ISG Software Research Analyst Perspectives | Employees & HCM

Skills Software Is Booming. Do You Have the Data Foundation to Use It?

Posted by Matthew Brown on 23 October 2025

Skills software is everywhere right now. Talent marketplaces, intelligent learning platforms, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered upskilling tools—the market is saturated with promises of personalized growth, agile workforce planning and dynamic career pathing. And to be clear: the vision is compelling. The idea of surfacing internal talent, guiding career development and aligning skills to... Read More

Topics: Employee Engagement, Learning Management, Talent Management, Workforce Management, Employees & HCM - Business & Technologies

HR Tech 2025 Takeaways: The Future Is Ready—Are We?

Posted by Matthew Brown on 16 October 2025

For nearly 20 years, I have attended the Human Resources Technology Conference and Expo to take the temperature of the market. This year, the energy felt different—less showy, more grounded. I was able to engage with more than 40 software providers for deeper-dive discussions, and I left with three big takeaways and one nagging concern that I can’t shake. The first theme is about shrinking the... Read More

Topics: Employee Engagement, Learning Management, Talent Management, Workforce Management, Payroll Management, Total Compensation Management, Employees & HCM - Business & Technologies

Post-Go-Live Reality: Building a Continuous Adoption Practice

Posted by Matthew Brown on 14 October 2025

It’s easy to celebrate a go-live. It’s visible, it’s measurable and it comes with a finish line. But anyone who’s been through an HR technology implementation knows that go-live isn’t the end. It’s the beginning. The real value of an HR system doesn’t show up in the configuration. It shows up in the usage, which is often underwhelming. It shows up in whether employees can navigate it without... Read More

Topics: Employee Engagement, Learning Management, Talent Management, Workforce Management, Payroll Management, Total Compensation Management, Employees & HCM - Business & Technologies

Money Talks – Is Compensation Software Speaking the Right Language?

Posted by Matthew Brown on 16 July 2025

Compensation data is everywhere. Internal equity metrics, market benchmarks, performance history, pay transparency requirements—there’s no shortage of data coming in from every direction. But volume does not always guarantee clarity. It is not about the data your system can collect, it is about whether that system—and the people behind it—can turn the data into decisions that actually make sense.... Read More

Topics: Human Capital Management, Total Compensation Management, Employees & HCM - Business & Technologies

Shift Happens: How Smart Scheduling and AI Are Reshaping Frontline Work

Posted by Matthew Brown on 08 July 2025

Frontline work is being reshaped from every direction: tighter labor pools, unpredictable demand and a workforce that expects more than just a paycheck. Yet too many organizations are still treating workforce scheduling like a game of Tetris—moving blocks around and hoping they fit. It’s time to admit that smart scheduling isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a frontline imperative. And if the... Read More

Topics: Human Capital Management, Employee Engagement, Workforce Management, Employees & HCM - Business & Technologies

Learning That Learns: How AI is Changing the LMS Game

Posted by Matthew Brown on 02 July 2025

The learning management system (LMS) market is evolving, with the lines that once rigidly defined categories becoming increasingly blurred. Today, an LMS that lacks Learning Experience Platform (LXP) capabilities risks becoming obsolete in an environment where user expectations are shifting rapidly. In a similar vein, an LMS and LXP that fail to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI)... Read More

Topics: Human Capital Management, Employee Engagement, Learning Management, Employees & HCM - Business & Technologies

Oracle Summit 2025: Agentic HCM Moves from Hype to Hands On

Posted by Matthew Brown on 24 June 2025

I recently attended the Oracle Apps & Industry Analyst Summit in Redwood City, California. Over the course of two days, Oracle offered a concentrated look at a market that is both racing ahead and tripping over its own shoelaces. Generative, predictive and now agentic artificial intelligence (AI) have become the new currency of competitive advantage across HCM; Oracle alone has delivered more... Read More

Topics: Human Capital Management, Employee Engagement, Learning Management, Talent Management, Workforce Management, Payroll Management, Total Compensation Management, Employees & HCM - Business & Technologies