The Fosway 9-Grid™ for Cloud HR provides market and solution insights for buyers in the European Cloud HR market at a time of accelerating change and innovation. With buyers facing more choice than ever before, Fosway’s analysis provides an assessment of solutions based on whether they are part of an HCM suite, or a specialist focused on certain parts of the HR process such as absence and workforce management.

Fosway insights are generated from ongoing research programmes involving more than 1,500 organisations. Our research and insights aim to demystify the supply options available to organisations and help HR teams make better buying decisions when it comes to investing in their technology solutions.

Lead analyst on the 9-Grid™, Sven Elbert, added, “This year’s market analysis shows the importance of the “experience”. HR teams are focused not only on enhancing the People Experience but embedding it seamlessly into the flow of work. This in turn enhances the overall employee experience, which is becoming a key component in helping organisations to become more resilient.”

The full report can be downloaded online now.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, today shares results from its inaugural Talent Acquisition (TA) Realities Research. The research complements Fosway’s existing corporate research into HR and digital learning realities and shows the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and wider market trends on hiring teams and how they have responded.

The research shows 93% of TA professionals made changes to their strategy in response to the pandemic, with 40% making significant changes to what they do and how they do it. Only 32% found it easy for their recruitment operations to cope with the impact of COVID-19 on their organisation.

The findings reveal that 60% of TA professionals feel under greater pressure to show value to their stakeholders. And 51% say they have gone through a major shift in how and what they do as a TA function, and that talent acquisition will never be the same again. And whilst TA strategies have been very effective at delivering the best cost per hire, they have been much less effective at delivering a strong talent pipeline as well as a truly diverse candidate pool.

As a result, 71% of TA teams are putting quality of hire at the top of their priority list to ensure their people investment is effective and sustainable.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) is also now a top priority across candidate attraction, selection and hiring – 62% of TA teams are prioritising being an inclusive employer and 52% want to use fair, unbiased and diverse hiring practices. The research also shows that there is a significant way to go. For example, whilst 51% of hiring teams review job ads for biased language, only 19% always redact candidate profiles to reduce bias in decisions and 45% never or seldomly redact profiles.

Overall, the research also reveals that there is no one-size-fits-all solution strategy for talent acquisition and that only 41% of TA teams believe their TA platforms are fit for the modern workforce.

“The addition of deeper TA trends research to our Realities research portfolio is really exciting, providing corporate TA teams with valuable data and insight on what is happening with their peers,” says David Wilson, CEO, Fosway Group. “The data shows that TA continues to transform as businesses grapple with ongoing skills challenges and wider economic and social changes. This is a buoyant market with high expectations as TA teams look to invest across all areas of the recruitment journey.”

Sven Elbert, senior analyst at Fosway Group, adds, “Whilst it is good to see hiring teams prioritise quality of hire, the solution challenge to deliver on this remains a challenge. A large proportion of TA teams believe their recruitment technology is not fit for the modern workforce which is why making the right TA technology buying decisions is now more important than ever.”

Fosway Group conducted the survey of its corporate research network and in partnership with Inhouse Recruitment Expo between March and June 2022, focusing on TA Directors, Managers and recruiting professionals. The results are drawn primarily from enterprise organisations in Europe and the survey includes responses from 278 individuals.

Download the research infographic here

Fosway Group, in association with UNLEASH, has launched the latest wave of its HR Realities research. Now in its eighth year, the research explores how HR teams are managing their people strategies in the context of challenging economics, conflict, ongoing COVID disruptions, digital transformation, talent shortages and climate change.

Last year’s research findings revealed that the pandemic had accelerated changes in working practices for 93% of HR professionals, with 39% making significant changes to what they do and how they do it. The research showed that HR teams were quick to adopt new approaches to flexible working, wellbeing and work-life balance.

This year’s research will look at how HR teams are managing these changes, exploring areas including HR approaches, technology, investment, headcount and priorities for the year ahead.

“VUCA – volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity – is the working reality for HR teams now,” comments David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group. “Making sense of change and taking the right decisions now and into the future, are strategic priorities for HR leaders as they grapple with a wide range of people challenges. That’s why this research is so important – it provides a real, independent picture of HR today that can be used to help make informed decisions about future workforce strategies.”

Fosway Group Director of Research David Perring adds, “Last year’s research showed that HR teams were able to rapidly innovate their people strategies. However, there were challenges around technology and the people experience. This year’s research aims to lift the lid on whether that innovation has been sustained and whether HR teams have succeeded in supporting changing business and people priorities.”

To take part in the HR Realities Research 2022-33, complete the online survey now https://www.research.net/r/QKTXZ26

Today, Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, shares results from the latest wave of its Digital Learning Realities research, which is now in its eighth year. The research, carried out in partnership with Closer Still as part of the Learning Technologies Show, reveals a profession that is struggling to accelerate the impact of digital learning at a time when organisations are facing severe skills shortages.

The research shows that only 45% of L&D professionals say that their C-Suite see learning and development as central to the future success of their organisation. Most learning teams have not been able to put learning at the heart of the organisation, with only 16% of practitioners saying that they always get a seat at the table with their C-Suite.

The reskilling and upskilling agenda is challenge. Less than 20% of L&D professionals believe they are very effective at supporting reskilling and upskilling, onboarding and business change. Compliance training is the one area that bucks the trend, with 51% saying their learning strategy is delivering in this area.

The data also reveals that L&D teams have been slow to adapt their learning approach and impact measurement, with 80% just starting to assess learning impact and 70% just starting to adopt workflow learning.

Other key headlines:

• Only 45% believe agree their learning platforms are fit for the modern workforce.

• Inly 1 in 4 L&D teams provide more than a basic level of personalisation.

• Digital learning fatigue for learners is becoming more a problem for 42% of respondents

• The budget of 41% of L&D teams increased this year.

“The fact that many L&D teams continue to find it difficult to succeed at digital learning is a cause for concern,” says David Perring, director of research, Fosway Group. “Our ongoing Digital Learning Realities research suggests that this is a systemic problem for L&D. The areas that are so critical to strategic success – upskilling and reskilling and business transformation – are the ones that L&D teams are unable to deliver on. Although L&D teams face technology challenges the focus also needs to be on impact and senior executive buy-in.”

Fosway Group conducted the survey of its corporate research network and in partnership with Closer Still as part of the Learning Technologies Show from February 2022 to July 2022, focusing on CHROs, Talent & L&D Directors, Managers and Learning, Talent & HR Technology professionals.

Results are drawn primarily from enterprise organisations in Europe and the survey includes responses from 430 individuals. 77% of respondents are based in Europe, and 50% have a global role.

Download the research infographic here.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, has released its new 2022 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition. Faced with ongoing and accelerating recruitment challenges, organisations are looking to innovate and scale up their talent acquisition strategies. This new research highlights the trends and vendors transforming the market.

The European recruitment software market is in rude health, with many new entrants to this year’s Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition reflecting buyer demand for innovative talent acquisition solutions. Fosway research shows that 59% of European organisations are planning to increase their total spend on talent acquisition this year.

The 2022 report highlights key market trends, including the pressure to show the value of TA, improving talent attraction and engagement, driving the diversity agenda and the role of the ecosystem in delivering successful recruitment outcomes. The report also explores solution trends, including the automation of job ads and job distribution, the changing role of employee referral programs, optimising the candidate experience and the evolution of onboarding.

A key area of market innovation is talent intelligence and the use of artificial intelligence to better predict quality of hire and reduce bias in the recruitment process. Talent intelligence is also accelerating the use of talent networks as AI is used to deliver better auto-recommended resources to candidates. The 9-Grid™ research also highlights the increasing importance of talent mobility in helping solve recruitment challenges. Internal career portals are being replaced by opportunity marketplaces that connect internal candidates with relevant roles and projects.

“Our research finds talent acquisition to be a red-hot market right now,” said David Wilson, CEO, Fosway Group. “Organisations face huge recruitment challenges, and it is great to see the innovation on offer from vendors to help buyers overcome these challenges. That said, this is a very busy, and rapidly evolving, marketplace. The onus is on buyers to really understand how to build an effective TA ecosystem that delivers real value and impact.”

The Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition provides market and solution insights for buyers in the European talent acquisition market at a time of accelerating change with new disruptive entrants and innovative incumbents. With buyers facing more choice than ever before, Fosway’s analysis provides an assessment of solutions based on whether they are part of a talent acquisition suite, or a specialist focused on certain parts of the recruitment process such as candidate experience, CRM, employee referrals and onboarding.

The research is created with input from Fosway’s Corporate Research Network of more than 250 organisations. Its aim is to demystify the supply options available to organisations and help HR teams make better buying decisions when it comes to investing in their technology solutions.

Lead analyst on the 9-Grid™, Sven Elbert, added, “This year’s analysis shows the growing importance and impact of AI in the recruitment process. Talent intelligence is helping automate processes and drive value for employers. Leveraging AI will require buyers to strengthen and develop their TA technology ecosystem as both the specialists and suites are rapidly developing their AI capabilities.”

The full report can be downloaded online now.

Fosway’s David Wilson and Sven Elbert will take questions on the research in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 25 May 2022. Register for your free place now. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Following the recent publication of its market assessment of learning systems, Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, today launches the 2022 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning. The report reveals a buoyant market and more accessible innovation are providing corporate buyers with a huge opportunity to take their digital learning experience to the next level.

The report shows that digital learning has a central part to play in helping organisations drive the skills agenda to support post-pandemic challenges including digital transformation, new ways of working and climate change. Digital enables agility, which is now a key component of corporate learning strategies.

Digital is also helping L&D teams put learning into the flow work, however the 9-Grid™ assessment shows most learning teams have only basic skills and experience in doing this. And the challenge of digital learning fatigue, first highlighted in last year’s report, is not going away.

The research reveals that artificial intelligence is now a key component of personalised learning, delivering content streams based on employees’ needs and enabling more effective content curation at scale. AI is also powering talent marketplaces which intelligently link skills to learning opportunities as well as to mentors, work projects and future roles. Delivering this more joined up, human experience will become a major differentiator for learning providers and internal teams alike, the report suggests.

David Perring, Director of Research at Fosway Group, commented, “This year’s research shows the direction of travel for digital learning after a tumultuous two years of crisis and change. The focus is on skills, agility, personalisation and creating an excellent digital learning experience. On the supply side, we see fast-paced innovation which provides L&D teams with the opportunity to deliver on their digital goals.”

However, many L&D teams report that they lack maturity in their use of digital learning, making it harder to understand which technologies to use and how to deploy them effectively. Showing the value and impact of digital learning also remains a challenge.

“As a result of the acceleration to digital over the last two years pressure is now mounting on L&D teams to show their value,” said David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group. “But this continues to be an area of weakness for learning teams, which is a cause for concern. With more business data now available to L&D teams there is a great opportunity to show value, which in turn will help build momentum around digital learning innovation.”

As well as the 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning, which is a market analysis of solutions that provide content and resources, Fosway Group also produces the 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems, which concentrates on the platforms that power the content.

The full 2022 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning report can be downloaded online now.

Fosway’s David Wilson and David Perring will take questions on the research in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 27 April 2022. Register for your free place here. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Last year’s Talent and People Success 9-Grid™ ushered in a new era of positive disruption in talent management as organisations looked to get their people strategies fit for the future. This year’s research shows an acceleration in this disruption with employers turning to new talent management differentiators. Skills, talent mobility and a shift to more agile ways of working are replacing more established approaches, such as succession planning and organisation design based on roles and responsibilities.

David Perring, Director of Research at Fosway Group, commented, “The how, when, where and why of work have been challenged like never before. As organisations grapple with significant post-pandemic challenges, many are asking if their traditional talent management processes and systems are fit for the modern workforce. For many organisations the answer is no. The systems and processes that got us to this point are not what we need to get us to where we want to be. That means we need to rethink for people success if we want to create great workplaces for the future.”

The 2021 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent & People Success incorporates both Suites and Specialists. Talent & People Success Suites provide a range of talent functionality, from talent acquisition through to learning and performance. Specialists provide a more focused set of functionalities within Talent & People Success – employee listening and advocacy, for example.

This year’s analysis shows the addition of several specialists to the 9-Grid™. This reflects the accelerated pace of change and innovation taking place in talent management. Both the Specialists and Suites are more focused than ever on helping organisations innovate the digital employee experience across onboarding, learning, skills and talent mobility.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group, added, “The underlying story of this 9-Grid™ is one of accelerated innovation and change. With seismic shifts in working practices, organisations are having to reinvent the digital employee experience. This is happening across all areas of Talent & People Success. The Suites and Specialists are enabling their customers to radically rethink and refresh older, slower approaches to talent management.”

He continues, “Skills, talent mobility and employee advocacy have moved centre stage for HR teams and through the flourishing Talent & People Success ecosystem they are increasingly able to identify innovation that will support people and organisational transformation.’

The full report can be downloaded online now.

Our CEO, David Wilson, and Director of Research, David Perring, will take questions in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 23rd November 2021. Register for your free place online today.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, has released the new 2022 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems. The research shows that the pandemic continues to shape the online learning market as organisations grapple with supporting a remote and hybrid workforce.

The 9-Grid™ report shows that access and inclusion are emerging challenges for learning teams especially for programmes that were previously in-person experiences. Without equitable digital access to these programmes remote and hybrid workers will miss out.

The research also reveals continued growth in the learning systems market, which is being driven by new vendors and customers joining the market and existing customers looking to increase their investment in digital learning. Customer demand is creating a war for talent on the supply side which is leading vendors to increase technical capacity through partnerships and acquisitions.

Fiona Leteney, Senior Analyst at Fosway Group, commented, “The fact that demand for learning technology continued to grow as a result of the pandemic is not surprising. However, this demand has created new challenges for both vendors and corporates alike. On the supply side, vendors are faced with a technical skills shortage, and for corporates the acceleration of digital has pushed access, inclusion and the learner experience up the priority list.”

The 2022 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems incorporates both Suites and Specialists. Learning System Suites are platforms that support a broad range of traditional and next generation learning approaches. Learning System Specialists focus on specific areas of capability with a disruptive high impact agenda.

The addition of several new vendors – both suites and specialists – to this year’s 9-Grid™ shows the buoyancy of the market, despite the growing pains that accelerated growth brings.

“The Learning Systems market continues to evolve very rapidly with a combination of new disruptive themes, new entrants and significant M&A activity,” said David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group. “The challenge for companies is to accelerate the Skills agenda, business agility and resilience, all at the same time. And that means supporting disruptive and effective strategies for high value learning – not just basic digital learning.”

The full 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems report can be downloaded online now.

Fosway’s CEO, David Wilson, and senior analyst, Fiona Leteney, will take questions on the research in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 1 March 2022. Register for your free place here.

HR leaders have risen to the challenge of supporting and leading organisations through the Covid-19 pandemic despite huge and accelerated changes in working practices. Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, today launches its HR Realities 2021 research which lifts the lid on post-pandemic working practices, technology investments and HR innovation.

The last 12 months have seen accelerated changes in working practices for 93% of HR professionals, with 39% making significant changes to what they do and how they do it.

The research, carried out in partnership with UNLEASH, reveals that only 20% of respondents found it easy for their HR operation to cope with organisational changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. More than eight out of 10 (81%) of HR professionals say where, when and how people work in their organisation has changed because of the pandemic. These changes have been the catalyst for HR teams to innovate their practices to better support a hybrid workforce.

The pandemic has accelerated HR’s adoption of what might have been perceived as radical changes to HR policy before the pandemic, but which are now seen as essential in the new world of work – 83% have accelerated a progressive approach to flexible working, 64% have accelerated their approach to personal wellbeing and 59% have accelerated their approach to employees’ work-life balance.

The research shows that a shift to more hybrid ways of working – 62% of HR professionals expect their workforce will work less than two days a week in the office – is being driven by the desire to increase employee engagement and business productivity and effectiveness.

As a result of these changes, HR teams are focusing on new measures of success. The most popular being employee engagement and advocacy, followed by being an employer of choice, creating a ‘digital ready’ culture, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging and reduced employee turnover.

David Perring, director of research at Fosway Group, said, “This research shows that despite the challenges of managing through the Covid-19 crisis, HR professionals have been able to up their game and innovate their processes to meet the ever changing, and accelerating, needs of the business. Much of the innovation is focused on flexible working and wellbeing, showing that HR teams recognise that people success will drive organisational success.”

Despite this innovation, HR teams face technology challenges that are hampering their ability to accelerate change. A sizeable proportion (42%) say their HR systems are not fit for the modern workforce, 38% say they are and 20% say they might be. The quality of the employee experience is the number one driver for changing HR systems, followed by the user interface and enhanced analytics.

The data shows that HR analytics (56%) is the number one area for HR technology investment, followed by recruiting and talent acquisition (45%), learning and development (44%), onboarding (44%) and talent mobility and career opportunities (40%).

Reflecting the impact of the skills challenge on organisations, 51% plan to change their onboarding and reboarding within two years while 44% plan to change their systems that support talent mobility and career opportunities within the same period.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group, added, “The HR innovation highlighted by this research shows how HR professionals have stepped up to accelerate and support changes in working practices. The data shows the focus for HR technology investments in the coming year is on reimagining the people experience so organisations can expect to see disruption across key HR domains including analytics, learning and development, onboarding and employee engagement.

Marc Coleman, founder and CEO at UNLEASH, commented, “After a year in which HR stepped up and became real heroes in organisations around the world, it is so important we check in with what’s changed, what’s serving us well – and what’s not. The emphasis on the employee experience and the additional planned investment in people analytics show that HR has moved beyond the transactional to the transformational. We have to know and understand what our people want and respond to that, especially in such a tough talent market where attraction and retention is more challenging than ever. I’m looking forward to sharing this research with our audience and continuing to unpack more insights in the weeks and months to come.”

Research for Fosway’s 2021 HR Realities was carried out between June and October 2021, with input from 313 HR professionals including chief HR officers, HR directors and managers and HR technologists.

A full copy of the infographic is available to download.

About UNLEASH

UNLEASH is the new customer-first digital media platform, built to inspire, connect and enable business leaders, HR leaders and organizations worldwide to navigate the changing world of work.

We give leaders a platform to share ideas, network and do business. Leading the debate on the work revolution, UNLEASH brings together leaders who are passionate about people, technology, innovators and advocates, and world-leading influencers who help connect the dots and offer that big picture perspective.

Our mission is to provide our community with a sense of purpose and belonging. UNLEASH will be that force for good in the HR industry. Visit unleash.ai for more.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, has released the new 2021 9-Grid™ for Cloud HR. The research shows the importance of people experience as organisations prioritise workforce-centric human capital management (HCM) strategies to drive organisational success beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.

Last year’s 9-Grid™ for Cloud HR story was of turmoil and crisis management. That has been replaced this year by a focus on delivering exceptional people experience, delivered through an ecosystem of Cloud HCM Suites and Cloud HR Specialists. HR teams have raised their game, developing innovative strategies to support fast-changing business agendas as well as charting a path beyond the pandemic. As a result, vendors have also grown their revenues and customer base at rates of 25% and more in many cases.

Putting the human experience at the heart of the HCM strategy is driving new ways of working, from moving HR processes into the flow of work to rapid internal mobility, enabling the right people to work in the right areas of the business at the right time. The 9-Grid™ analysis shows that HR is focused on delivering change in a more human way – by listening to employees and engaging around wellbeing. Wrapping a people experience layer around HCM activities is helping HR leaders extend their impact by connecting HR to talent and learning.

The 2021 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Cloud HR incorporates both Cloud HCM Suites and Cloud HR Specialists. HCM Suites cover a wide array of traditional and next-gen approaches to people operations, talent processes and employee experience. The Cloud HR Specialists focus on specific areas of capability with a disruptive and high impact agenda. They have a focused proposition and want to lead the market in their chosen area.

The full report can be downloaded online now.

Fosway’s CEO, David Wilson, and lead analyst for HCM, Sven Elbert, will take questions in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 19th October 2020. Register for your free place online today.

We are delighted to announce that Eleonora Colombo has joined Fosway Group as Research Operations Manager. In this newly created role, Ele will be responsible for managing all the supporting operational processes behind Fosway’ corporate and vendor research.

Ele joins Fosway Group from Kallidus, where she was part of the Professional Services Team and worked as a Project Delivery Analyst for the past six years.

Fosway Group CEO David Wilson comments, “Fosway continues to grow rapidly – both as a business and our corporate engagement, as well as our team. We are delighted to welcome Ele to this newly created role. We are seeing significant growth in our analyst services and insights. Having Ele on board will enable us to increase both the scope and impact of our research, as well as strengthening our ability to help our clients be more successful with their investments in HR, Talent and Learning.”

This appointment also follows on from the recent appointment of Martin Couzins as Head of Content, to further enhance Fosway’s research outputs and delivery to clients.

Commenting on her new role, Ele says, “I’m absolutely delighted to have joined Fosway Group. The onboarding process has been brilliant, I could not have asked for a better start. I can’t wait to see what the following months will bring.”

Today we announced the appointment of Martin Couzins as Head of Content. The appointment supports our continued growth and further enhancing the impact and value of our research with corporate clients and the wider HR, talent and learning market.

Martin brings extensive publishing experience as well as in-depth knowledge of the HR, talent and learning sectors. Prior to joining Fosway Group, Martin spent 10 years supporting learning brands with their market positioning and thought leadership content. He also held senior editorial roles at Personnel Today and XpertHR. He is a regular presenter on Learning Now TV and is a recipient of the Training Journal Award for Special Achievement in Learning and Development.

Martin joins the senior leadership team here and will work closely with CEO David Wilson to deepen engagement with our research and insights. As well as taking responsibility for our reports and content outputs, Martin will support the growth of our corporate community.

“Martin joins Fosway at an exciting time. The pandemic has accelerated the transformation of HR and L&D to become truly digital and agile functions, as well as their need to challenge traditional processes and deliver more disruptive solutions. This is driving significant growth for Fosway’s unique European analyst research and insights” said, David Wilson, Fosway Group’s Founder and CEO, “We are delighted to welcome Martin to the team. His domain knowledge and publishing experience will help us further increase the effectiveness and impact of Fosway’s research with customers and suppliers alike.”

Martin comments, “Over the last 10 years I got to know Fosway as a client. And as the leading source of independent insight on HR technology and market trends I frequently referenced their research and insights in my own work. So, I’m really excited to be joining David and the team at this time and to help further grow Fosway’s market influence and impact.”

Following the recent publication of its market assessment of learning systems, Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, today launches the 2022 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning. The report reveals a buoyant market and more accessible innovation are providing corporate buyers with a huge opportunity to take their digital learning experience to the next level.

The report shows that digital learning has a central part to play in helping organisations drive the skills agenda to support post-pandemic challenges including digital transformation, new ways of working and climate change. Digital enables agility, which is now a key component of corporate learning strategies.

Digital is also helping L&D teams put learning into the flow work, however the 9-Grid™ assessment shows most learning teams have only basic skills and experience in doing this. And the challenge of digital learning fatigue, first highlighted in last year’s report, is not going away.

The research reveals that artificial intelligence is now a key component of personalised learning, delivering content streams based on employees’ needs and enabling more effective content curation at scale. AI is also powering talent marketplaces which intelligently link skills to learning opportunities as well as to mentors, work projects and future roles. Delivering this more joined up, human experience will become a major differentiator for learning providers and internal teams alike, the report suggests.

David Perring, Director of Research at Fosway Group, commented, “This year’s research shows the direction of travel for digital learning after a tumultuous two years of crisis and change. The focus is on skills, agility, personalisation and creating an excellent digital learning experience. On the supply side, we see fast-paced innovation which provides L&D teams with the opportunity to deliver on their digital goals.”

However, many L&D teams report that they lack maturity in their use of digital learning, making it harder to understand which technologies to use and how to deploy them effectively. Showing the value and impact of digital learning also remains a challenge.

“As a result of the acceleration to digital over the last two years pressure is now mounting on L&D teams to show their value,” said David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group. “But this continues to be an area of weakness for learning teams, which is a cause for concern. With more business data now available to L&D teams there is a great opportunity to show value, which in turn will help build momentum around digital learning innovation.”

As well as the 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning, which is a market analysis of solutions that provide content and resources, Fosway Group also produces the 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems, which concentrates on the platforms that power the content.

The full 2022 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning report can be downloaded online now.

Fosway’s David Wilson and David Perring will take questions on the research in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 27 April 2022. Register for your free place here. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Last year’s Talent and People Success 9-Grid™ ushered in a new era of positive disruption in talent management as organisations looked to get their people strategies fit for the future. This year’s research shows an acceleration in this disruption with employers turning to new talent management differentiators. Skills, talent mobility and a shift to more agile ways of working are replacing more established approaches, such as succession planning and organisation design based on roles and responsibilities.

David Perring, Director of Research at Fosway Group, commented, “The how, when, where and why of work have been challenged like never before. As organisations grapple with significant post-pandemic challenges, many are asking if their traditional talent management processes and systems are fit for the modern workforce. For many organisations the answer is no. The systems and processes that got us to this point are not what we need to get us to where we want to be. That means we need to rethink for people success if we want to create great workplaces for the future.”

The 2021 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent & People Success incorporates both Suites and Specialists. Talent & People Success Suites provide a range of talent functionality, from talent acquisition through to learning and performance. Specialists provide a more focused set of functionalities within Talent & People Success – employee listening and advocacy, for example.

This year’s analysis shows the addition of several specialists to the 9-Grid™. This reflects the accelerated pace of change and innovation taking place in talent management. Both the Specialists and Suites are more focused than ever on helping organisations innovate the digital employee experience across onboarding, learning, skills and talent mobility.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group, added, “The underlying story of this 9-Grid™ is one of accelerated innovation and change. With seismic shifts in working practices, organisations are having to reinvent the digital employee experience. This is happening across all areas of Talent & People Success. The Suites and Specialists are enabling their customers to radically rethink and refresh older, slower approaches to talent management.”

He continues, “Skills, talent mobility and employee advocacy have moved centre stage for HR teams and through the flourishing Talent & People Success ecosystem they are increasingly able to identify innovation that will support people and organisational transformation.’

The full report can be downloaded online now.

Our CEO, David Wilson, and Director of Research, David Perring, will take questions in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 23rd November 2021. Register for your free place online today.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, has released the new 2022 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems. The research shows that the pandemic continues to shape the online learning market as organisations grapple with supporting a remote and hybrid workforce.

The 9-Grid™ report shows that access and inclusion are emerging challenges for learning teams especially for programmes that were previously in-person experiences. Without equitable digital access to these programmes remote and hybrid workers will miss out.

The research also reveals continued growth in the learning systems market, which is being driven by new vendors and customers joining the market and existing customers looking to increase their investment in digital learning. Customer demand is creating a war for talent on the supply side which is leading vendors to increase technical capacity through partnerships and acquisitions.

Fiona Leteney, Senior Analyst at Fosway Group, commented, “The fact that demand for learning technology continued to grow as a result of the pandemic is not surprising. However, this demand has created new challenges for both vendors and corporates alike. On the supply side, vendors are faced with a technical skills shortage, and for corporates the acceleration of digital has pushed access, inclusion and the learner experience up the priority list.”

The 2022 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems incorporates both Suites and Specialists. Learning System Suites are platforms that support a broad range of traditional and next generation learning approaches. Learning System Specialists focus on specific areas of capability with a disruptive high impact agenda.

The addition of several new vendors – both suites and specialists – to this year’s 9-Grid™ shows the buoyancy of the market, despite the growing pains that accelerated growth brings.

“The Learning Systems market continues to evolve very rapidly with a combination of new disruptive themes, new entrants and significant M&A activity,” said David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group. “The challenge for companies is to accelerate the Skills agenda, business agility and resilience, all at the same time. And that means supporting disruptive and effective strategies for high value learning – not just basic digital learning.”

The full 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems report can be downloaded online now.

Fosway’s CEO, David Wilson, and senior analyst, Fiona Leteney, will take questions on the research in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 1 March 2022. Register for your free place here.

HR leaders have risen to the challenge of supporting and leading organisations through the Covid-19 pandemic despite huge and accelerated changes in working practices. Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, today launches its HR Realities 2021 research which lifts the lid on post-pandemic working practices, technology investments and HR innovation.

The last 12 months have seen accelerated changes in working practices for 93% of HR professionals, with 39% making significant changes to what they do and how they do it.

The research, carried out in partnership with UNLEASH, reveals that only 20% of respondents found it easy for their HR operation to cope with organisational changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. More than eight out of 10 (81%) of HR professionals say where, when and how people work in their organisation has changed because of the pandemic. These changes have been the catalyst for HR teams to innovate their practices to better support a hybrid workforce.

The pandemic has accelerated HR’s adoption of what might have been perceived as radical changes to HR policy before the pandemic, but which are now seen as essential in the new world of work – 83% have accelerated a progressive approach to flexible working, 64% have accelerated their approach to personal wellbeing and 59% have accelerated their approach to employees’ work-life balance.

The research shows that a shift to more hybrid ways of working – 62% of HR professionals expect their workforce will work less than two days a week in the office – is being driven by the desire to increase employee engagement and business productivity and effectiveness.

As a result of these changes, HR teams are focusing on new measures of success. The most popular being employee engagement and advocacy, followed by being an employer of choice, creating a ‘digital ready’ culture, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging and reduced employee turnover.

David Perring, director of research at Fosway Group, said, “This research shows that despite the challenges of managing through the Covid-19 crisis, HR professionals have been able to up their game and innovate their processes to meet the ever changing, and accelerating, needs of the business. Much of the innovation is focused on flexible working and wellbeing, showing that HR teams recognise that people success will drive organisational success.”

Despite this innovation, HR teams face technology challenges that are hampering their ability to accelerate change. A sizeable proportion (42%) say their HR systems are not fit for the modern workforce, 38% say they are and 20% say they might be. The quality of the employee experience is the number one driver for changing HR systems, followed by the user interface and enhanced analytics.

The data shows that HR analytics (56%) is the number one area for HR technology investment, followed by recruiting and talent acquisition (45%), learning and development (44%), onboarding (44%) and talent mobility and career opportunities (40%).

Reflecting the impact of the skills challenge on organisations, 51% plan to change their onboarding and reboarding within two years while 44% plan to change their systems that support talent mobility and career opportunities within the same period.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group, added, “The HR innovation highlighted by this research shows how HR professionals have stepped up to accelerate and support changes in working practices. The data shows the focus for HR technology investments in the coming year is on reimagining the people experience so organisations can expect to see disruption across key HR domains including analytics, learning and development, onboarding and employee engagement.

Marc Coleman, founder and CEO at UNLEASH, commented, “After a year in which HR stepped up and became real heroes in organisations around the world, it is so important we check in with what’s changed, what’s serving us well – and what’s not. The emphasis on the employee experience and the additional planned investment in people analytics show that HR has moved beyond the transactional to the transformational. We have to know and understand what our people want and respond to that, especially in such a tough talent market where attraction and retention is more challenging than ever. I’m looking forward to sharing this research with our audience and continuing to unpack more insights in the weeks and months to come.”

Research for Fosway’s 2021 HR Realities was carried out between June and October 2021, with input from 313 HR professionals including chief HR officers, HR directors and managers and HR technologists.

A full copy of the infographic is available to download.

About UNLEASH

UNLEASH is the new customer-first digital media platform, built to inspire, connect and enable business leaders, HR leaders and organizations worldwide to navigate the changing world of work.

We give leaders a platform to share ideas, network and do business. Leading the debate on the work revolution, UNLEASH brings together leaders who are passionate about people, technology, innovators and advocates, and world-leading influencers who help connect the dots and offer that big picture perspective.

Our mission is to provide our community with a sense of purpose and belonging. UNLEASH will be that force for good in the HR industry. Visit unleash.ai for more.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, has released the new 2021 9-Grid™ for Cloud HR. The research shows the importance of people experience as organisations prioritise workforce-centric human capital management (HCM) strategies to drive organisational success beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.

Last year’s 9-Grid™ for Cloud HR story was of turmoil and crisis management. That has been replaced this year by a focus on delivering exceptional people experience, delivered through an ecosystem of Cloud HCM Suites and Cloud HR Specialists. HR teams have raised their game, developing innovative strategies to support fast-changing business agendas as well as charting a path beyond the pandemic. As a result, vendors have also grown their revenues and customer base at rates of 25% and more in many cases.

Putting the human experience at the heart of the HCM strategy is driving new ways of working, from moving HR processes into the flow of work to rapid internal mobility, enabling the right people to work in the right areas of the business at the right time. The 9-Grid™ analysis shows that HR is focused on delivering change in a more human way – by listening to employees and engaging around wellbeing. Wrapping a people experience layer around HCM activities is helping HR leaders extend their impact by connecting HR to talent and learning.

The 2021 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Cloud HR incorporates both Cloud HCM Suites and Cloud HR Specialists. HCM Suites cover a wide array of traditional and next-gen approaches to people operations, talent processes and employee experience. The Cloud HR Specialists focus on specific areas of capability with a disruptive and high impact agenda. They have a focused proposition and want to lead the market in their chosen area.

The full report can be downloaded online now.

Fosway’s CEO, David Wilson, and lead analyst for HCM, Sven Elbert, will take questions in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 19th October 2020. Register for your free place online today.

We are delighted to announce that Eleonora Colombo has joined Fosway Group as Research Operations Manager. In this newly created role, Ele will be responsible for managing all the supporting operational processes behind Fosway’ corporate and vendor research.

Ele joins Fosway Group from Kallidus, where she was part of the Professional Services Team and worked as a Project Delivery Analyst for the past six years.

Fosway Group CEO David Wilson comments, “Fosway continues to grow rapidly – both as a business and our corporate engagement, as well as our team. We are delighted to welcome Ele to this newly created role. We are seeing significant growth in our analyst services and insights. Having Ele on board will enable us to increase both the scope and impact of our research, as well as strengthening our ability to help our clients be more successful with their investments in HR, Talent and Learning.”

This appointment also follows on from the recent appointment of Martin Couzins as Head of Content, to further enhance Fosway’s research outputs and delivery to clients.

Commenting on her new role, Ele says, “I’m absolutely delighted to have joined Fosway Group. The onboarding process has been brilliant, I could not have asked for a better start. I can’t wait to see what the following months will bring.”

Today we announced the appointment of Martin Couzins as Head of Content. The appointment supports our continued growth and further enhancing the impact and value of our research with corporate clients and the wider HR, talent and learning market.

Martin brings extensive publishing experience as well as in-depth knowledge of the HR, talent and learning sectors. Prior to joining Fosway Group, Martin spent 10 years supporting learning brands with their market positioning and thought leadership content. He also held senior editorial roles at Personnel Today and XpertHR. He is a regular presenter on Learning Now TV and is a recipient of the Training Journal Award for Special Achievement in Learning and Development.

Martin joins the senior leadership team here and will work closely with CEO David Wilson to deepen engagement with our research and insights. As well as taking responsibility for our reports and content outputs, Martin will support the growth of our corporate community.

“Martin joins Fosway at an exciting time. The pandemic has accelerated the transformation of HR and L&D to become truly digital and agile functions, as well as their need to challenge traditional processes and deliver more disruptive solutions. This is driving significant growth for Fosway’s unique European analyst research and insights” said, David Wilson, Fosway Group’s Founder and CEO, “We are delighted to welcome Martin to the team. His domain knowledge and publishing experience will help us further increase the effectiveness and impact of Fosway’s research with customers and suppliers alike.”

Martin comments, “Over the last 10 years I got to know Fosway as a client. And as the leading source of independent insight on HR technology and market trends I frequently referenced their research and insights in my own work. So, I’m really excited to be joining David and the team at this time and to help further grow Fosway’s market influence and impact.”

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, has released its new 2021 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition. Following a year of untold disruption, with polarised realities of recruitment putting some organisations into ‘Explode’ mode and many others into ‘Implode’ the research provides a timely temperature check post-COVID-19.

The pandemic has accelerated a real shift in the European recruitment software market and stimulated growth for a new breed of leaders. Where no Strategic Leaders were identified in last year’s research, the 2021 analysis includes a range of both suite and specialist providers who have matured in their sophistication and are helping organisations hiring digitally – and with great velocity – across the entire recruitment funnel.

The 2021 report highlights key market trends including diversity, equality and inclusion finally moving to the centre of the recruiting process, the rise of talent mobility as a key to survival in many cases as organisations respond to the impact of the pandemic, and innovations in the candidate experience. New solution trends are also explored, as virtual talent acquisition is here to stay. From innovations in interview scheduling and collaborative hiring, to challenges around remote onboarding and questions of bias and ethics when it comes to the increasing use of AI (Artificial Intelligence), through to a perhaps overdue farewell to post and pray Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).

The Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition supports buyers in the European talent acquisition market at a time when they are faced with more choice than ever before. Fosway’s analysis assesses solutions based on whether they are part of a talent acquisition suite, or a specialist focused on certain parts of the recruitment process such as candidate experience, CRM, employee referrals and onboarding.

The research is created with input from Fosway’s Corporate Research Network of over 250 organisations. Its aim is to demystify the supply options available to organisations and help HR teams make better buying decisions when it comes to investing in their technology solutions.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group said, ‘Recruitment has always been a bellwether for the economy and this research shows promising signs of recovery, but also an unparalleled disruption in recruitment processes and technology. Organisations need to be ready to scale their talent acquisition fast and better recruitment technology is the key to that. Virtual elements are now here to stay and have also driven some welcome creativity in the use of video and in candidate experience and relationship management. Diversity, equality, and inclusion in hiring is also finally being given the priority it deserves.’

He continues, ‘Buyers need to consider their ecosystem and where specialist solutions can fit in with existing HR and talent systems – or where modern TA suites can replace outdated ATS technology. Those organisations using suppliers with a stronger ecosystem approach found it easier to cope during the pandemic – and will prove more resilient and agile going forward.’

The full 2021 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition report can be downloaded online now.

Fosway’s David Wilson and Dr. Sven Elbert will take questions on the research in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 11 May 2021. Register for your free place here. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

About the Fosway 9-Grid™

The Fosway 9-Grid™ provides a unique assessment of the principal learning and talent supply options available to organisations in EMEA. Now in its eighth year, the analysis is based on extensive independent research and insights from the Fosway’s Corporate Research Network of over 150 customer organisations, including BP, HSBC, PwC, RBS, Sanofi, Shell and Vodafone.

Following its assessment of learning systems last month, Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, today releases research into the wider market with the launch of the 2021 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning. It finds that digital learning has never been more critical because of the pandemic, but there is more to be done to improve the learning experience and increase business impact.

Digital learning has provided many organisations with a life raft since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. The importance of enabling people to transition to new working conditions or remote working, upskilling and reskilling for new roles, or supporting employee wellbeing, cannot be overstated. For perhaps for the first time, digital learning has become a recognised strategic player in the corporate game.

As a result, many have accelerated their digital transformation by years, moving rapidly from the old world to the new in a few weeks or months. And this is not a flash in the pan set to last only for lockdown. Only 1% of organisations believe their approach to learning and development will go back to what it was before the pandemic. Digital learning is here to stay.

But despite the surge in demand, there is still work to do beyond a simple switch from the classroom to virtual instructor-led sessions or a library of generic off-the-shelf content. And early signs show that nearly half of organisations are already reporting digital learning fatigue. Plus the pressure is on L&D to show its real value and outcomes to business leaders.

David Wilson, CEO at Fosway said, “It’s really astonishing how quickly L&D has been able to respond to the pandemic and transform the scale of its digital learning offering. It’s also encouraging to see different elements such as performance support, curation, video, microlearning and social learning all vying for a role alongside traditional e-learning. But although the change has been rapid, it hasn’t reached its full potential yet.”

David Perring, Director of Research at Fosway adds, “As digital learning fatigue has grown significantly during the pandemic, the quality of our learning experiences matters more than ever before. We need to find a more ‘human-kind’ approach. Which is potentially one of the biggest challenges for learning teams and providers for 2021 and beyond.’

The 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning focuses on solutions that provide content and resources and therefore provides a different lens on the learning technology market than the 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems, which concentrates on the platforms that power the content.

The full 2021 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning report can be downloaded online now.

Fosway’s David Wilson and David Perring will take questions on the research in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 22 March 2021. Register for your free place here. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

About the Fosway 9-Grid™

The Fosway 9-Grid™ provides a unique assessment of the principal learning and talent supply options available to organisations in EMEA. Now in its eighth year, the analysis is based on extensive independent research and insights from the Fosway’s Corporate Research Network of over 150 customer organisations, including BP, HSBC, PwC, RBS, Sanofi, Shell and Vodafone.

The full report can be downloaded here.

Join Fosway’s founder and CEO, David Wilson, and our Director of Research, David Perring as they unpack this year’s research. Reserve your free place here.

With online learning now the only game in town as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, the full impact on the learning technology market is assessed for the first time in the new 2021 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems. Released today by Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, the research highlights the significant consequences of the shift to remote working and learning.

Vendors have seen a 200-300% increase in the utilisation of their platforms as organisations pushed all learning online. There has been huge pressure on L&D teams and their providers alike to provide immediate answers, faster implementation times and rapid time to value for online learning projects. This situation has generated some creative, customer-centric online solutions, such as COVID-19 content portals made available to organisations at little or no cost, and platform rollouts that take weeks not months.

But there remains a tendency to cling to out-dated labels, in particular the artificial distinction between LMS and LXP. In 2020, before COVID-19 hit Europe, Fosway rejected the LXP label as confusing marketing hype, reclassifying systems into Learning System Suites and Specialists. One year on, and a nine-month deep research project and all the evidence proves this was the right move.

LXP was not a bad idea – it just didn’t ever do what it said on the tin. Deconstructing the realities under the LXP story shows that corporate buyers need to be smarter about understanding what aspect of the ‘learning experience’ they are actually trying to disrupt – and how. Buyers also need to understand what truly differentiates the vendors in really achieving those outcomes. Ultimately, Suites and Specialists is a better way of understanding the market and the options available to corporate buyers.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway said, “2020 turned out to be challenging beyond any expectations, but the Learning Systems industry has truly stepped up and proved its value to customers. The 2021 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems reflects both the success of vendors in adversity, as well as new innovations, new entrants and new disruptive specialisms.”

He continues, “The LMS and LXP labels now need to go for good. As we predicted, the convergence of modern learning systems has continued apace. As Specialists continue to backfill their solutions with traditional LMS functionality, the Suites are integrating specialist capabilities to be more disruptive. Where they meet in the middle is hugely confusing for buyers.”

Wilson concludes, “Ultimately, we need to recalibrate what is meant by the term ‘learning experience’ which is thrown around so casually – but, in reality, is about so much more than a nice learning system and nice learning content.”

The full 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems report can be downloaded online here.

Fosway’s CEO, David Wilson, and senior analyst, Fiona Leteney, will take questions on the research in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 9 February 2021. Register for your free place here. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

The 2021 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning usually released in-line with the Learning Systems analysts, will be launched at the end of February.

Fosway will also be producing a new series of papers looking at disruptive learning specialisms and the wider learning ecosystem from February onwards.

Following a year of disruption and unprecedented demand for digital learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual Digital Learning Realities research opens today to uncover what’s different as we begin 2021. Run in partnership by Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst and Learning Technologies, Europe’s leading learning workplace event, the survey aims to uncover what is really happening in digital learning today and provide practical insights into what is helping people learn – especially as the world remains in a moment of crisis.

95% of learning leaders have already told Fosway they don’t think corporate learning and development will ever be the same again. But expectations are shifting as the pandemic has continued to unfold. The initial, inevitable move to digital learning from face-to-face training in 2020 was only the beginning of the story. There are deeper shifts happening, including the types of solution that L&D teams are finding the most successful and the ways people are choosing to learn in remote and socially distanced working environments.

The 2021 research shines a spotlight on:

• The ongoing impact of COVID-19 on digital learning
• The digital learning ecosystem
• Creating effective learning experiences
• Skills gaps and skills development
• Buyers’ experiences and customer satisfaction in the digital learning market

Now in its sixth year, with an annual average of over 1,000 respondents worldwide, the research will remain open until March 2021 with initial results revealed in the Spring and further analysis released throughout the year.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group said, ‘Last year blew away all the remaining barriers to digital learning and a lot has happened in a short space of time. For the most part this is positive, as access to learning becomes more democratised and flexible, and L&D can be more agile in their response to business requirements. But there have been snap decisions made under pressure about which platforms and content to invest in and early in the pandemic there was a sense that any learning was better than nothing. But as the situation continues, people’s expectations of their digital learning experiences are rising and patience with sub-standard technology and design is wearing thin.’

He continues, ‘The landscape of digital learning has changed forever and there is a huge opportunity for L&D to provide their organisations with the skills and knowledge they need at the push of a button. This year’s research will uncover the what, where, why and how of digital learning in reality – and hopefully provide the global L&D community with practical, actionable insights as we work through this crisis.’

Learning Technologies Event Director, Mark Penton, commented ‘There are over 12,000 L&D professionals who are members worldwide within our Learning and Skills group community. And what this joint research with Fosway continues to enable us to do is offer global insight that supports them in making informed decisions around their digital learning. These are challenging times and the goal is for this research to help our members wherever they are and whatever their situation during the pandemic – and beyond.’

All respondents will receive priority access to the research findings.

To take part, complete the survey here.

97% of organisations are now using virtual classrooms to support learning and development, with over half (53%) reporting that they have proved to be their most successful learning platforms during the COVID-19 crisis. This data is part of new research conducted by Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, in partnership with Barco, a global provider of networked visualisation solutions. It follows Fosway research earlier in 2020 which showed that 95% of learning leaders believe L&D has changed forever because of the pandemic.

Key headlines from this new research include:

• A 5x increase in using virtual classrooms for high value programmes like leadership development since the start of COVID-19
• An explosion in the use of virtual classrooms for coaching and mentoring, with a 19x increase
• A 400% increase in the use of virtual classrooms for external training delivery
• 95% of learners are satisfied with their virtual learning experiences
• Group exercises, live collaboration and levels of interactivity are key influencers of success with virtual classrooms

Fosway Barco Research Infographic Power of Virtual Classrooms in a Post Pandemic WorldWith the shift to remote working, the explosion in virtual classroom solutions was inevitable. But the research digs beyond initial crisis adoption to understand if solutions are truly effective for learning, as well as ability to use for high value people development. For example, the research shows that 70% of organisations are using Microsoft Teams as virtual classroom, but only 10% rate it as effective for learning. L&D leaders also state that creating a differentiated experience from normal virtual meetings is critical. Designing experiences that include high levels of interaction – are necessary to make virtual learning work.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway said, “Virtual classrooms have been a staple in corporate learning for a long time, but as with so many aspects of digital transformation, it’s taken the COVID-19 crisis to create a tipping point in their adoption. Early in the pandemic, there was a sense that any learning done was better than nothing. That meant it had to be virtual or digital. But as time goes on, organisations must go beyond lowest common denominator solutions and have to also deliver against strategic people initiatives such as leadership and team development.”

He continues, “Given the ongoing need for extended home working and limited business travel, all companies need to maximise the untapped potential that virtual classrooms can provide. It’s not enough to just lift and shift face-to-face sessions into a virtual environment. It’s critical to design the experiences and harness the full collaborative and interactive capabilities that some of the solutions on the market have to offer.”

Ellen Van de Woestijne, Marketing Director of Barco said, “Supporting organisations through the COVID-19 crisis has been our number one concern and understanding how learning priorities and business challenges are evolving now is key to that. It is clear that many L&D teams won’t simply be reverting back to the old face-to-face model even after the pandemic is over. So, we are delighted to collaborate with Fosway on this research and hopefully highlight key areas of importance and opportunity into 2021.”

This research was carried out between August and October 2020, with initial results based on input from 136 enterprise organisations.

The infographic can be downloaded here. 

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, today shares new research that shows a radical shift in talent management, as organisations navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic and adapt to new ways of working. The 2020 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent & People Success blows apart the traditional foundations of talent management and ushers in a new era of democratisation and positive disruption to help HR get their people strategies fit for the future.

The report highlights that for too long, talent management has focused on a limited number of high potentials and top tier employees. Whilst there has been dissatisfaction from some corners for a while, the COVID-19 crisis has now made talent an enterprise-wide issue. Organisations are having to pivot who works where, doing what and when – and traditional talent management processes and structures have proved insufficiently agile or transformational at the time they have been needed most.

David Perring, director of research at Fosway commented, ‘With the new world of work unfolding around us at pace, the old foundations of talent management fail to add up. It’s time for organisations to rethink and move beyond historic views of succession planning, performance management, and annual engagement surveys. Against a tough backdrop of recruitment freezes, training budget cuts, furloughs and redundancies, it’s time to tackle talent differently now.’

2020 Fosway 9-Grid Talent & People Success

The 2020 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent & People Success builds on the previous six years of 9-Grids™ that were focused on talent management. In addition to the Group’s other annual 9-Grid™reports across Cloud HR, Talent Acquisition, Learning Systems and Digital Learning, it is a key piece of industry research used by buyers of HR, talent and learning solutions across Europe.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway said, ‘Last year we widened our analysis to encompass a growing number of specialist talent solutions. But Talent Management has got disrupted by HCM Suites from above, and by fast growing disruptors and specialists from below. It is time to rethink and recalibrate.’

He continues, ‘The pandemic has forced organisations to change. Companies must be agile as must their workforce and their talent processes. This is not just about employee experience; it is about organisational agility, performance and success. Which is why we have completely reclassified this category and urge HR to understand the critical need to look at all of its people and rethink talent approaches completely.’

The full 2020 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent & People Success report can be downloaded online now.

Fosway’s CEO, David Wilson, and director of research, David Perring, will take questions on this new research in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 18 November 2020.

Interim data collected in April 2020 suggests 100% of HR functions have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, Zukunft Personel has partnered with Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR Industry Analyst to understand the immediate challenges, as well as looking ahead to HR investment, headcount and priorities over the coming 12 months. CEO David Wilson, will exclusively reveal the results of the 2020-21 HR Realities research for the first time at ZP 365 Virtual HR week next month.

David Wilson Fosway Group Keynote Zukunft Personal ZP 365The annual HR Realities research is now in its seventh year and is open to HR professionals across Europe. With an average of over 500 participants annually from large enterprise organisations across Europe, this research informs HR professionals and the wider HR tech market year on year.

David Wilson’s keynote session on 15th October is titled ‘Being successful in a post-pandemic world’ and will explore:

• What’s changing in HR tech as a result of the crisis
• The tools and technology being used by leading HR organisations across Europe
• HR investment trends – the what, where and why
• Post-pandemic priorities and key HR skills for the future

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway, commented, ‘The HR Realities research supports European HR leaders and professionals in making informed decisions around their HR strategy and investment by providing a real, independent and relevant picture of HR today – and what it needs to have in place to support the organisations and the workforce of tomorrow. We are delighted to partner with Zukunft Personal this year as the input of the HR community is invaluable, especially as organisations move forward in what’s been an unprecedented year. Fosway’s focus has always been on providing up-to-the-minute data and pragmatic advice – and there has probably never been more need of that than now.’

Christiane Nagler, Group Director of Zukunft Personal, said, ‘This is an important time for HR as it has been pivotal to organisations navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis. We are pleased to be able to work with Fosway Group to capture up-to-the minute insights around HR’s experiences and share them back with our audience at our virtual event next month. We look forward to David’s keynote providing valuable input into our attendees strategy and decision making for the year ahead.’

The 2020-21 research is still open here – don’t miss your chance to take part. 

Registration for ZP 365 is open now here.

The annual 2020-21 HR Realities research is now open, aimed at providing up-to-date insights on changing HR investment, headcount and priorities, particularly in light of the COVID-19 crisis. Led by Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, Fosway Group, the research is now in its eighth year and is open to HR professionals across Europe.

Interim data collected by Fosway in April 2020 suggests HR has faced real challenges in meeting the new demands of organisations during the pandemic, with 100% of HR functions impacted and only 1 in 4 finding it easy to report on key statistics including how many people have been self-isolating or working remotely for example.

Now, the main milestone HR Realities research will delve deeper into some of these immediate challenges, as well as looking ahead to HR’s main priorities over the coming 12 months.

With an average of over 500 participants annually from large enterprise organisations across Europe, this research informs HR professionals and the wider HR tech market year on year. The 2019-20 results are available to download here.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway, comments, ‘The HR Realities research supports European HR leaders and professionals in making informed decisions around their HR strategy and investment by providing a real, independent and relevant picture of HR today – and what it needs to have in place to support the organisations and the workforce of tomorrow. We hugely value the ongoing participation of the HR community in this research, with thousands of responses to date. Fosway’s focus has always been on providing up-to-the-minute data and pragmatic advice – and there has probably never been more need of that than now.’

The 2020-21 research is now open here with all respondents receiving priority access to the research results when they are published.

Fosway’s interim COVID-19 research data can be downloaded online now.

As the response to the COVID-19 pandemic shifts gears across Europe, Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, today shares new research on the impact of the crisis on corporate Learning & Development strategies, priorities and spend. Plus, practical insight into what is truly helping employees learn in this moment of crisis – and what’s not.

Fosway COVID-19 L&D Impact 2020_FinalThe inevitable move to digital learning from face-to-face training is only the beginning of this story. There are deeper shifts happening, including the types of solution that L&D teams are finding the most successful and the ways people are choosing to learn. And these changes – some of which have been talked about for years under the guise of ‘digital transformation’ – have happened almost overnight.

Some key headlines:

• Learning priorities and L&D strategy have changed for 94% of organisations in response to the pandemic, with two in three making significant changes to what they do and how they do it.

• Unsurprisingly, there has been a major swing to digital learning, with spend increasing on almost all areas of digital, led by content. 82% report that demand for digital learning has increased from senior stakeholders, whilst 71% have experienced an increased demand for digital learning content from learners themselves.

• Traditional e-learning shows signs of waning both in terms of adoption but also significantly in terms of perceived success. Video content is the highest rated in supporting organisations throughout the COVID-19 crisis so far, closely followed by curated content. Bespoke e-learning, off-the-shelf courses and blended learning are all reported to be less successful.

• Meanwhile, as people get used to working remotely and in virtual teams, collaboration is becoming a key priority. 84% of L&D leaders think it is more important to integrate digital learning into other corporate platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Slack and Trello.

• So-called learning experience platforms as well as collaborative learning specialist platforms are rated as the most successful systems after – predictably – virtual classrooms.

David Perring, director of research at Fosway Group said, ‘When you are in the middle of a crisis, it’s sometimes difficult to step back and appreciate quite how far you’ve come in a short space of time. Yes, we’ve seen the virtualisation of classroom training as a quick win to cope with the immediate crisis. But what the data is telling us , is that the pandemic has also been a catalyst for a much deeper adoption of digital learning. One that has accelerated how organisations embrace more collaborative learning, more curated content, microlearning and video-based solutions – which will mean that L&D will never be the same again! ’

This research was carried out via an online survey with Fosway’s corporate research network during May 2020. The interim results are based on input from 108 enterprise organisations.

For a copy of the full infographic click here. 

The survey remains open online here.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, today opened new rapid research into the impact of COVID-19 on organisational learning and development.

Social Image - Fosway COVID19 L&DThe goal of the research is to provide practical insight into what’s really happening in corporate L&D as organizational and financial priorities evolve during the COVID-19 crisis. The short survey asks key questions on impact on L&D including headcount, budgets and spend, demand for digital content and platforms – as well as exploring what’s currently being effective for organisations, and what’s not.

This activity forms part of Fosway’s ongoing research into the wider impact of the COVID-19 across HR, talent and learning. Initial headlines have already been shared from its analysis of the pandemic on HR and how HR tech solutions are supporting organisations as they pedal rapidly to keep up with economic challenges and government policies in a constant state of flux.

David Perring, director of research at Fosway commented, ‘L&D finds itself in a potentially pivotal role at this time of turmoil. Organisations find new ways of working – and learning – under these extraordinary circumstances. We want to help L&D professionals get a better sense of what’s really happening across the industry right now and share that back as quickly as possible.’

The results from the research will be made freely available in the next few weeks.

Take part in the short survey here.

View the headlines from the COVID-19 HR research here.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, has released its 2020 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition. Launching during the COVID-19 crisis when organisations are navigating furloughing and laying off staff, the research highlights two extremes within recruitment at present. Whilst the majority are facing a freeze in hiring, there are some facing unprecedented demand – and both camps require technology to support them during this tough time.

2020 Fosway 9-Grid Talent Acquistion_Lge

HR professionals in organisations hit hard by the pandemic find themselves firefighting, trying to put talent pools and candidate pipelines into hibernation for when hiring might restart. For those in organisations where demand has increased for their products and services, there is now unprecedented volume, requiring more intelligent automation and improved filtering to help respond to the urgent needs of their business more quickly.

The Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition is a unique analysis of the recruitment software market in Europe. With input from Fosway’s Corporate Research Network of over 200 organisations, its aim is to demystify the supply options available to organisations and help HR teams make better buying decisions when it comes to investing in their technology solutions.

With no ‘Strategic Leader’ and a plethora of new entrants and increasing focus from US-based suppliers, buyers in the European talent acquisition market are faced with more choice than ever before. Fosway’s analysis assesses solutions based on whether they are part of a talent acquisition suite, or a specialist focused on certain parts of the recruitment process such as candidate experience, CRM, employee referrals and onboarding.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group said, ‘The first wave of the global COVID-19 crisis has effectively created two very different realities for recruiters. Where hiring is on hold, recruiters might feel their technology is not at the top of their list at present, but maintaining brand visibility and relationships with future candidates might arguably be more important now than ever. Whereas, those organisations facing a sharp spike in demand need technology to process and filter candidates at a scale that probably breaks their existing platforms and processes. It will be interesting to see which solutions emerge from this having truly delivered for their customers!’

Fosway released its initial interim 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition in October 2019. The 2020 release marks the analyst’s first full version and the start of a new annual reporting cycle.

The full report can be downloaded here and you can read more about Fosway’s emerging research into them impact of COVID-19 on HR here.

With organisations in turmoil as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, today shares new research aimed at providing practical insight for HR leaders at this difficult time. Every HR leader is being asked critical questions by their executives – but do they actually have the data and tools to answer them?

Fosway Research - COVID-19 HR Questions - InfographicHR data and technology is now needed more than ever to support business critical decisions around jobs and continuity planning. This research sheds light on how useful these are in reality. An important issue that has so far flown under the news radar relating to COVID-19 and its impact on business.

Some key headlines

Unsurprisingly, 100% of HR functions surveyed have seen COVID-19 impact their HR operations. But tracking this impact has been far from easy. Only 1 in 4 have found it easy to report on key statistics including how many people are self-isolating, working remotely or are hospitalised for example.

A little more than half (57%) are using their Core HR systems to help track this impact. 40% are still reliant on spreadsheets, with a huge emphasis on managers recording this data on behalf of their teams. 80% of organisations are relying on managers to do this manually versus only 23% supporting self-service forms online. 71% think the answers HR technology can provide as a result are severely limited.

Worryingly, only 30% of HR leaders believe their team has the skills to analyse and predict the impact of COVID-19 on their organisation, and only 13% have found it easy to do the analysis. Organisations are walking a tightrope between their ability to gather personal data with the need to protect people’s privacy. In Europe, GDPR restricts the personal information organisations can hold about their people. But the nature of this pandemic means that the questions HR is being asked by the C-Suite increasingly reach into these areas.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group said, ‘As the COVID-19 crisis has unfolded, the pressure on HR teams has intensified dramatically. Suddenly they have been asked for all sorts of answers and data to support strategic decisions, that for many organisations is frankly about keeping the lights on. What is not helping is that, for the majority, their HR systems are not actually designed to record or analyse the data necessary to provide business critical answers. There is enormous reliance on managers and spreadsheets to support new daily reporting, and only a minority have the tools to model the future impact of COVID-19 on their workforce and ongoing business operations.’

He continues, ‘We’re already seeing some valuable lessons learned too as obviously very few organisations were ready for the scale of COVID-19, including increasing HR self-service capabilities, providing reliable mobile access to HR systems, and removing red tape around policy. It’s clear that HR teams have to be agile and respond constructively in these extraordinary circumstances, balancing the needs of the business versus what’s right for their people.’

This research was carried out via an online survey with Fosway’s corporate research network during the first three weeks of April 2020. The interim results are based on input from 66 organisations. This first take will be followed up by a report with updated survey data in the early May.

Download a copy of the infographic here.

The survey remains open online.

COVID-19 is impacting all companies, but what HR data or analysis is your Board/C-Suite asking you for?

As current events unfold, Fosway is trying to provide HR professionals with practical insights to help you accelerate your response to the crisis. With government and company policies changing on a daily basis, this short survey aims to get under the skin of the rapidly shifting priorities being faced by HR, focusing on the new demands being placed on your HR tech and data.

This survey is just one part of Fosway’s broader analyst research relating to the impact of COVID-19 on HR, Talent and Learning.

Take part here.

Our aim is to share initial research analysis back to the HR community in the next two weeks. Fosway’s focus has always been on independent, pragmatic advice you can trust and there has never been more need of that than now.

We hope you are staying safe and well, and thank you in advance for your participation.

At the 2020 Learning Awards, hosted by the Learning & Performance Institute (LPI), David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, was the recipient of the Colin Corder award winner. This illustrious award is the highest honour the LPI grants and recognises outstanding contributions to learning.

In a record-breaking ceremony in London last week, the largest the LPI has hosted with over 800 attendees from the learning and development profession around the world, Wilson was presented the award by host Claudia Winkleman, Chairman of the Institute, Donald H Taylor and Richard Haynes, CCO at Avado. The final category of a packed evening with 18 awards, the Colin Corder is a special award presented in memory of one of the original pioneers of the value of interactive and learner-centred learning. It recognises elite individuals who have shown clear vision and passion for learning, spearheaded change, created impact and made significant contributions and developments to the workplace learning industry.

2020 Colin Corder Award Learning and Performance Institute LPI Fosway Group David Wilson

For over 23 years, David Wilson has worked with Europe’s largest enterprise organisations to solve their HR, talent and learning challenges. He personally leads Fosway’s research agenda speaking at events all over the world. In 2013, he created the renowned Fosway 9-Grids™ which remain the only European-focused model aimed at helping organisations understand the relative market positions of solutions and providers across HR, talent and learning.

Edmund Monk, Managing Director of the LPI said of David’s win, “The Colin Corder award is only presented to those few individuals who are true visionaries that have provided an outstanding contribution to learning. David Wilson set up Fosway and its invaluable analyst services more than 23 years ago. And whether it’s working with Europe’s best known organisations on their learning strategies, or providing freely available research to help L&D professionals navigate the minefield of digital learning trends and technology, he continues to be a driving force in our industry – and we are delighted to honour him with the highest recognition the Learning & Performance Institute can bestow.”

2020 Colin Corder Award Learning and Performance Institute LPI Fosway David WilsonCommented David Wilson on this recognition, “What we do as industry analysts at Fosway requires discretion and trust, so it’s always more important for me to put our clients and our research insights ahead of any personal agenda. Needless to say then, I am surprised and honoured to receive the Colin Corder award from the LPI. It’s a privilege to work in an industry that cares so passionately about people and helping their development, performance and potential. The Learning Awards play a huge role in recognising excellence in our profession and I remain as excited and committed to supporting this as I was over 23 years ago.”

The accolade follows a period of strong growth for Fosway Group, including analyst services in new markets such as talent acquisition, a radical reclassification of the learning systems market in which the terms LMS, NGLE and LXP were made redundant, and new international expansion.

For more details on Fosway’s research and how our analysts can help you, click here. 

In a move that recognises the ongoing evolution in learning systems in 2020 and beyond, Fosway, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, is redefining the market in a bid to help organisations better understand what they are buying. The reclassification of learning platforms on its brand new 2020 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems waves farewell to the LMS and NGLE classification and rebases its analysis on whether a solution is a Suite or a Specialist.

2020 Fosway 9-Grid Learning Systems

In 2017, Fosway led the market by classifying Learning Systems as either LMS (Learning Management System) or NGLE (Next Gen Learning Environment), preferring not to formally use the LXP (Learning Experience Platform) term as despite emerging hype, as we believed it was not a meaningful buying category. We also predicted that the sub-classification would change as vendors built cross-over functionality to enable them to appeal to a broader set of buyers.

Three years on and the noise level has grown, but clarity hasn’t. There has been an explosion in vendors using the NGLE/LXP labels to appeal to modern buyers scarred by bad LMS experiences. What they are is a mix of disruptive ideas and new ways of delivering learning. What they are not is a single buying category, so the moment to re-classify has come.

‘What we have seen in the last three years is a convergence in solutions where traditional LMSs have upped their game in terms of next gen features for learner experience, collaboration and gamification’ explained David Wilson, CEO of Fosway. ‘Meanwhile the next gen learning platforms have been forced to back-fill traditional functionality around face-to-face training and compliance by customer demand. This meeting in the middle leaves everyone confused about what the terms mean and what they really need to support learning in their organisation.’

So, as of 2020, Fosway is changing our classification for the 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems to segment into Suites and Specialists.

Learning System Suites are platforms supporting and integrating a broad range of traditional and next gen learning approaches. They aim to cover all the main bases – traditional learning management, heightened learner experience, old and new learning channels. They are the evolution of LMSs that have added next gen and learner experience capabilities, but also the evolution of the NGLEs/LXPs that have back-filled learning management capability to become a ‘one stop shop’ for managing modern learning.

Learning System Specialists are the opposite. They unashamedly focus on one area of capability with a disruptive high impact agenda. Whether that is being the best at mobile learning, doing AI-managed adaptive delivery, or building integrated learner experiences from multiple sources, specialists have a focused proposition and want to lead the market in their chosen focus area. Specialists will rarely be the only Learning System in an organisation. They cannot cover all the areas of learning that a company needs to manage or support. Instead their goal is to disrupt the Suites and to deliver heightened impact in a specific area of modern learning.

‘It’s been clear to us for some time that we needed to offer buyers greater clarity around learning systems’ said David Wilson. ‘Our goal is to help buyers cut through some of the market hype and figure out what is a real priority for them, what is missing from their learning ecosystem, and which suppliers might be best placed to help them.’

The 2020 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning is also released today and reflects an ever-diversifying market filled with more choice of solution than ever before. From AI and personalisation to the continued dominance of video and the rise of learning in the workflow, the trends report reflects a dynamic but increasingly complex level of choice for L&D.

Both reports can be downloaded online and find out more from the Fosway analysts in person at the Fosway Analyst Lounge (Stand P40) at Learning Technologies London on 12th and 13th February 2020.

The annual Digital Learning Realities research opened today, led by Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst and Learning Technologies, Europe’s largest workplace learning event. Now in its fifth year, this research is open to learning and development professionals to have their say on the state of digital learning today – and see how their experiences measure up to other organisations around the world.

With over 1000 respondents taking part every year, the data provides an important barometer on what’s happening in the market, with a chance for suppliers to share their insights too.

The scope of the research for 2020 shines the spotlight on skills development and skills gaps as one of the current major challenges facing L&D. It also explores investment in digital learning, areas of growth from NGLEs and LXPs, to microlearning and video, as well emerging trends such as ‘learning experience’ – all with the aim of providing market insights and data that cannot be found anywhere else.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group said “There remains a lot of hype around learning technology. And whilst it’s important to explore new innovations, what matters most to L&D and their wider organisations is what can have a real impact and make a difference to people’s performance.”

He continues “We know that harnessing the power of digital as a way of accessing and supporting learning is a trend that continues to grow. And we know how important it is to people that they have the opportunity to develop themselves and their skills as part of their working lives. Understanding how organisations can truly maximise that is critical at a time when skills gaps continue to widen, and recruiting and retaining the best people remains challenging in a turbulent economy.”

Learning Technologies Event Director, Mark Penton, commented “L&D professionals worldwide have experienced the good and the bad of what digital learning can deliver. Having a way of sharing those experiences and understanding what’s working – and what’s not – is something the Digital Learning Realities research provides year after year. We’re delighted to partner with Fosway Group again in 2020 and deliver data that everyone in learning worldwide can benefit from and help us move forward as a profession.”

To take part, complete the survey now.

The results will be unveiled at the Learning Technologies conference and exhibition in London on 12 and 13 February 2020. Subsequent analysis and updates will continue throughout the year.

The results of the 2019 Digital Learning Realities research can still be accessed here.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, today unveiled its new 2019 Fosway 9-Grids™ for both Cloud HCM (Human Capital Management) and Talent Management Systems.

2019 Fosway 9-Grid Talent Management_LgeThe Fosway 9-Grids™ help to demystify the supplier side of the next gen HR, learning and talent markets, assisting HR leaders in making informed decisions around their solution choices. It is the only industry analysis specifically targeted to help HR decision makers in Europe compare supplier solutions based on their Performance, Potential, Market Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and Future Trajectory.

“The Cloud is now the go-to place for HR, enabling it to transform the impact HR has in the business as well as its processes and the engagement it has with employees,” commented David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group, “The emerging opportunities offered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning and people analytics are also all gamechangers for HR as well. As a result, investment in HR technology continues to increase, and suppliers need to evolve faster to meet the increasing pace of change for customers.”

He continues, “2019 sees a major update to the 9-Grid™ for Talent Management, reflecting the growth and disruption of this area of the market. For the first time, we’ve included specialist solutions that focus on dedicated areas of the talent lifecycle such as employee engagement. They are distinguished from the full talent management suites on the 9-Grid™ itself, and highlight the increasing influence these specialist solutions have in the corporate buying cycle. Both new 9-Grids™ also feature new market entrants, and our assessment reflects how suppliers are evolving to tackle the challenges HR is facing today in European companies.”

The Fosway 9-Grid™ model is now in its sixth annual research cycle and is based on independent research and insights from Fosway’s corporate research network, as well as market profiling, briefing activities and customer feedback.

Each Fosway 9-Grid™ is accompanied by an analyst report, outlining the broader trends and context in each market. To download your free reports for both Cloud HCM and Talent Management, including market commentaries and solution trends, click here.

The first interim 2019 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition was launched earlier this month. The Fosway 9-Grids™ for Learning Systems and Digital Learning are also updated annually in January.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, is recruiting for two key new roles as a result of its continued growth. The positions are that of HCM Analyst and Service Delivery Manager.

Headquartered in Gloucestershire, Fosway works as a virtual team so applications from across the UK will be considered as the role will be based remotely.

Read the full descriptions and apply here.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, today unveils its new 2019 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition for the first time. Launched as an interim analysis of the talent acquisition software market in EMEA, it focuses solutions being selected by enterprise-scale customers to support their recruitment processes.

INTERIM 2019 Fosway 9-Grid Talent AcquisitionWith input from Fosway’s Corporate Research Network of over 200 organisations, in addition to 1:1 briefings and an in-depth data capture process with vendors, the 9-Grids™ uniquely calibrate data across five key areas: Performance, Potential, Market Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and Future Trajectories across the market. Their aim is to demystify the supply options available to organisations and help learning professionals make better buying decisions when investing in HR technology.

In the 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition, the analysis is sub-categorised into Suite solutions and Specialist solutions. Suites typically incorporate functionality that’s part of a wider range of capabilities across talent acquisition and sometimes into talent management. Specialist solutions meanwhile, tend to support a narrower and more focused set of functionality, for example managing candidate relationship marketing.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group commented, “Our HR Realities research shows that talent acquisition is now a strategic business challenge for almost every company and a C-level priority. For many large enterprises, their existing recruiting solutions are outdated and just not fit for purpose. With massive innovation in the technology and vendor solutions, 53% of companies are increasing their investment in talent acquisition and recruiting and onboarding are the top 2 areas for replacement systems in the next two years.”

He continues, “The lack of good objective insight on recruiting solutions also made it a clear priority for Fosway’s analyst research. This interim analysis is the only European-focused analyst research available in the market, and also enables us to share Fosway’s view of a market that is highly fragmented, fast changing and deeply competitive. We plan to launch the full 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition in April 2020, and then to maintain it annually thereafter in that cycle.”

The Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition is accompanied by an analyst report, outlining some of the broader solution and market trends. Download your free copy of the report here.

Later this month, the annual Fosway 9-Grids™ for Cloud HCM and Talent Management Systems will also be released. Both will be available online and copies of all the Fosway 9-Grids™ will also be available at David Wilson’s presentation session at UNLEASH World on 22-23rd October 2019.

Fosway is delighted to invite HR professionals to take part in its annual HR Realities research, which is now live. The only only cross-European insights into HR technology and its impact on the future of work is now in its sixth year.

Covering topics including strategic HR challenges, current and future investment, the hype surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the growing role of analytics, the data generated by the HR Realities research captures insight that is not available anywhere else.

With hundreds of enterprise organisations participating, the research cuts through the hype to highlight the true priorities in HR technology for the year ahead. Last year’s data is still available online here.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group, comments, ‘Against a backdrop of increasing innovation in HR technology, it’s more important than ever to understand what HR really needs to evolve and support the changing needs of its people. Some new tools and systems might be great on paper but understanding how they will help take your organisation forward in reality is what’s really important now.’

The research is now open here. We look forward to your participation and to releasing the results this Autumn.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, today unveils its NEW 2019 Fosway 9-Grids™ for Learning Systems and Digital Learning; the only independent view of the learning technology markets in Europe.

2019 Fosway 9-Grid Learning Systems
With input from Fosway’s Corporate Research Network of over 150 organisations, in addition to 1:1 briefings and an in-depth data capture process with vendors, the 9-Grids™ uniquely calibrate data across five key areas: Performance, Potential, Market Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and Future Trajectories across the market. Their aim is to demystify the supply options available to organisations and help learning professionals make informed decisions around their solutions requirements.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group commented, “The growth in the learning technology market shows no sign of slowing down. Investment is predicted to increase, and organisations are under pressure to be more agile, more digital and to deliver more value and business impact. Making sure you invest wisely with the best chances of success is more critical than ever. And there is nowhere else that buyers can get this type of information to support their future innovation and technology choices.”

He continued, “Our classification of Next Gen Learning Environments (NGLEs) and Learning Management Systems (LMS) for example, is designed to help L&D differentiate their options in the Learning Systems market around Learning Experience Platforms (LXPs) and Learning Record Stores (LRS) and all the other hype that has sprung up in recent years. Meanwhile, evolving digital learning away from pure-play e-learning content to think about social learning and embedding learning in the workflow for example, shows the breadth of solutions available to L&D teams today.”

Each Fosway 9-Grid™ is accompanied by an analyst report, outlining some of the broader trends and context in each market. Download your free reports for both Learning Systems and Digital Learning including market commentaries and solution trends here.

The Fosway 9-Grids™ will also be available in the Fosway Analyst Lounge at Learning Technologies France on 30th and 31st January and Learning Technologies London on 13th and 14th February 2019.

Joint research between Fosway Group and SumTotal Systems shared thought-provoking whilst highlighting what is driving effectiveness in talent management and people development in EMEA, and perhaps more importantly, what is not working, as HR organisations strive to digitally transform their people functions.

The research report, “Talent Management and People Development in Practice: A Call to Action,” builds on SumTotal’s work with Fosway Group in 2017. The research explored the future of work, shifting patterns and transformational technology. This new study explores the technological challenges and innovation investment required to support the acquisition, nurture, development and retention of the best talent. The findings draw on the real-world experience and insight of HR and talent professionals from EMEA and are supplemented with data from Fosway’s ongoing HR and talent research. The full report can be downloaded here.
The results show that in an environment where talent acquisition, learning and development, and employee engagement are delivering the biggest advantage in the war for talent, the underlying enabling technology is failing to meet HR’s needs. This ranges from around one third (33 per cent) still relying on spreadsheets to manage talent and people development processes to one fifth (21 per cent) being unable to prove tangible value of talent practices.

On a more positive note, the report highlights that nearly 80 per cent of organisations plan to increase their investment in HR and talent technology. The report also demonstrates that onboarding, recruiting / talent acquisition, performance management, analytics and learning & development are leading the way. Nearly half the respondents (45 per cent) believe that artificial intelligence and robotics will be truly significant in their HR organisation in less than two years.

“Change in the nature of work and in the workforce continues to be big news, but companies are struggling to change their people and learning strategies fast enough to close widening gaps in talent and skills” commented David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group, “This research highlights the need for HR, talent and learning to innovate faster and to focus on talent outcomes aligned with real business priorities.”

Additional key findings of the research include:
• Organisations are not making nearly enough progress when it comes to transforming talent management. Nearly all (96 per cent) have still to fully realise the advantages possible with digital transformation.
• Only 9 per cent of organisations think their technology to support talent is fully ready for the modern workforce. Just over 20 per cent say their talent systems are not at all ready for the modern workforce.
• When it comes to optimising talent, half of all organisations surveyed are either using spreadsheets or nothing at all.
• HR’s inability to articulate the value add of its operation to real business results will hamper their success in the long-term:
– Less than half (44 per cent) measure the impact of their talent strategies to tactical business objectives;
– Only one quarter (25 per cent) establish the impact of talent approaches on individual and team performance; and
– Around one fifth (21 per cent) have no measures of success for their talent practice.
• Three quarters (76 per cent) expect to see an increase in HR tech and innovation. Investment is increasing in all areas of HR IT.

Joint research reveals L&D needs to upskill in order to tackle digital transformation and impact learner engagement.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, and 360Learning, a Learning Engagement Platform where Leaders and Learners connect to create a continuous work and learning environment, today announced the release of their new research report, The Role of L&D in the Digital Age.

The research was conducted in partnership with learning professionals worldwide with a view to understand the changing nature of the industry against a backdrop of digital transformation.

The pace of technology innovation has impacted every area of business today, but particularly Learning & Development. What was a profession focused on the classroom is becoming increasingly multi-faceted and complex with the continued growth of digital learning. This research explores the new skills and capabilities required by learning professionals to work effectively with the broader business and meet organisational goals. It also examines the opportunities for change and what that might mean in practical terms, for L&D practitioners going forwards.

“What we have found with this research is that L&D lacks confidence in its digital capabilities”, said Camille Charaudeau, VP, Strategy at 360Learning, “at the very time when learning has the opportunity to be a key differentiator to an organisation’s people and performance.”

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group commented, “It’s easy to get distracted by the ins and outs of learning technology when exploring the impact that digital is having on L&D. But more fundamentally, becoming digital is a catalyst to force L&D to become more strategic in its approach and value add, as well as ensuring it is more aligned with day to day business realities and priorities.” He continued, “It is the combination of the right systems in conjunction with this reimagined role for L&D going forwards that make for an exciting, energising and embedded role at the centre of any organisation in the digital age.”

The research paper can be downloaded online now.

The hype surrounding the future of digital learning keeps coming; Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality…but what should L&D professionals be prioritising in their organisations today to ensure future success? New research opened today aims to understand the truth about digital learning, including:

• The critical drivers and trends to watch
• Who’s really using what technologies today
• Making sense of the market and managing suppliers

With over 1,300 respondents worldwide last year, the Digital Learning Realities research, led by Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, and Learning Technologies, Europe’s leading workplace learning event, is now in its fourth year.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group said, ‘There is an almost constant stream of predictions about what will be the next big thing in digital learning. Some years it’s a new technology or content type, other years it’s a new learning methodology that is going to transform the future of learning! It can feel overwhelming, so being able to cut through the hype is critical.’

He continues, ‘We know that L&D professionals appreciate and value our independent analysis and annual data showing what people are actually using today – as well as what they’re planning for the future, in order to support the ongoing process of digital transformation’.

Learning Technologies Event Director, Mark Penton, commented ‘There are over 10,000 L&D professionals who are members worldwide within our Learning and Skills group community. And what this joint research with Fosway enables us to do is offer global insight that supports them in making informed decisions around their digital learning. We’re looking forward to seeing what the results of this year’s research brings.’

To take part, complete the survey here. Findings will be shared directly with all respondents, with the headlines exclusively unveiled at the Learning Technologies conference and exhibition in London on 13th and 14th February 2019.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, has announced its analysis of the talent acquisition technology market. Starting with its current assessment of the recruitment industry in a freely available Viewpoint paper, Fosway has also confirmed in advance the publication of a new 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition in 2019.

The analyst’s research shows that 87% of organisations believe skills gaps will continue to widen. But finding the right people at the right time to fill these gaps is becoming increasingly challenging. Meanwhile, despite the technology solutions available continuing to expand and evolve rapidly, many candidates are left with poor or frustrating experiences.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway, commented, ‘From all Fosway’s research across 20+ years, we’ve never seen an imperative for change as strong as it is now within recruitment and talent acquisition technology. Recruiting processes aren’t fit for purpose to meet the challenges organisations are facing, this is a clear priority for increased investment and technological innovation – and yet as the war for talent rages, most do not have the tools or ammunition to fight it.’

He continued, ‘We’ve been monitoring and analysing this market for some time. But having an opinion is no longer enough – it’s time to turn our extensive data into actionable insight for HR professionals to help them tackle some of the challenges that exist in recruitment today. Work has already begun on the new Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition and in such a crowded, fragmented and competitive market, we expect it to make for interesting reading in 2019.’

The first Fosway Viewpoint in the talent acquisition series explores the current challenges facing organisations today and is available to download now.

For organisations looking to make better HR buying decisions faster, talk to us today.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, and UNLEASH have released new joint research headlines into the realities of HR across the corporate landscape of Europe.

With input from 500+ senior HR leaders, from predominantly enterprise organisations across Europe, the research highlights the changing face of HR today, and looks ahead to the landscape of tomorrow. It explores strategic HR challenges, future HR skills and investment, plus Artificial Intelligence (AI), analytics and the growing role of automation.

“What is fascinating about the reality of HR today is the cumulative impact of change; the ongoing war for talent, the challenge of creating strong people experiences, the pure speed of technology development…all of these forces are converging and piling the pressure on HR.“ said David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group. “There is also no doubt now that AI will be a huge part of whether or not HR is fit for the future. 95% of respondents see AI as impacting their strategy and 45% believe it will be ‘truly significant’ in less than two years. But as well as offering new answers, the advent of the AI era will further magnify stresses on HR, maybe to breaking point.”

He continues, “This year’s data highlights the need for a new and more agile approach. Conservative HR strategies simply aren’t going to cut it going forwards, because by the time the ink is dry, things will have moved on. Increasing business agility is now the #2 business driver for 86% of HR professionals, second only to increasing performance and profitability. The days of software deployments taking 18+ months are rapidly becoming a distant memory. Moving at the pace of the business, particularly where HR technology is concerned, is now a must.”

Peter Russell, director of UNLEASH comments, “There is a lot of hype about the changing face of HR and the possible impact of AI and automation. But this research gets to the core of why these are important areas for HR professionals to understand. The challenge isn’t that bots and automation are undermining HR jobs, it is actually about the need for HR to evolve, embrace the future of work and focus on how what it does can be reimagined to fit the future of work. And as always, we are delighted to share this research with our global community of HR leaders and exclusively launch the results at our World Conference and Expo in Amsterdam.”

The 2018-19 headlines, infographics and reports are available to download here.

This research highlights HR’s increasingly strategic role within organisations and how they can best leverage and apply the available technology by:

  • Understanding better the overall business challenges
  • Becoming more agile
  • Using high quality data analytics more effectively
  • Preparing for a digital ready culture

For organisations looking to make better HR buying decisions faster, talk to us today.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, today unveiled its new 2018 Fosway 9-Grids™ for both Cloud HCM (Human Capital Management) and Integrated Talent Management (ITM).

2018 Fosway 9-Grid - Cloud HCMThe Fosway 9-Grids™ help to demystify the supplier side of the next gen HR, learning and talent markets, assisting HR leaders in making informed decisions around their solution choices. It is the only industry analysis specifically targeted to help HR decision makers in Europe compare supplier solutions based on their Performance, Potential, Market Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and Future Trajectory.

“At an overall level, HR is trying to evolve to deal with big changes in work and in the workforce” said David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group. “Moving HR into the Cloud and engaging with strategic HR processes in a connected way with a great employee experience is no longer just optional. Customers using Cloud HCM platforms are three time more likely to report value for money than traditional HR systems, and maybe more importantly, are also able to be much more agile. New innovations in people analytics and artificial intelligence will only accelerate this further in the future.”

He continues, “Meanwhile, the value of talent management to organisations against a backdrop of skills shortages continues to increase. In 2018 and beyond, managing talent is not just another HR process, it is the vehicle for delivering an organisation’s Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Both these new 2018 Fosway 9-Grids™ reflect the changing nature of the markets, with new inclusions and new positioning that reflect how suppliers are working to really tackle today’s HR challenges.”

The Fosway 9-Grid™ model is now in its sixth annual research cycle and is based on independent research and insights from Fosway’s corporate research network, as well as market profiling, briefing activities and customer feedback.

Each Fosway 9-Grid™ is accompanied by an analyst report, outlining the broader trends and context in each market. The free reports for both Cloud HCM and Integrated Talent Management, including market commentaries and solution trends, are available to download now.

The Fosway 9-Grids™ for Learning Systems and Digital Learning are also updated annually in January.

David Perring, director of research at Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR and learning analyst, will share the latest digital learning insights in the keynote address at this week’s Digital Learning Disruption event in Dubai.

David Perring Digital Learning Insights DubaiHosted by Biz Group – UAE, the annual event focuses on bringing new trends and research to learning and development professionals based across the Middle East. Perring’s keynote will explore the realities of digital learning today and the opportunities presented by the digital transformation of businesses across the world, including:

  • The learning technologies people are using today and what they plan to use tomorrow
  • How to put digital learning technology into context
  • The implications of digital disruption for your learning strategy, systems and content

Perring commented, ‘The world of work is changing radically. Work is being transformed by new digital revolution. A shift in demographics is changing the balance of worker expectations. The global war for talent is intensifying. Against a back drop of shifts in economics, politics and legalisation, what does it take for L&D to be fit for the future?’

‘Many organisations are in the process of a digital transformation of their L&D. But from what we see, much of that is tinkering around the edges rather than truly redefining what L&D is and truly transforming their approach to be ready for the changes and challenges of the future. There is much to learn and there has never been a more exciting time to be involved in L&D.’

He continues, ‘And that’s why I’m excited about having a chance to discover whats happening in the Middle East, share the lessons learned from our global research and explore how learning professionals in this region can seize the opportunities that are emerging from digital learning.’

Hazel Jackson, CEO of Biz Group added, ‘We’re committed to bringing the very latest L&D trends to our audience and the Middle East region, so it’s a privilege to host David Perring as our keynote speaker. Not only will we hear new analysis and research data, but crucially our attendees will have the unique opportunity to workshop David’s practical insights and take away their own unique action plan from the event.’

If you would like more detail about the Digital Learning Disruption event, e-mail [email protected]

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR and Learning Analyst, tackles transforming learning in the digital age in his keynote session at this month’s EMEA Perspectives 2018. The annual EMEA conference, hosted by Skillsoft, SumTotal and Percipio, takes place in London on 14 May 2018.

David Wilson CEO Fosway Group Skillsoft SumTotal EMEA PerspectivesDrawing on Fosway’s current research across HR, talent and learning, Wilson’s session addresses a key challenge facing organisations today. His keynote will explore:

•    The secrets to L&D becoming a truly digital function
•    Why digital learning and development can be pivotal to your organisation’s success
•    How the shift to digital helps bridge skills gaps
•    The tools and technologies you’ll be using – from AI to analytics
•    The implications for your current learning systems and content

Explained Wilson, ‘Everyone seems to be talking about the digital transformation of learning. But simply creating more digital content or resources is not enough. Success is about thinking digital first across the talent lifecycle – from attracting and acquiring the best new talent, to developing and retaining your people through seamless and engaging learning experiences.’

He continued ‘Fosway’s research is focused on looking at the realities facing HR, talent and learning professionals today. Innovation and new technologies are exciting, but the bigger story is really around the opportunity to reposition learning as a more strategic part of the business agenda. And I’m looking forward to leading on this at EMEA Perspectives 2018.’

Steve Wainwright, Managing Director EMEA, Skillsoft & SumTotal Systems commented, ‘We’re delighted to announce David Wilson as our keynote speaker at this year’s EMEA Perspectives event. David’s unique insights in how to harness the power of digital learning effectively within our customers’ organisations will be a compelling part of this year’s event, which expects to attract over 250 L&D leaders from all over EMEA.’

More details about Perspectives 2018 event can be found here: http://perspectives.skillsoft.com/2018EMEA/

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR and Learning Analyst, announces the appointment of its director of research, David Perring, to the international advisory board of the Learning & Performance Institute (LPI). He joins a select group of influential business leaders helping to shape and develop the LPI’s strategy for the global learning community. David Perring_director of research_Fosway Group

With over 30 years’ experience at the forefront of learning innovation, Perring has a unique view of L&D based on his time as practitioner and as an analyst. In his role as director of research, he independently explores the experiences of learning professionals and suppliers, to understand the realities of what’s really happening in organisations today, and what is helping them make a difference.

The appointment brings this depth of insight to the LPI’s mission to promote, empower and support best practice in workplace learning and its impact on organisational performance.

Perring explains, ‘Today we seem to be entering a genuine step change in our profession. As big as I have seen since I first became an LPI member 20 years ago. And with such seismic shifts coming in how we work, and learn I am really excited about working the Advisory Board to help shape the future. It’s an absolute privilege.’

CEO of the LPI, Edmund Monk comments, ‘We’re delighted to have David as part of our Advisory Board. His wealth of experience and enthusiasm for transforming learning will add great value to our members across the world. Plus, his analysis and insights from Fosway’s research add a new dimension to a profession that really needs the right data and informed decision making to move forward.’

Perring’s tenure on the Advisory Board kicked off at the Spring meeting of the LPI’s Learning Network in London where he led a lively discussion on ‘Digging into the realities of digital learning’. The presentation can be accessed here. For further information on the Advisory Board and its work, visit the LPI website.

New research opened today which aims to uncover the real picture of next generation learning technology and what’s really working for organisations in practice. The Digital Learning Realities research, led by Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR and learning analyst, and leading workplace learning event – Learning Technologies – is now in its third year and is extending its reach worldwide for the first time.

With over 1100 respondents in 2017, the scope of the research for 2018 includes dedicated data collection for the Asia-Pacific region, following the success of the inaugural Learning Technologies Asia. A French version of the research is also being launched to provide insight and input into the new Learning Technologies France event.

The research will reveal unique independent data on learning budgets, skills, technologies and the market as a whole that cannot be found anywhere else. From exploring virtual reality or mastering MOOCs, to increasing video and mobile content, and working with Learning Management Systems (LMSs), the Digital Learning Realities research addresses the breadth of solutions L&D professionals are faced with today.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group said “There remains a lot of hype around learning technology. And whilst it’s important to explore new innovations, what matters most to L&D and their wider organisations is what can have an impact now.”

He continues “The term digital learning can divide opinion, but as digital transformation continues to be a key driver for change in most organisations today, it is a business critical area because current data shows that solutions are not living up to the hype. And we need to understand what ‘good’ really looks like. These research findings will be an invaluable resource for learning professionals looking to create the seemingly elusive digital solution that will help to truly transform L&D.”

Learning Technologies Event Director, Mark Penton, commented “The Digital Learning Realities research continues to grow in importance. It highlights the trends that every learning professional needs to know and it’s critical that L&D has access to the right data that will help us move forward as a profession. The extended global reach of the research also means we can create region-specific insights that enable our different audiences to benchmark their progress against their learning peers worldwide.”

To take part, complete the survey now. The results will be unveiled at the Learning Technologies conference and exhibition in London on 31 January and 1 February 2018. Detailed findings will then be shared directly with respondents. Subsequent analysis and updates will continue throughout the year.

The results of the 2017 Digital Learning Realities research can be downloaded online now.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR and learning analyst, today unveils its updated 2018 Fosway 9-Grids™ for Learning Systems and Digital Learning. Now in their sixth annual research cycle, the Fosway 9-Grids™ provide the only independent view of the HR and learning technology markets in Europe.

2018 Fosway 9-Grid - Digital Learning_SmallThe aim of the Fosway 9-Grids™ is to demystify the supply options available to organisations, helping learning professionals make informed decisions around their solution needs. They uniquely calibrate data across five key areas: Performance, Potential, Market Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and Future Trajectories across the market.

“Our research shows that the digital learning market continues to be buoyant, with an increasingly diverse range of solutions available. Customer expectations have also changed as L&D departments look for greater impact and learner experience” said David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group. “Going forwards, L&D needs to be digitally-led rather than digitally supported. This has major implications for supplier choice as well as how different supply options fit together to create a coherent digital learning ecosystem.”

He continues, “Next Gen Learning Environments (NGLEs) continue to disrupt the Learning Systems market with growing adoption rates. But whilst video, microlearning and user generated content are all increasingly popular, buyers should beware just trying to jump on the latest bandwagons. The Fosway 9-Grids™ are proving to be a vital resource for organisations making the right decisions about their future innovation and technology choices.”

Each Fosway 9-Grid™ is accompanied by an analyst report, outlining some of the broader trends and context in each market. To download your free reports for both Learning Systems and Digital Learning including market commentaries and solution trends, click here.

Due to the different pace of innovation and nature of the market developments in authoring systems, the Fosway 9-Grid™ for Authoring Systems remains under review, and plans for future updates will be confirmed later this year.

The Fosway 9-Grids™ will be available in the Fosway Analyst Lounge at Learning Technologies France 23rd-24th January and in London on 31st January and 1st February.

For organisations seeking greater detail of the data behind the Fosway 9-Grids™ or looking for a ‘Critical Friend’ for independent advice and feedback around learning and HR innovation, the newly launched Fosway Corporate Connect service is now helping individuals, teams and enterprises to accelerate and de-risk their strategies and decision-making. Details of this new programme can be found here.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR and learning analyst, and Learning Technologies, the world’s leading workplace learning event, announce the launch of its annual Digital Learning Realities research at the inaugural Learning Technologies Asia on 7-8 November 2017.

Digital Learning Realities Initial Headlines 2017Now entering its third year, this research gathers data from thousands of learning and development professionals around the world. It aims to provide the definitive research on the digital learning market, uncovering the trends, tools and technologies that are really impacting corporate learning today; from key drivers of learner engagement and business agility, to who is actually using virtual reality and MOOCs, to exclusive statistics on L&D teams, budgets and investments.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group, is also speaking at the Learning Technologies Asia conference on next generation learning, drawing on the current research to provide unique insights on the transformation of learning systems to learning experiences.

‘With over a thousand L&D practitioners already taking part in the Digital Learning Realities research each year, we are already bringing some much-needed clarity to what can be a market dominated by hype, fads and pseudo-trends,’ explains Wilson. ‘And with Learning Technologies bringing its exciting events to new locations around the world, it’s a great opportunity to capture even more useful data that will help L&D transform. It’s our aim to get to the heart of what’s really working – and not working – for organisations in practice. And we’ll be providing results with a global overview, but also drilling down into the location specific data to support attendees in each country.’

Donald Taylor, Chairman of Learning Technologies comments, ‘We know from our attendees around the world and over 10,000 members of the Learning and Skills Group that there is huge demand for data on what really works in L&D. Over the past two years we have gathered thousands of responses to this research, and with the inaugural Learning Technologies Asia, it’s now exciting to extend it further into the Far East.’

He continues, ‘I’m looking forward to building a useful region-specific view of digital learning, as well as adding to the detailed global picture we are already creating.’

The current 2017 Digital Learning Realities results can be downloaded in a series of three complimentary reports here. The 2018 research opens later this month.

The full conference agenda for Learning Technologies Asia is also available online with social media updates accessible via #LT17Asia.

With economic, technological and social change creating a perfect storm for organisations and employees alike, 600+ HR leaders gave us their views on the future of work. Can HR’s strategies hold the key to success in these turbulent times?

FOSWAY HR TECH WORLD HR REALITIES INFOGRAPHIC 2017-18Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR analyst, and HR Tech World, the largest international enterprise HR show focused on the Future of Work & Technology today release new joint research into the realities of HR across the corporate landscape of Europe. The data includes responses from over 600 HR leaders and will be unveiled at HR Tech World, Amsterdam.

This research highlights HR’s changing role in tackling the challenges facing organisations today, including:

* How to become an employer of choice as the war for talent intensifies
* Dealing with diversity in an aging workforce
* Just how suited are HR processes for the Modern Workforce?
* Increasing HR budgets but decreasing HR headcount – where is the money going?
* Innovation and digital transformation – why new technologies such as AI and blockchain are far from a reality for most organisations (but could be critically important!)
* Why managers and organisational culture getting in the way of employee engagement

For the first time, the research focused on the increasingly key areas of employee engagement and wellbeing. It also shines a spotlight on the influential role of HR in defining the Employer Value Proposition. 5 out of the top 6 EVP elements are owned by HR, helping to attract, retain and develop the best talent.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group said, “This research really demonstrates the strategic role HR has to play in the future success of organisations in an increasingly competitive market for skills and talent.” said David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group, “There is a great opportunity for HR to extend its influence right now. But, with a decrease in headcount and rise in HR technology spend the need to innovate and be agile is vital. Forward thinking organisations are already looking at or using new approaches including: Video based recruiting (84%), continuous employee appreciation (82%) and social recruitment (77%). But with only 12% of organisations using Artificial Intelligence currently, the rate of innovation is only going to accelerate. Those that are early adopters of technology will see the benefits.”

Peter Russell, director of HR Tech World comments, “With more disruption facing organisations than ever, it is actually an exciting time for HR to help shape the shifting modern workforce and define the future of work. This research is so important as it paints a current picture of what’s really happening both in terms of technology trends and disruption, but also broader changes to how organisations function. All HR professionals will benefit from better understanding these challenges and where the opportunities for impact and influence lie in the year ahead.”  

An overview and accompanying infographic of the HR Realities 2017-18 research is now available here. A series of in-depth papers analysing the data will follow from next month. HR Tech World runs from 24-25 October 2017.

For organisations looking for a ‘Critical Friend’ for independent feedback and advice around HR innovation and technology projects in 2018 and beyond, the newly launched Fosway Corporate Connect service is now helping individuals, teams and enterprises to accelerate and de-risk their strategies and decision-making. Details of this new programme are now live here.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR analyst, today unveiled its updated 2017 Fosway 9-Grids™ for both Cloud HCM (Human Capital Management) and Integrated Talent Management (ITM).

Fosway 9-Grid - Cloud HCM 2017The Fosway 9-Grids™ help to demystify the supplier side of the HR technology market, assisting HR leaders in making informed decisions around their solution needs. It is the only analysis research specifically targeted to help HR decision makers in Europe compare vendor solutions based on their Performance, Potential, Market Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and Future Trajectories across the market.

‘Our research shows that moving HR to the Cloud seems to have an unstoppable momentum. With the promise of faster deployment, lower IT costs, and continuous innovation, especially around analytics and a consumer grade user experience, Cloud HCM is becoming central to corporate HR technology buying patterns’ said David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group. ‘And although consolidation of systems seems to be a key driver, we also know that for HR professionals, it is also about being able to take a more strategic role in organisational decision making and raising the level of insight around people capability and performance.’

He continues, ‘Our updated Fosway 9-Grid™ for ITM shows us that Talent Management was often just seen as a means of increasing the effectiveness of specific talent processes. But there has been a subtle change, so that now Talent Management is the vehicle of delivering an integrated Employee Value Proposition, rather than just HR processes. We also know that potential employees are increasingly attracted by an organisations commitment to develop them and career progression, as well as working in a progressive and dynamic organisational culture. But currently, as little as 23% of organisations feel their talent process really live up to employees changing expectations.’

The Fosway 9-Grid™ model is now in its fifth annual research cycle and is based on independent research and insights from Fosway’s corporate research network, as well as market profiling, briefing activities and customer feedback.

Each Fosway 9-Grid™ is accompanied by an analyst report, outlining some of the broader trends and context in each market. Download your free reports for both Cloud HCM and Integrated Talent Management, including market commentaries and solution trends, here.

The Fosway 9-Grids™ for Learning Systems, Digital Learning and Authoring Systems are also updated annually in January.

For organisations seeking greater detail of the data behind the Fosway 9-Grids™ or looking for a ‘Critical Friend’ for independent feedback and advice around HR innovation and technology projects in 2018 and beyond, the new Fosway Corporate Connect service is now helping individuals, teams and enterprises to accelerate and de-risk their strategies and decision-making. Details of this new programme are now live here.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR and learning analyst, today announces the appointment of Carole Laithwaite as its Chief Operating Officer. The role supports the continued growth of the firm, with close involvement in Fosway’s overall strategy and execution.

Carole Laithwaite Fosway GroupCarole joins Fosway Group with a proven industry record, having successfully contributed to the development and implementation of growth strategies and scaling operating processes in rapidly expanding organisations. Prior to joining Fosway Group, Carole was Chief Operating Officer for Kallidus, responsible for providing day to day operational leadership and building teams that share a common ethos for delivering customer excellence.

She will work in close partnership with CEO David Wilson across Fosway’s HR and learning practices, with particular focus on corporate clients, in addition to supporting the longer-term vision for the company.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group comments, ‘Carole joins us with a wealth of valuable experience, both in terms of industry-specific knowledge and expertise, and a proven ability to transform business strategy. As we continue to grow, her role will further grow our engagement with corporate clients which remains a key priority for Fosway. She will also assume responsibility for the operational day to day operations of the business. We are delighted to have her onboard.’

Carole comments, ‘Fosway Group has a great heritage and is highly respected in the marketplace, so it is an exciting time to join as it extends its reach internationally. Fosway’s research and understanding of Next Gen HR and Learning is unrivalled in Europe, as is its understanding of European corporate needs and challenges. I look forward to working with our clients and our analyst team to really take Fosway’s business, market influence and industry insights to the next level.’

The 2017-18 HR Realities research is now live, continuing the success of the only cross-European insights into HR technology and its impact on the future of work. Led by Europe’s #1 HR and learning analyst, Fosway Group, in partnership with HR Tech World, the research is now in its fifth year and is open to HR professionals across Europe and the rest of the world.

Covering topics including strategic HR challenges, employee engagement and wellness, analytics and emerging technologies such as blockchain and chatbots, the data generated by the HR Realities research captures insight that is not available anywhere else.
With hundreds of enterprise organisations participating, the research will highlight HR technology priorities for the year ahead. The current reports are available to download here.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group, comments, ‘Against a backdrop of increasing innovation in HR technology, it’s actually many of the people-first elements of HR like employee engagement, wellness and employer branding that are becoming business critical. Technology can help transform these areas, but whilst the promise of new apps, tools and systems might seem exciting – choosing the right ones, understanding the total cost of ownership and then implementing them successfully is another matter. Thanks to the ongoing participation of the HR community, this research gets beyond the hype to what’s really happening, and helps navigate the changing world of work.’

Peter Russell of HR Tech World continues, ‘As HR Tech World continues to expand internationally, it is increasingly important to us to understand the challenges HR professionals contend with when selecting, implementing and managing an array of technology-led solutions. These technologies should augment what HR is doing, not become a challenge in and of themselves. This research enables our community to keep up with the trends and insights that will help HR technology succeed in practice and helps us to create events that continue to challenge, innovate and inspire HR professionals.’

The 2017-18 research is now open here with all respondents immediately eligible to win free attendance at HR Tech World in Amsterdam on 24 and 25 October 2017. In addition, all respondents will receive early, priority access to the research reports when they are published at the end of the year, in readiness for 2018.

Cross-European research into the impact of BREXIT on organisations from a HR perspective opens today. Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR analyst is conducting the research in partnership with HRN, the world’s largest corporate HR network, with the results to be revealed at HR Tech World Congress in London next month.

‘With the impending enactment of Article 50 by the UK government, we are keen to help HR professionals understand what impact HR is seeing from BREXIT on organisations today – both across Europe and Worldwide’ comments David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group. ‘It’s been subject to a lot of debate and opinion with no real hard facts on how it is really affecting important areas of investment and future direction including recruitment, succession planning and even organisations’ physical locations.’

Peter Russell, Director of HRN, comments, ‘BREXIT cannot be the elephant in the room for European HR. It is an important topic we are addressing at this year’s London event in a number of topical sessions. So, we are looking forward to revealing the realities faced by HR professionals at the moment, and how BREXIT is going to ultimately shape their strategy over the coming 12 months and beyond.’

Hundreds of leading organisations already contribute to joint research from Fosway and HRN into HR technology and its impact on the future of work.

The BREXIT research is now open here with all respondents immediately eligible for priority access to the results next month.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR and learning analyst, reveals the realities of digital learning in organisations today with insights from over 1000 learning and development professionals. These are interim results of Fosway’s ongoing digital learning realities research, conducted in partnership with Europe’s leading workplace learning event – Learning Technologies, and its supporting community, the Learning and Skills Group. The headline results were unveiled at the Learning Technologies conference and exhibition in London.

Some key headlines from the interim analysis show that the key drivers for digital learning are increasing learning availability (87%), speed of learning (84%) and learner engagement (83%). Both digital learning platforms and content are seeing an increase in investment, accompanied by increased investment in the digital learning team. The areas of digital learning that are seeing most new demand are video learning (77%), mobile learning (76%), and learner engagement (74%) from a platform perspective.

Despite the rapid growth in interest in non-traditional digital approaches, commitment to the LMS remains very strong with 96% of organisations maintaining or increasing their use. On a negative front, there is concern from learning buyers regarding the quality of solutions for virtual reality and serious games, and MOOCs have the lowest customer experience. The data also explores where digital learning has the most impact, the technology that’s in demand and changing investment for the year ahead. More extensive analysis will be available from Fosway after the research has closed in formal reports to follow.

‘We are passionate about bringing clarity to what can be a market dominated by hype, fads and pseudo-trends,’ explained CEO of Fosway Group, David Wilson. ‘It’s important to uncover the realities of digital learning to get to the heart of what’s really working – and not working – for organisations in practice as well as their experiences with digital learning suppliers. It’s about more than just the tools and technologies. Whilst learner engagement as a whole has risen, there are still significant issues concerns over the quality of the customer experience and creating a strategy that delivers sustainable business impact.’

Mark Penton, Learning Technologies Event Director adds, ‘We know from our attendees and over 10,000 members of the Learning and Skills Group that there is huge demand for insight on what already works in L&D – and what’s coming next. The increased participation in this research means we are able to provide a comprehensive picture of what’s really happening in workplace learning today, with the aim of supporting learning professionals in practice.’

With data already taken from 1060 respondents, the Digital Learning Realities research remains open until after the Learning Technologies event. The full results will be published in a freely available report in March 2017. An interim infographic is available via the Fosway website and is also available in the Fosway Analyst Lounge on Stand R20 at Learning Technologies on 1-2 February 2017.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR and learning analyst, and Learning Technologies, Europe’s largest workplace learning event, are sharing new analysis into digital learning in 2017. This ongoing research, now in its second year, reveals the reality of technology-led learning in organisations today. Further insights will also be explored at this month’s Learning Technologies Summer Forum in London.

Digital Learning Realities 2017 LargeThe research shares unique data on how digital learning in organisations is structured and funded. Over 90% of respondents expect their investment in learning platforms and content to increase or stay the same in the coming 12 months. But overall, digital learning suffers from under investment, with 41% of organisations budgeting just £100k or less per annum.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group comments, ‘Our ongoing analysis and research into digital learning shows that there isn’t necessarily an optimum level of investment – more spend does not guarantee more impact or value from the learning. But being able to compare budgets, teams and headcounts for the first time gives L&D professionals a unique benchmark to gauge how well they are resourced to provide what their learners need, where and when they need it.’

Mark Penton, Learning Technologies Event Director adds, ‘The aim of this research is to cut through the hype and uncover what’s really happening in L&D today. The wealth of data is telling some interesting stories and we’re pleased to be able to give our community these unique insights on how their teams and budgets compare with their peers.’

Part one of the Digital Learning Realities research focuses on L&D structure and organisation, digital learning teams and headcounts, as well as budgets and investment trends. The full report is now freely available to download here. The next report in the series explore what is working – and what isn’t – for L&D buyers. A final report summarises the key drivers, measures of success and overall trends in digital learning in 2017.

Analysts from Fosway will be hosting multiple sessions at the upcoming Learning Technologies Summer Forum and will be in attendance throughout the event to discuss the research in more detail.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR and learning analyst, today unveiled its annual Fosway 9-Grids™ for Digital Learning, Learning Systems and Authoring Systems. Now in their fifth year, the 2017 Fosway 9-Grids™ have been recalibrated to reflect major shifts in the learning technology market and the evolving demands of corporate learning and development.

Fosway 9-Grid - Digital Learning 2017The aim of the Fosway 9-Grid™ model is to provide greater context to organisations investing in learning technology, particularly those based, or operating in EMEA. The analysis uniquely captures five different levels of insight into a vendor’s position in the market, showing their Performance, Potential, Market Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and expectations of their Future Trajectory.

‘This year’s 9-Grids™ for learning reflect major changes we are seeing in the market, as learning becomes increasingly digital and solutions evolve to meet next generation needs’ said David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group. ‘The Fosway 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning reflects a major change in scope as vendors have evolved to now deliver many formats of digital content, new platforms, and strategic services to help their customers.’

He continues, ‘The new Fosway 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems replaces the previous 9-Grid™ for LMS and now includes both LMS and Next Gen Learning Environments (NGLE). These systems are seeing increased adoption rates, with new approaches to learner engagement and supporting new types of content. The Fosway 9-Grid™ for Authoring Systems also reflects the shift to digital learning as well as the changing nature of authoring to a more dynamic, collaborative process that leaves many of the traditional tools behind.’

He concludes, ‘This is why we update the 9-Grids™ every year, so that the research is always current and gives organisations up-to-date reference points to help them make the right decisions at the right time.’

The Fosway 9-Grid™ model is now in its fifth annual research cycle and is based on independent research and insights from Fosway’s corporate research network, as well as market profiling, briefing activities and customer feedback. Each Fosway 9-Grid™ is accompanied by an analyst report, outlining the solution trends and context in each market. To download free copies for each of the new Fosway 9-Grids™ visit the Fosway website.

The 9-Grids™ will also be available in the Fosway Analyst Lounge on Stand R20 at Learning Technologies on 1-2 February 2017.

New research opened today to get beyond the hype surrounding the next generation of learning technology and uncover what is working for organisations in practice. The Digital Learning: European Realities research is led by Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR and learning analyst, and Europe’s leading workplace learning event – Learning Technologies – and its supporting community – The Learning and Skills Group.

The research has launched as part of the build up to Learning Technologies 2017, with the initial results to be unveiled at the event in London on 1-2 February next year. Over 1000 L&D professionals took part in the research last year, making it the largest digital learning survey in Europe.

The results will provide both L&D professionals and suppliers with comprehensive insights on what digital technologies are being used in learning, and how, why and where in the workplace they are being applied. Uniquely, the research will also deliver data on the digital learning market itself, including trends, supplier innovation and customer satisfaction.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group explained, ‘There is often a lot of hype around new technology being touted as the next big thing in learning. But the truth is that what organisations are using or plan to use, can be far removed from the gloss of the latest new fad. As organisations focus on digital transformation and the industry looks towards the future of digital learning, it’s important to understand what’s real and how the market is really evolving.’

He continues, ‘Fosway’s research covers both the customer and vendor sides of the digital learning market, which means our analysts often uncover the hidden realities of technology that’s really being used in organisations, what’s working well– and what’s not. The aim of this research is to look at the innovation that’s being adopted in practice, get to the heart of what’s successful now, and understand how the market will develop over the next 12 months.’

Learning Technologies Event Director, Mark Penton, commented, ‘Over the past 16 years, we have seen the learning market transform dramatically thanks to the ongoing innovation in new technology. It’s so important to understand the impact these changes continue to have on L&D both now and in the future. Our goal is to provide the learning community with invaluable insights and reference material to use in their strategy and procurement for the year ahead, and we’re excited to share the results at Learning Technologies in February.’

To take part in the research, complete the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/P17 Findings will be shared directly with all respondents, once they are unveiled at the Learning Technologies conference and exhibition in London on 1 and 2 February 2017, with subsequent updates shared throughout the year.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR analyst, and HRN, the world’s largest corporate HR network, today release new joint research into the realities of HR across the corporate landscape of Europe. The data includes responses from over 500 senior HR professionals and will be unveiled at HR Tech World Congress in Paris.

Fosway and HRN HR Realities Research Infographic October 2016The results demonstrate the ongoing focus in HR of transforming its strategy, and its supporting technologies. Increasing the organisation’s performance and profitability (91%) continues to be the biggest overall driver, but increasing business agility (87%) has risen significantly to become joint second. Both are central to the continued move away from transactional HR services to increasing business impact.

To support these strategic goals, organisations are evolving their adoption and use of HR technology. The rise of Cloud technologies continues as more businesses move away from on-premise and hosted HR systems, with 73% identifying the benefits of Cloud solutions as their top driver for changing systems. Overall focus for investment is on HR technology (79%) and HR skills, with 30% of organisations expecting to see a decline in HR headcount overall. 48% of respondents identified user experience as critically important in technology selection.  But with only 24% of organisations saying that HR technology frequently or always has a positive impact, the research also shows that there is still significant room for improvement, as well as innovation.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group said, ‘This research shows how HR is truly transforming, but there are still significant barriers to achieving a transformative impact. The promise of Cloud solutions including lower IT costs, faster innovation and better user experiences are becoming a reality for many organisations. The challenges in Europe are unique however. Only 35% of organisations work with standardised HR systems and have additional layers of complexity to contend with, such as multiple languages, cultures and regulatory requirements.’

Peter Russell of HRN comments, ‘This is an exciting time in HR technology. But making informed decisions and understanding the impact of new and existing solutions is key to an organisation’s success. Our research with Fosway Group is now in its fourth year and gives our growing network of HR professionals around the world a chance to share their experiences. These insights can prove invaluable to others and we’re delighted to support this ongoing analysis.’

An overview and accompanying infographic of the HR Realities research is now available to download here. A series of in-depth papers analysing the data will follow from next month. HR Tech World Congress runs from 25-26 October 2016.

In addition to the European HR Realities research, Fosway has also released its new Fosway 9-Grid™market analysis for Cloud HCM for the first time, as well as updating the Fosway  9-Grid™ for Integrated Talent Management which are freely available to download for those evaluating new technology solutions.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR analyst, today unveiled its new Fosway 9-Grid™ for Cloud HCM (Human Capital Management) for the first time. It also announced the 2016 update to its popular Fosway 9-Grid™ for Integrated Talent Management (ITM).

The aim of the Fosway 9-Grid™ is to provide greater context to organisations based, or operating in EMEA. The analysis uniquely captures five different levels of insight into a vendor’s position in the market, showing their Performance, Potential, Market Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and expectations of their Future Trajectory.

‘Our research shows that organisations continue to move away from on-premise or hosted HR systems to realise the benefits offered by the Cloud, including lower IT costs, faster innovation and better user experiences. They are also seeking to simplify a complex HR system landscape scattered with multiple core HR systems and specialist functional applications.’ said David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group, ‘This creates significant challenges in selecting the right solution strategy. The new Fosway 9-Grid™ for Cloud HCM has been in development for over two years and is the only analysis research specifically targeted to help HR decision makers in Europe.’

He continues, ‘We have also updated the Fosway 9-Grid™ for Integrated Talent Management. The war for talent continues to rage, and pressure is on organisations to streamline and innovate processes at every stage of the lifecycle – from talent acquisition and recruitment, through to performance management. These are business critical challenges, so it’s important we continue to provide insight and analysis that supports the buying process in this market.’

The Fosway 9-Grid™ model is now in its fourth annual research cycle and is based on independent research and insights from Fosway’s corporate research network, as well as market profiling, briefing activities and customer feedback.

Each Fosway 9-Grid™ is accompanied by an analyst report, outlining some of the broader trends and context in each market. To download your free reports for both Cloud HCM and integrated talent management, including market commentaries and solutions insights, click here.

The Fosway 9-Grids™ for Learning Management Systems, Digital Learning and Authoring are updated annually in January.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 independent HR analyst, this month marks 20 years of learning and HR technology research since its inception in 1996. As part of its anniversary, Fosway is opening its archive of research, sharing some of its original papers, models and insights. Its analysts will also be exploring what the next 20 years will bring, as organisations try to keep pace with the digital revolution.

Founded in 1996 by current CEO, David Wilson, Fosway Group, originally known as Elearnity, was formed with a focus on 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.

With a wide portfolio of major corporate clients including Alstom, Deutsche Bank, PwC, Rolls-Royce, Shell, Swiss Re and Vodafone, Fosway’s analysts have developed a unique understanding of the realities of HR, talent and learning and how it is changing within European organisations. This insight is coupled with independent supplier research to ensure an objective insider view of market developments and innovation.

CEO, David Wilson, comments, ‘The last 20 years have obviously brought about massive changes both in technology and how we interact with it. This has made our job at Fosway both challenging and rewarding. But whilst this anniversary is 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 in 1996 on collaborative and social learning and criticism of the isolation of ‘click next’ e-learning, through to our early advocacy of cloud computing and transforming HR.’

He continues, ‘There are also valuable insights that can be gained from reflection. Opening our archive has enabled us to explore just how far corporate learning, talent and HR, has come. But it also highlights what has been slow to change; many of our insights from 10 or 15 years ago could have been written yesterday! For instance, why has it taken until the last couple of years for user experience to become such a hot topic? And problems of legacy systems, lack of employee engagement and outdated IT policies are all still issues that continue to impact companies today. But as organisations become increasingly digital, there is a unique opportunity for HR and L&D to become real agents for change, which we believe is long overdue.’

The future remains exciting for Fosway, with the team having doubled in size following the successful rebrand from Elearnity. Unique industry partnerships including those with HRN and Learning Technologies further extend the reach of its research and the depth of its insights.

The first in the ‘Fosway 20’ series is now available here. Archive research papers and reports will also be released regularly over the coming months. To join in with any reflections on your time in learning and HR technology, use the hashtag #Fosway20

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR and learning analyst, today announces the appointment of Fiona Leteney as a new Senior Analyst. The role will support the continuing growth of its next gen learning analyst practice and engagement with corporate clients and organisations across Europe.

Fiona Leteney Fosway Group Senior AnalystLeteney joins Fosway Group as a recognised industry figure, with a wealth of experience of successfully implementing and managing learning solutions in a corporate context. She has worked in the learning technology market for over 16 years, and has most recently been Global Learning Technologies Services Manager at healthcare provider, BUPA. She is a long-standing columnist for E-learning Age magazine, with particular expertise and insight into e-learning standards. In recent years, Leteney has also spoken at numerous international industry events including HR Tech World and eLearning Africa.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group comments, ‘Our learning analyst practice is focused on helping corporate clients accelerate their decision making across all aspects of next generation learning. The team provides unparalleled insights into market realities for organisations in Europe, and share insights into what’s really going on in customer organisations, based on our independent research and client advisory engagements. Fiona’s first-hand experience makes her an ideal addition to the team, that further strengthens our insights and ability to support learning innovation in corporate L&D.’

Leteney comments, ‘I am delighted to join Fosway Group as part of its analyst team. As a learning professional who has used Fosway’s research for many years from within a corporate context, I am looking forward to helping others leverage the company’s unique insights and expertise. The role consolidates my experience across an ever evolving industry and lets me share this with other L&D professionals in a similar position.’

With a successful track record of 20 years’ experience, all Fosway analysts have worked directly in corporate organisations. This provides unique insights and a pragmatic approach to tackling the latest challenges within next gen HR and learning. Leteney joins the Fosway team in time for this week’s Learning Symposium and the upcoming Learning Technologies Summer Forum. She can be contacted directly via [email protected].

Find further details on Fosway Group’s current learning research here.

HRN logoThe 2016 HR Realities research launches this week, continuing the success of the only cross-European insights into HR technology and its impact on the future of work. Led by Europe’s #1 HR and learning analyst, Fosway Group, in partnership with HRN, the world’s largest corporate HR network, the research is in its third year and is open to HR professionals across the continent.

The data generated by the HR Realities research, takes a uniquely European perspective. It is designed to take into account the cultural nuances and regional subtleties that inform HR practices across a geography that inherently means working with multiple locations, legislations, currencies and languages.

With hundreds of enterprise organisations participating, the research has highlighted HR technology priorities for the year ahead. The current reports focus on key challenges including Cloud HR, a fragmented systems landscape and analytics.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group, comments, ‘Now in its third year, this research continues to provide a unique data set around the realities of HR technology in Europe. As solutions evolve, HR professionals need to be able to fully evaluate the optimum tools and technologies that will support their next generation HR strategies. This research provides invaluable insights for the HR community both in Europe, and beyond.’

Peter Russell of HRN continues, ‘As the HRN network continues to grow, it is vital to us to support HR professionals contending with the complexities of selecting, implementing and managing an array of technology-led solutions. These technologies should augment what they are doing, not become a challenge in and of themselves. The aim of our ongoing research with Fosway Group is to discover the trends and insights that will help HR technology succeed in practice.’

The 2016 research is now open here with all respondents immediately eligible for discounted attendance at HR Tech World Congress in Paris on 25 and 26 October 2016. In addition, all respondents will receive early, priority access to the research reports when they are published at the end of the year, in readiness for 2017.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR and learning analyst, today launches its annual 9-Grid™ analysis of the European market for Learning Management Systems, Authoring Tools and Bespoke Learning Solutions for 2016. Updates have been made to reflect the evolution of existing solutions and new market entrants. The Bespoke Learning 9-Grid™ is recalibrated to reflect the broadening portfolios of e-learning content providers.

2016 Fosway 9-Grid Bespoke Learning Solutions 0116_Model SmallThe Fosway 9-Grids™ provide a unique assessment of the principal learning and talent supply options available to organisations in EMEA. Now in its fourth year, the analysis is based on extensive independent research and insights from Fosway’s Corporate Research Network of over 150 customer organisations, including BP, HSBC, PwC, RBS, Sanofi, Shell and Vodafone.

The analysis is designed to provide much needed context to organisations investing in learning technology. The 9-Grids™ uniquely capture five different levels of insight into a vendor’s position in the market, highlighting their Performance, Potential, Market Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and expectations of their Future Trajectory.

‘External market forces, mergers and acquisitions, new technologies, and shifting client requirements all impact suppliers of learning solutions and their ability to meet an organisation’s needs’ explains Fosway Group CEO, David Wilson. ‘The Fosway 9-Grids™ lift the lid on the evolving – and buoyant – learning technologies market. Our aim is to help buyers select the solutions and suppliers that are the best fit for their particular challenges, including budgets, scope, functionality and importantly, customer service.’

He continues, ‘The newly recalibrated Fosway 9-Grid™ for Bespoke Learning Solutions is a good example of how our analysis reflects ongoing changes in the market. We recognise that many vendors have strengthened their portfolios, moving away from pure play e-learning to a wide range of solutions, platforms and services. So the model has shifted to include more than just bespoke content creation. This is why we update the 9-Grids™ annually so that organisations can stay up-to-date and make the right decisions at their point of need.’

The latest 9-Grids™ for 2016 are freely available to download now. Fosway Group will also be hosting the Fosway Analyst Lounge at this week’s Learning Technologies event. Visitors can collect their copies of the new 2016 Fosway 9-Grids™ as well as initial results from Fosway’s new strategic market research with Learning Technologies and the Learning and Skills Group, and discuss their current opportunities and challenges with the analyst team.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR and learning analyst, reveals the critical realities of HR technology across Europe, in partnership with HRN, the world’s largest corporate HR network focused on the future of work and technology. Ahead of the HR Tech World Spring event in London next week, the new research is being made available through a series of reports and infographics.

HR Critical Realities Infographic_SmallNow in its third year, the research takes an unashamedly European perspective and deliberately takes account for the cultural nuances and regional subtleties that inform the reality of HR across Europe. With input from hundreds of enterprise organisations across the continent, the research highlights a number of key priorities for HR this year. From the top measures for overall success, to the drivers for changing HR systems, the data is telling some interesting stories.

The alignment of HR as a strategic business partner remains a top priority, with 92% of respondents aiming to increase organisational performance and profitability through HR, 89% focused on reducing costs and 86% working to improve customer satisfaction and service quality. Employee engagement continues to be an important strategic goal. And data-driven decision making is seen as key, with analytics dominating a number of responses.

But with 64% of organisations having a decentralised HR operating model and less than 25% having standardised HR systems, accessing the data and insight required to achieve these goals is challenging. This decentralised landscape in Europe potentially also highlights why 78% of respondents are moving – or plan to move – their HR systems to the Cloud.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group comments, ‘When commentators and analysts talk about HR, the realities of what it means to work across the different countries and cultures of Europe are regularly ignored. HR is often viewed as a global business. But the reality for most European and international organisations is that HR can feel very different from a one size fits all approach. Research on the priorities, needs and differences for European companies has been very thin on the ground. With this new series of reports, we are redressing that balance.’

Peter Russell of HRN elaborates, ‘It is part of our passion to bring a European perspective to the discussion on HR and HR technology. This research takes that position, focusing on European HR trends, challenges and realities. And importantly, it focuses not just on what works, but what really makes a difference for European and international HR professionals. We are excited to share these deep insights and build further on this research with Fosway Group throughout 2016.’

Further insights based on the research will be presented at HR Tech World Spring in London on 15 and 16 March 2016. The report series can be accessed via the Fosway Group website as can information on Fosway and HRN’s further research in 2016.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR and learning analyst, today announces a new strategic research partnership with Europe’s leading workplace learning event – Learning Technologies – and its supporting community – The Learning and Skills Group. The partnership will provide the definitive research on the learning technology market in Europe.

Learning Technologies 2016 logoWith initial research starting ahead of Learning Technologies 2016, the research programme will be an ongoing initiative with updates shared at regular intervals via live events and webinars. The partnership will gather data from Europe’s largest cross section of learning technology customers and suppliers to create a much needed independent barometer of the learning technologies market in Europe.

The unique goals of the research include providing a comprehensive assessment of how successfully vendors and suppliers are currently serving users of learning technology. Customer satisfaction data will be gathered at both segment and supplier level, and valuable market sizing information collated for the first time.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group explains, ‘Fosway’s research covers both the customer and vendor sides of the learning technology market, which means our analysts often uncover the hidden realities of supplier relationships and the success of their solutions. This is valuable information and by working with Learning Technologies, Fosway can extend the scope of our research and the reach of our insights and share them with Europe’s largest community of L&D professionals.’

Learning Technologies Event Director, Mark Penton, comments, ‘We have been working within the learning technology market for over 15 years now, and are excited to deliver such important insights to our ever growing audience of L&D professionals. Fosway Group is the leading independent analyst in the European market, and partnering with them enables us to create a robust research process that is truly independent and comprehensive. And with initial results to be shared at Learning Technologies 2016, the Learning Technologies visitors and Learning and Skills Group community will benefit from the research findings very quickly and be able to build on these throughout the year.’

To take part in the first stage of the research, complete the initial short survey here. Findings will be shared directly with all respondents, once they are unveiled at the Learning Technologies conference and exhibition in London on 3 and 4 February 2016, with subsequent updates shared throughout the year.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 independent HR analyst, today announces the appointment of Kate Graham as its head of content and communications. The new role will support the accelerated growth in research output following the launch of the organisation’s rebrand and next generation HR analyst practice in April 2015.

Kate GrahamGraham joins Fosway Group with a wealth of experience across learning and development and HR. She was a founder and director of Ascot Communications and has previously worked extensively with both vendor and end-user organisations. She is also involved with numerous industry bodies and is known for her work supporting and coordinating social media coverage of leading European industry events.

The expansion of Fosway Group in 2015 has consolidated its view of the trends and underlying business drivers for change within HR and learning today. With a research agenda that now includes key themes from HR transformation, Cloud HCM and talent, to next generation learning, gamification and service delivery, Graham will drive an extended content library that builds on the existing 19+ years of Fosway’s reports and resources already available. The popular Fosway 9-Grid™ model continues to be applied to new market segments and updated Vendor Reports were launched this month, alongside unique cross-European HR realities research conducted with HRN, the organisers of the HR Tech World events. Further new research will be published in a variety of formats and across a number of different channels under Graham’s watch.

‘With our unrivalled research and insights into the realities of next generation HR and learning in Europe, it is an exciting time for Fosway Group’ explains David Wilson, CEO. ‘We are delighted to have Kate on board to accelerate the reach and impact of our research output, as well as to innovate with new content formats to increase our engagement with corporate clients. Her appointment will significantly reduce our time-to-market for new research and further expand the resources available to the broader market place.’

Graham comments, ‘I am thrilled to take up this role with Fosway Group, which enables me to share my industry experience and work with a great team that really understands the market. It is so important that we all learn what really works and what doesn’t. Too often, organisations embark on HR or learning initiatives that fail to have the desired impact. Fosway’s research, insights and network is unparalleled across Europe and I can’t wait to start sharing that output.’

Graham can be contacted directly via [email protected].

For further details on upcoming research, view the forward research agenda here.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 independent HR analyst, today releases its new Vendor Reports for the Learning Management Systems market. These comprehensive reports are a unique resource for European-based companies making decisions on their next generation learning and talent solutions.

Now in its sixth year, this research reflects the continuously evolving nature of the software market. Referencing the unique Fosway 9-Grid™ model, the Vendor Reports provide detailed analysis based on insights from Fosway’s Corporate Research Network and independent vendor briefing process. Each report focuses on an individual solution and includes in-depth commentary and scoring for Fosway’s core factors of Performance, Potential, Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and Trajectory. Also included are Functional Ratings on key selection criteria such as user interface, integration, reporting and analytics.

As David Perring, Director of Research explains, ‘Fosway’s latest Vendor Reports provide the next level of detail to the market view captured in our 9-Grid™ analysis. The aim of these reports is to support HR and learning professionals in making the right system decisions for their organisation. The data saves valuable time and effort in researching different solutions and helps eliminate risk by taking into account the expert insights and real-world experiences of other European companies that are using these solutions.’

He continues, ‘The Vendor Reports are currently being updated for the full spectrum of learning and talent, with specific reports for integrated talent management, authoring tools and bespoke e-learning providers, and with Cloud HCM and other categories to follow in 2016. But it isn’t just about the report documents. We are passionate about making sure companies get maximum value from our independent insight. That’s why each report is supplemented by an analyst call with one of the Fosway Analyst team, to enable organisations to discuss their specific questions and options in even more detail.’

The updated Vendor Reports are now available to purchase from Fosway Group. A free sample and more information are available here.

For corporate HR, Talent and Learning leaders interested in joining Fosway’s Corporate Research Network, please contact [email protected] or call +44 (0) 207 917 1870.

For vendors interested in getting actively engaged in the Fosway Vendor Research process, please contact Philippa Bean, Vendor Research Manager on [email protected] or call +44 (0) 207 917 1870.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 independent HR analyst, and HRN, the world’s largest Corporate HR network focused on the Future of Work and Technology, today release new joint research revealing the critical realities of HR in the enterprise across Europe in 2015.

With input from hundreds of enterprise organisations across Europe, the research demonstrates HR’s priority to become a strategic business partner and the key stepping stones to achieve it. Technology is now at the heart of HR success, with high quality data and analytics, and quality HR systems seen as the two most important factors in any HR solution. 78% of organisations are using – or plan to move to – Cloud HR, and user experience is now clearly critical driver in system selection.
Employee engagement remains the top measure of success for European HR strategy. But as the pressure to keep staff and stakeholders engaged increases, at least 35% of organisations expect a reduction in HR headcount to achieve these goals.

‘HR is in a period of real transformation’ explains Fosway Group CEO David Wilson. ‘The shift to Cloud HR is becoming mainstream and most of the solution providers have upped their game in providing more user-centric platforms that support real employee engagement. But the pressure is on. Decreasing headcounts, challenges around business data integration and a lack of skills surrounding business agility and analytics, mean that HR professionals are having to upskill quickly and respond flexibly to achieve the desired position as a strategic business partner.’

Peter Russell of HRN comments, ‘Supporting HR professionals across the globe is what we do. So it’s vital that they have access to the latest research. Through our partnership with Fosway Group, our audience can actively contribute and share their own experiences and insights so others can learn from them. This year’s results highlight some of the challenges that lie ahead but also demonstrate hugely positive shifts in technology adoption and engagement which is exciting for the HR industry as a whole.’

The research will be presented for the first time in a session at HR Tech World Congress in Paris.

An overview of the high level results will be made available to download here after the conference. A series of related white papers will also follow from next month.

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 independent HR Analyst, today announces the latest research release from its Next Generation HR practice. Fosway Group will unveil the update to its popular 9-Grid™ analysis for the integrated talent management market at HR Tech World Congress in Paris.

Now in its third annual cycle, the Fosway 9-Grid™ model is based on independent research and insights from Fosway’s European corporate research network as well as independent market profiling and briefing activities. This includes over 150 client organisations including BP, HSBC, PwC, RBS, Sanofi, Shell and Vodafone. Following the launch of Fosway’s new HR analyst practice in Spring 2015, the updated 9-Grid™ is part of a broader research agenda which includes key themes on HR transformation, Cloud HCM and human capital management, in addition to a focus on talent management and acquisition.

The aim of the Fosway 9-Grid™ is to provide greater context to organisations based, or operating in, EMEA. The analysis uniquely captures five different levels of insight into a vendor’s position in the market, showing their Performance, Potential, Market Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and expectations of their Future Trajectory.

CEO of Fosway Group, David Wilson, comments, ‘Having a strong talent pipeline remains a critical measure of success for HR strategy in Enterprise organisations across Europe. To deliver this, HR professionals need tools that support their drive to attract, retain and develop the best talent. The Fosway 9-Grid™ provides unparalleled insight into the leading solutions on the market, which can be applied to each organisation’s unique context.’

He continues, ‘Challenges vary across different countries, different sectors and different organisational cultures. There is not a one size fits all approach to integrated talent management. Which is where the 9-Grid™ can be used to evaluate what’s important to an individual organisation, enabling them to make the supplier decisions that best support their HR strategy.’

The new Fosway 9-Grid™ for Integrated Talent Management will be launched at HR Tech World Congress in Paris on 27-28 October 2015. Download your copy here.

Fosway Group is the new home of Europe’s leading independent research, analysis and insight for next generation HR and learning. Formerly Elearnity, Fosway Group retains its existing expert analyst team, whilst expanding with a new HR analyst practice. Its new forward HR research agenda includes key themes on HR transformation, human capital management, Cloud HCM, talent management and acquisition. Fosway is also marking the launch of the new practice and its new brand with the release of its updated 2015 9-Grid™ for integrated talent management.

The new HR practice formalises Fosway’s broader view of the trends and underlying business drivers for change and transformation within organisations today. An extended library of research will be added to the existing 18+ years’ of insight and resources. The rebrand reflects the company’s new remit across the full spectrum of next generation HR, talent and learning, and consolidates its position as the #1 HR analyst in Europe.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group comments, ‘The launch of our new practice is recognition of the analyst work we have been doing in HCM and talent for a number of years. HR is undergoing a radical change, which is profoundly impacting its strategy, technology and processes. The lack of European-focused analysis and insight is a significant challenge for companies, and we intend to address that.’

He continues, ‘The new Fosway brand demonstrates our commitment to this broader remit and is a natural evolution of our existing research and analysis with Europe’s leading companies. And like the Roman road we draw our name from, our clients will find that we’re unusually direct. We don’t have a vested interest in their technology or consulting choices. They can depend on us to tell them what they need to know to succeed.’

Fosway marks the launch of the new brand and HR analyst practice, with the release of the updated 2015 9-Grid™ for integrated talent management. The new 9-Grid™ illustrates the progress of key providers in the European market in the last 12 months, including some new additions. The model helps buyers understand which solutions are best for their requirements, based on five dimensions of potential, performance, presence, total cost of ownership, and future trajectory. 9-Grid™ is the only market analysis of this kind focused on organisations in Europe.

The updated 9-Grid™ also follows the announcement of Fosway’s further research collaboration with HRN Europe, the organisers of HR Tech Europe and HR Tech World Congress. Building on existing published research conducted by Fosway and HRN Europe in 2014, the research is conducted with senior HR professionals across Europe, and will further explore the critical realities of HR technology and trends in Europe.

Copies of the updated 9-Grid™ report are freely available for download here.

26 Jan 2015

Elearnity, the leading European Talent and Learning Analyst, today announced its annual 9-Grid™ analysis for the European LMS, Authoring Tools and Bespoke e-learning development markets for 2015. The Elearnity 9-Grid™ analysis provides a unique independent assessment of the main learning and talent technology supply options in the EMEA market.

Originally released in 2013, the Elearnity 9-Grid™ analysis model is based on the results of extensive independent research and deep insights from Elearnity’s corporate research network of over 150 client organisations, including BP, Lloyds Banking Group, Rolls Royce and Vodafone. Elearnity’s 9-Grid™ was originally created because of the limited value to European companies of US-centric market analysis. Elearnity is unique in assessing vendors and solutions with a European market perspective, and from providing independent advice to large multi-national clients based in EMEA.

The 9-Grid™ analysis is also uniquely designed for HR and Learning Professionals rather than IT. It uses the familiar framework of the nine box talent profile, but applied to solutions instead of people. The analysis captures five levels of insight into a vendor’s position in the market, including their Performance, Potential, and Market Presence, but also uniquely, Total Cost of Ownership and Elearnity’s expectations about their 9-Grid™ Trajectory in the future. This enables corporates to match potential solutions to their own specific context and priorities, as well as forcing a real debate about cost versus sophistication.

“Elearnity’s 9-Grid is still the only market analysis designed for European companies” said David Wilson, Elearnity’s Founder and Managing Director, “It is also the only industry analysis that makes corporates really examine their choices and compromises, including solution sophistication versus cost of ownership. Being in the top right, the usual position in Analyst market tools, is definitely not the best position for everyone – especially if it comes at significant cost”.

Wilson continued, “The new 2015 analysis has been updated to reflect changing trends in the market over the past 12 months, as well as changes in the vendors. We have added new vendors, as well as refreshing the vendor analysis to provide a robust independent assessment of how these solutions actually perform in real customers. Our analysis is built on direct corporate experience, as well as our own independent expert assessments of the leading supply options”.

The latest Elearnity 9-Grid™ models for 2015 are free to download from here.

04 Jun 2014

Elearnity, the leading European analyst, today announces the launch of its popular 9-Grid™ analyst profiles for the Integrated Talent Management market in Europe. The 9-Grid™ models provide a practical way for enterprises to understand who’s who in the HR, Talent and Learning Technology markets.

Launched in 2013, the Elearnity 9-Grid™ model is based on the results of extensive independent research and insights from Elearnity’s corporate research network of over 100 client organisations, including BP, Lloyds Banking Group, Rolls Royce and Vodafone. 9-Grid™ was originally created because of the limitations of existing market profiling approaches. None of the existing models concentrate on the HR, talent and learning and talent markets from an EMEA perspective, leaving a vacuum for organisations trying to identify which solutions best meet their needs.

The new Elearnity 9-Grid™ for Integrated Talent Management provides an independent and objective assessment of the Talent Management market in Europe. The analysis captures five levels of insight into a vendor’s position in the market, showing their Performance, Potential, Market Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and our expectations about their 9-Grid™ Trajectory in the future.

‘With an improving economy and much greater boardroom focus on attracting, developing and retaining key talent, the Elearnity 9-Grid™ for Integrated Talent Management is a unique tool for organisations looking to develop a connected and strategic approach to Talent Management’ said David Wilson, Elearnity’s Founder and Managing Director. ‘Our ratings contrast critical factors including market and customer performance, scope and sophistication and total cost of ownership; important components of making the best supplier decisions and developing a sustainable strategy’.

Earlier this year, Elearnity also announced the 2014 versions of its 9-Grid™ for LMS, Authoring Tools, and Bespoke e-learning development.

28 Jan 2014

Elearnity, the leading European analyst, today announced the launch of its popular 9-Grid™ analyst profiles for the European Learning Authoring Tools markets. The 9-Grid™ models provide a practical way for enterprises to understand who’s who in the Learning Technology market.

Originally released in 2013, the Elearnity 9-Grid™ model is based on the results of extensive independent research and insights from Elearnity’s corporate research network of over 100 client organisations, including BP, Lloyds Banking Group, Rolls Royce and Vodafone. 9-Grid™ was originally been created because of the limitations of existing market profiling approaches. None of the existing models concentrate on the learning and talent markets from an EMEA perspective, leaving a vacuum for buyers trying to identify which solutions best meet their needs.

The new Elearnity 9-Grid™ for Authoring Tools provides an independent assessment of the e-learning authoring tools and learning content management market. The analysis captures five levels of insight into a vendor’s position in the market, showing their Performance, Potential, Market Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and our expectations about their 9-Grid™ Trajectory in the future.

‘The 9-Grid™ for Authoring Tools is a unique tool for organisations looking to develop a strategic approach to e-learning authoring and content management’ said David Perring, Elearnity’s director of research. ‘Our ratings contrast critical factors including market and customer performance, scope and sophistication and total cost of ownership; important components of making good supplier decisions and developing a sustainable strategy’.

Fosway separately announced the 2014 versions of its Fosway 9-Grid™ for LMS and Fosway 9-Grid™ for Bespoke e-learning development. Other talent and learning sectors will follow later this year.

28 Jan 2014

Elearnity, the leading European analyst, today announced the launch of the 2014 versions of its popular 9-Grid™ analyst profiles for the European LMS and Bespoke e-learning development markets. The models provide a practical way for enterprises to understand who’s who in the Learning Technology market.

The 9-Grid™ model was originally been created because of the limitations of existing market profiling approaches. None of the existing models concentrate on the learning and talent markets from an EMEA perspective, leaving a vacuum for buyers trying to identify which solutions best meet their needs. The model uses the familiar framework of a nine box talent profile and applies it to learning and talent solutions instead of people. The analysis captures five levels of insight into a vendor’s position in the market, showing their Performance, Potential, Market Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and our expectations about their 9-Grid™ Trajectory in the future.

By reviewing the market profiles, readers can gain an understanding of how solutions compare to each other, but more importantly, how solutions also match to their own context, priorities and goals.

As Elearnity managing director, David Wilson explained, ‘As independent analysts, we not only look at understanding trends and the realities of learning and talent organisations, it’s also important to look at how we can best share that insight with the organisations and markets we serve. Our updated 2014 models are an insightful way to start assess your supplier options and how to increase the value of existing suppliers.’

Elearnity separately announced the 2014 versions of its Elearnity 9-Grid™ for LMS and Fosway 9-Grid™ for Bespoke e-learning development. Other talent and learning sectors will follow later this year.

31 Jul 2013

European analyst, Elearnity, today launched a new and unique insight into the European (EMEA) learning and talent market . The new 9-Grid™ models for Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Bespoke E-learning Development are based on independent analysis and insights from Elearnity’s corporate research network of over 150 organisations including BP, Lloyds Banking Group, Rolls Royce and Vodafone.

The 9-Grid™ approach has been created in response to the lack of depth and flexibility provided by existing analyst models, which are also typically US-focused and do not reflect market differences in the UK and Europe. This leaves a vacuum for the multitude of buyers trying to decide which LMS and e-learning solutions best meet their needs. The Elearnity 9-Grid™ for Bespoke E-learning Development is the first of its kind to profile the performance of companies within this market sector, and the Elearnity 9-Grid™ for LMS is the first European specific market view.

The aim of both 9-Grid™ models is to demonstrate the relative value of the solutions available in the market based on five levels of insight; Performance, Potential, Market Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and Elearnity’s own expectations on how the trajectory of performance and potential might change in the future.

One of the notable elements of 9-Grid™ is that there is intrinsic value in all the zones on the model – not just the top right! The model highlights how different solutions will suit different types of organisation, and in particular, the relative trade-off between a vendors positioning with their total cost of ownership. So buyers can gain an understanding of how LMS’s and different e-learning providers compare, but also more importantly, how to match the available solutions to their own context and goals.

Elearnity managing director, David Wilson, comments, ‘Fitting the right vendor with your specific needs is a vital ingredient for success, but up until now, there has been very little independent analysis that accurately reflects the market, especially for UK and EMEA organisations. Most other analyst models are US-centric and therefore can be of limited real value to organisations in Europe seeking to make the best decision about which learning and talent technologies to invest in.’

He continues, ‘In terms of Bespoke E-learning Development, we are talking about a vibrant market that has never had any real research resource of this type. Companies are investing considerable time and effort in sourcing their solutions, and that’s why we’ve created the 9-Grid™ to help them find the right partners and spend their budgets in the most appropriate way. We believe in providing the audience on this side of the Atlantic with analysis and insights that are specific and relevant to their needs and organisational context.’

The two 9-Grid™ models released today are the first two of a series from Elearnity focusing on the main segments of the learning and talent market. Elearnity will also be releasing further 9-Grid™ models later in 2013, including for Integrated Talent Management and for E-Learning Authoring Platforms, with others to follow.

8 Jul 2013

Elearnity, the leading European analyst, today announced a new model for analysing the performance and potential of solutions and vendors in the learning and talent market place. The Elearnity 9-Grid™ model is based on the results of independent research and insights from Elearnity’s corporate research network of over 100 client organisations, including BP, Lloyds Banking Group, Rolls Royce and Vodafone.

Elearnity 9-Grid™ has been created because of the lack of depth and flexibility provided by existing market profiling approaches. None of the existing models concentrate on the learning and talent markets from an EMEA perspective, leaving a vacuum for buyers trying to decide which solutions will best meet their needs.

The model uses the familiar framework of a nine box talent profile and applies it to learning and talent solutions instead of people. The analysis captures five levels of insight into a vendor’s position in the market, showing their Performance, Potential, Market Presence, Total Cost of Ownership and our expectations about how their performance and potential may change in the future.

One of the notable elements of this new model is that there is value in all zones on the 9-Grid™, not just the top right!. 9-Grid™ highlights the fact that different solutions will suit different types of organisation. Readers will gain an understanding of how these solutions compare to each other, but also importantly, how to match solutions to their own context and goals. There is also information on identifying the inevitable trade-offs that are made between relative potential and cost of ownership.

Explains Elearnity managing director, David Wilson, ‘As independent analysts, we not only look at understanding trends and the realities of learning and talent organisations, it’s also important to look at how we can best share that insight with the organisations and markets we serve.’

He continues, ‘Over the past five years we’ve have been wrestling with the inadequacies of other models that are created by US analysts. Not only do these models tell a limited story, they are also very US centric, which can make some of the commentary of limited value for European companies. We’ve created the Elearnity 9-Grid™ to address both these issues, specifically for an EMEA based audience.’

Elearnity will be launching its 9-Grid™ models for learning management systems and for bespoke content solutions at the end of July, with others to follow.

8 Jul 2013

In a survey ahead of Elearnity’s annual Symposium event on the 14th May, involving enterprise organisations such as Aviva, BT, Lloyds Banking Group, Shell and Vodafone, it was clear that the integrating talent, performance, and development workflows is becoming more of a reality in major organisations.

For many respondents, there is a clear focus on the delivery of global solutions through the use of one common platform. Whilst one common platform was had often been deployed, many attendees highlighted the need to embed its use and the importance of simplifying the experience for end users, often by integrating processes. Although the learning and talent infrastructure does play a central role many respondents were also looking to the future and delivering solutions to multiple devices was seen as a critical focus area for many during the next 12 months as was moving towards more resources than online courses. The familiar challenges of engaging stakeholders to use online technology, as well as broadening the scope of solutions, were also still viewed as important.

One of the most significant changes over the last year was the increasing corporate acceptance in the role technology can play in supporting learning and talent solutions and a continued willingness to invest despite the need in many organisation to restrain spending.

Comments David Wilson, Managing Director of Elearnity, ‘It’s encouraging to see corporate organisations continuing to significantly investing in learning and talent solutions. Even though innovations such as mobile access will play a significant role in the future for many organisations, maximizing the value from existing solutions is clearly still an important area of focus. For many organisations 2013 is a year of transition with learning and talent professionals being given the opportunity to reinvent online learning and talent solutions and demonstrate the value they can add to their business by integrating processes to create an improved user experience.’

Elearnity has been running corporate roundtable events for over 10 years. The Symposium brings together a wide variety of corporate and vendor organisations to focus on current learning and talent themes. In a series of roundtable sessions, attendees work through key challenges and trends being tackled by learning and talent professionals today.

Continues Wilson, ‘As an independent Analyst, our symposium aims to be different to other industry events. Everyone has the opportunity to discuss their own unique challenges, putting trends and technology adoption into the context of their organisation. It’s always fascinating to see what emerges from the roundtables and gain a clearer perspective of the reality of learning and talent solutions in major organisations.’

Themes to be covered this year include:

  • Using technology to support workplace learning and performance support
  • The metrics that matter when measuring learning and talent
  • The realities of corporate mobile learning
  • Blended learning in corporate organisations in 2013
  • The future of learning and talent systems
  • Corporate learning and talent innovations that make a difference
  • Participants also have the opportunity to discuss current challenges and best practices with nine leading solution providers, including Assima, Cornerstone OnDemand, Epic, Kallidus, Kenexa, NetDimensions, Saba, SumTotal Systems and Unicorn Training.

Contact [email protected] for information on future roundtables and symposium events.

25 Apr 2013

Ongoing research by Europe’s leading learning and talent analyst, Elearnity, is finding that in at least one third of organisations are failing to make a positive impact with their Learning Management Systems. The results are taken from current research into customer satisfaction levels of learning technology solutions and services across the UK and Europe – which is open for further contributions from corporate organisations until 3rd May 2013.

The research concentrates on Customer Satisfaction with eight categories of Learning Technology including LMS, bespoke and generic elearning content, authoring tools, Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS), social and collaboration tools, assessment tools and mobile learning solutions. With customers rating the technology they are using based on functionality, user experience, ease of delivery, configurability and flexibility, solution impact and total cost of ownership.

David Perring, Director of Research at Elearnity comments, “Business impact is a critical measure of success for any system. And it is concerning that, so far, the research is highlighting how low satisfaction levels can be with some LMS deployments – especially as others appear to be getting it right. As we dig deeper into the responses, I expect we’ll find some interesting correlations between different suppliers – both positive and negative.”

He continues, “Until now there hasn’t been a way for users to share the realities of working with different learning solutions. So, with a couple of weeks left until the survey closes, there is still time for customers to have their say and bring some much needed transparency to the European Learning Technology market.”

Note: corporate participants who complete the survey will be provided with free access to the Summary Report when it’s released later in the year.

The research remains open for until the 3rd May 2013 and can be accessed via the Elearnity website.

14 Mar 2013

Elearnity, Europe’s leading learning and talent analyst, is launching a new research programme to evaluate customer satisfaction levels of learning technology solutions and services – from the people that actually use them. Corporate customers across the UK and Europe are invited to rate the learning technology solutions they are using within their organisation. The results will be published later in 2013, with the long term aim of providing a year on year view of learning technology customer satisfaction in Europe.

The research will focus on all the main areas of learning technologies including Learning Management Systems (LMS), bespoke and generic elearning content, authoring tools, Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS), social and collaboration tools, assessment tools and mobile learning solutions.

Customer organisations are asked to rate the technology they are using in these different categories based on functionality, user experience, ease of delivery, configurability and flexibility, solution impact and total cost of ownership. They are also encouraged to leave supporting comments which will provide additional insights and qualitative input into the research.

David Wilson, Managing Director of Elearnity, explains, ‘Learning technologies represent a significant investment for large organisations, and there is currently no independent European-focussed research into how customers actually rate their learning technology solutions. Our new research will provide unique insights into how learning technology solutions are really working in practice, as well as adding further data to support Elearnity’s independent Vendor Perspectives.’

He continued, ‘The aim of this research is to help vendors continually improve their solutions and provide organisations with much need transparency about which providers have the highest customer satisfaction in Europe. Objectively understanding the reality of customer experience should be important in selecting solutions. Other business and consumer products are often reviewed and evaluated by their users – why not learning technology?’

The research is now open for input by customers using learning technologies and can be accessed via the Elearnity website.

Link to survey: http://delivr.com/2a7wz

14 Mar 2013

In the run up to the Learning Technologies Show in London later this month, a new report released today by Europe’s leading independent analyst Elearnity, highlights the best practices for commissioning bespoke learning projects

“The global bespoke e-learning development market is incredibly localised and potentially inconsistent, and that combination can make engaging in even a modest project, fraught with rat-holes, dead-ends and trip hazards, that can lead to some uncomfortable and unexpected headaches.” said David Perring, Director of Research for Elearnity.

“Selecting a bespoke learning partner because they have the lowest cost, doesn’t always translate into long term success.” He continued. “Partnering with the right provider, not just the cheapest is important. By working with the best fit for you, with the right frameworks in place, it is possible to save a lot more money and create a lot more impact.”

Based on Elearnity’s extensive corporate research network, and the practical experience of supporting leading European enterprises, Elearnity outline what organisations can do to navigate more successfully through the bespoke e-learning marketplace, providing practical, independent advice about the best practices and processes that accelerate and de risk bespoke learning projects.

Link: http://delivr.com/1m3b3

Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, has released the new 2020 9-Grid™ for Cloud HR. The research shows the far-reaching impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as HR remains in the eye of the storm, supporting people and organisations through the turmoil of the crisis. From HCM, to workforce management and employee engagement, there is no area of HR tech that has escaped new demands during this tough time. And it is driving real innovation, often where it has been long overdue.

2020 Fosway 9-Grid for Cloud HRSince the evolution of traditional HRIS into modern Cloud HCM suites and now into Cloud HR Ecosystems, the HR tech market has changed for good. Accelerated by the impact of COVID-19, the idea that HR’s role and impact can be managed by a single system of record is increasingly outdated. Whilst HCM suites continue to rise in capability and importance, so does the role of specialist HR solutions to disrupt and transform key processes, both functionally and geographically (especially in complex companies). A new ecosystem approach brings suites and specialists together to build a truly global capability to transform people outcomes and experience.

The 2020 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Cloud HR is the first of its kind, widening the lens to incorporate both Cloud HCM Suites and Cloud HR Specialists. HCM Suites cover a wide array of traditional and next-gen approaches to people management, employee experience and old and new talent processes. The Cloud HR Specialists, however, unashamedly focus on specific areas of capability with a disruptive and high impact agenda. They have a focused proposition and want to lead the market in their chose area.

This year’s analysis therefore includes numerous new players and big movers, ranging from exciting, fast-paced challengers to welcome innovation within big HR tech incumbents. As always, the focus of the 9-Grid™ is on the European market. With input from Fosway’s Corporate Research Network of over 250 organisations, its aim is to demystify the supply options available to organisations and help HR teams make better buying decisions when it comes to investing in their technology solutions.

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group, said ‘It’s a massive understatement to say that COVID-19 has created extraordinary pressure on HR and for HR processes to become fully digital. But in the most challenging of circumstances, we are seeing HR adapt, evolve and flex to meet next levels of demand and flexibility. With all this change, it is definitely the right time to reclassify our analysis and the Fosway 9-Grid™ for Cloud HR to reflect this innovation, market disruption and shifts in buying behaviour from HR teams across Europe.’

He continues, ‘People are working differently now. The digital genie is out of the bottle and things aren’t going to back to the way they used to be, either in terms of working patterns or the importance of great technology to help get things done. Our research shows a strong correlation between digital HR maturity and the ability to adapt and cope with the pandemic. But much of that change has been focusing on surviving. Just keeping the lights on. HR now needs to raise its game again to enable organisations to thrive and grow again post-pandemic. The pandemic has blown away barriers to digital disruption and we hope this year’s research will be more useful than ever in helping HR figure out which solutions they need for their unique context.’

The full report can be downloaded here.

Fosway’s CEO, David Wilson, and lead analyst for HCM, Sven Elbert, will take questions in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 5 October 2020. Reserve your free place here.

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