Insights on Corporate Talent, Learning, and HR Technology
Today LinkedIn announced its long-awaited IPO. The numbers tell a story: this company is going to radically transform corporate recruiting.
Here are a few of the important statistics to consider.
What it is: LinkedIn positions itself as a social network for professionals (“professionals are defined as individuals with a career, built on distinctive qualifications”) – ... Read more»
Talent management has now become one of the most talked-about topics in business and HR.
Companies around the world are reorganizing their human resources teams to create Chief Talent Officers, Vice-Presidents of Talent Management, and Senior Talent Executives. And the software industry supporting this space continues to explode: Successfactors and Taleo are rated among the ... Read more»
This week we introduced our 2011 Corporate Learning Factbook 
(a “must-read” for any HR or training leader).
This report, which we labor over each year, details spending on corporate training in the US and around the world. For the first time in nearly two years, corporate spend on training is growing – demonstrating business confidence ... Read more»
One of the most complex and fragmented parts of the talent management market is the world of employee assessments. 
Today two of the industry’s largest companies in this space, Previsor and SHL Group, announced a merger, creating the largest global player in this very large, very fragmented market.
Background:
There are many types of ... Read more»
One of the hottest issues in human resources is the need to develop high levels of employee engagement and satisfaction. 
We all know that organizations with happy people have lower turnover, deliver better customer service, and tend to be more innovative and responsive. But can we translate this into stock price or financial results?
Bersin ... Read more»
Today another major shift takes place in the talent management systems market: SumTotal Systems announced the acquisition of GeoLearning.
Background:
SumTotal Systems is the largest provider of learning management systems today (and also a major provider of integrated talent management systems). In our LMS 2011 research we show that before this acquisition SumTotal had ... Read more»
This winter 
we launched our second annual Talent Management Systems Customer Satisfaction research. Now, after surveying more than 1,500 organizations over the last two years, we have a very deep understanding of how this market has evolved. We will be continuing this research on an ongoing basis, so if you are interested in participating please ... Read more»
I spent this week in Europe (nice Siberian snowstorm here), attending a client meeting in the UK and the Online Educa Berlin (OEB), the largest e-learning conference in the world.
This conference, which has more than 1,000 attendees, brings together learning and academic professionals from businesses, educational institutions, and governments throughout Europe. The event is ... Read more»
One of the privileges I have in my role is the opportunity to meet some of the great world leaders in corporate learning and development. In the interest of helping our industry understand the changing role of corporate training and talent management, I would like to talk about the changing role of the Chief Learning ... Read more»
Our soon to be published TalentWatch® research for Q4 2010 shows a tremendous growth in hiring going on: in mid 2010 32% of organizations cited talent shortages as critical to growth; this month that number jumped to 51%, and increase of almost 50%. In the same survey we asked employers to tell us how ... Read more»
Today we begin the introduction of a major new source of research, information, and support for HR and L&D professionals, the Bersin & Associates Lexicon®.
The Lexicon is a new, online resource designed as the first-ever consolidation of definitions, examples, case-studies, and research on all the major terms and processes in the broad areas ... Read more»
We just returned from the 2010 HR Technology Conference in Chicago, where we met with 30+ solution providers and more than 60 different corporate buyers and implementers of HR technology and solutions. 
We also introduced a preview peek of our 2010-2011 Talent Management Systems Customer Satisfaction research, which is now available to research members.... Read more»
Yesterday the US Department of Justice announced a proposed settlement against Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe, Intuit, and Pixar for colluding not to “cold-call” recruit employees from each other.
Consider the implications of this practice: HR and business leaders at these these leading silicon valley companies sat together and agreed “if you don’t poach my people ... Read more»
Today SumTotal Systems, the 
largest provider of learning management systems, announced the acquisition of Softscape, the pioneering software vendor that started the market for integrated talent management software. This move, another in a wave of consolidations taking place, creates a “gorilla” in the market for end-to-end talent management software. (Recent acquisitions include Authoria’s ... Read more»
Today a shoe dropped in the Learning Management Systems Market: Taleo announced plans to acquire Learn.com.
Let me discuss this announcement from three perspectives: first, the impact on the market; second, the impact on Taleo and Learn.com customers; and third, the impact on you as a prospective LMS buyer.
(ps. Kenexa also announced the ... Read more»