Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, has just released its 11th annual HR Realities research
Organisational performance and profitability are now the top priorities for HR organisations, Fosway Group’s latest HR Realities research reveals
Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst is proud to announce the results of its 11th year of HR Realities research. Backed by more than a decade of deep data collection and analysis, the research explores how HR teams are responding to the challenges and opportunities of a changing HR landscape, as well as looking at the HR tech ecosystem, the employee experience, and of course AI’s increasing impact.
Diving deeper, a few common themes appear – data and analytics, as well as improving the employee experience remain high priority, while newer concern such as AI agents and other Next Gen tech have also gained prominence on business leaders top priority lists.
“I don’t think we’ve seen results like it in the 11 years we’ve been running our HR Realities Research. There is a real shift happening in HR and the long-term and even short-term trends make it clear just how significant these are. HR is under pressure, businesses are under pressure and that is rippling through HR’s sense of priority, how the employee value proposition is evolving and where HR is looking to invest in its future,” reflected David Perring, Fosway’s Chief Insights Officer.
“The impact of really keying into and emphasising these on the employee experience, HR operations, HR tech and the focus for HR innovation is profound. It marks an evolutionary step change for HR that we haven’t seen before. It’s a leap which many HR teams are ill-equipped to make. But thankfully our research is showing exactly where the real leaders in HR are heading and how they are planning to get there. It is the most fascinating report yet.”
Continuing the popular new format, Fosway’s HR Realities research is comprised of a series of six data-rich infographics, each focusing on a different area of HR research, on a staggered release schedule through November and December 2025.
Other key insights from the HR Realities 2025 research:
- 51% expect HR headcount to decrease in the year ahead.
- 42% of respondents say they expect investment in strategic workforce planning to increase in the coming years.
- 47% have no plans to change their Core HR platform.
- ‘Proactive career progression’ is the top-rated aspect of EX earmarked for acceleration in the year ahead.
“A new set of priorities is clear – organisational performance is now the focus for competitive edge, but we would urge HR leaders to consider how they can achieve this goal through a people-centred workforce strategy. For example, we hear the term ‘human in the loop’ more and more often now - in the context of AI - but that should be the mantra for all HR priorities in 2025 and beyond,” said David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group. “HR Realities remains a study in enabling your people through technology, and the continued prioritising of talent, in particular the internal talent pipeline in 2025’s data, is evidence of this. As AI moves beyond its nice-to-have era and into an all-encompassing strategic must-have technology for businesses in every industry vertical the question needs to be asked of HR leaders – what radical decisions are you making today that will secure HR’s relevance tomorrow?”
You can download the research here, from 2 December 2025.