2026 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition

The report finds that the requisition is no longer the natural starting point for talent acquisition. As organisations scrutinise headcount, redesign work and assess where AI can substitute or augment human effort, TA teams are being pulled into broader workforce decisions before external hiring begins.

The 2026 report highlights other key talent acquisition market trends, including the growing challenge of proving quality of hire.

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 assesses solutions across the market and classifies them as either talent acquisition suites or specialists focused on 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.

Lead analyst on the 2026 9-Grid™ for Talent Acquisition and Fosway’s Head of Analyst Services, Sven Elbert, added, "AI is changing what companies hire for, how candidates engage, and how decisions are supported across the recruitment funnel. But it is also changing what talent acquisition is needed for. The role of TA is moving beyond processing requisitions and managing candidate flow, and is becoming more central to workforce decisions, hiring quality, AI governance and business-critical talent choices."

Fosway’s David Wilson and Sven Elbert will take questions on the research in a live online ‘Ask The Analyst’ session on 16 June 2026 at 2pm GMT. Register for your free place here. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis.