The LMS was built for skills gaps of different era. New technology used to emerge gradually, employees followed predictable career paths (a distant memory, right?), and compliance training was the primary focus. But as we know all too well, today’s workforce faces a much different reality. Rapid technology advancements, job market shifts, and changing business needs demand continuous learning and real-time skill development, something traditional LMSs struggle to deliver.
Here are the numbers we can’t ignore:
- 68% of employees agree that learning helps them adapt to change (LinkedIn)
- 59% of the global workforce will need reskilling by 2030 (World Economic Forum)
- Less than one-third of employers believe recent graduates have strong critical thinking skills (SHRM)
- AI adoption is slowing down, with nearly half of employees uncomfortable admitting that they use AI for job responsibilities (Slack Workforce Index)
Clearly, traditional learning approaches aren’t enough. That’s where a strategic learning system (SLS) comes in. Unlike conventional LMSs, an SLS supports agility, personalization, and business-driven learning, so that employees have the skills they need (and when they need them).
But what exactly makes an SLS different, and how does it help close skills gaps? Let’s break down how to help your business stay ahead with strategic learning.
SLS vs. LMS: What’s the difference?
The LMS wasn’t built for a skills crisis
A traditional LMS approach was about checking compliance boxes rather than equipping your employee and stakeholder ecosystem with the skills they need to adapt and grow.
Features of an LMS are a foundation for learning and include:
- Compliance tracking for health, safety, and risk management
- Basic onboarding pathways for training new hires
- Essential reporting for core L&D outcomes such as completion rates
- Independent and centralized learning with progress tracking
- Manual administration for course updates and training reminders
But an LMS alone can’t keep up with the rapid pace of change. Whether it’s onboarding, compliance, leadership development, or upskilling for emerging industry trends, an LMS manages training, but it doesn’t close skills gaps.
An SLS is designed for skills gap intervention
A strategic learning approach takes learning beyond compliance. It’s built to help businesses proactively address skills shortages and empower employees with the right knowledge at the right time. Instead of just delivering content, an SLS aligns learning with business outcomes, so your business can stay competitive in a changing market.
Features of an SLS include all the benefits of an LMS, plus:
- Training beyond compliance that solves for diverse skills gaps
- Performance-driven learning to accelerate skills ramp-up for sales, customer service, and technical roles
- Scalable content creation to empower SMEs as well as L&D experts, to build training for product and process knowledge
- Customer and partner enablement training that reduces support costs and drives product adoption
- Training as a business tool to generate revenue with monetized learning
Skills gaps require an interventionist approach. With a strategic learning framework that’s as agile as your business needs, an SLS makes all the difference.
Want the full picture? Dig into the benefits and business impact with our ultimate guide to strategic learning systems (SLSs)
10 ways an SLS closes skills gaps
Research in the state of learning report reveals 90% of organizations know the importance of measuring learning’s impact on business outcomes, but only 25% make it a priority. Does this sound like your organization? Keep reading to find out how an SLS can help.
With an SLS, true skills management is possible
The list of skills gaps could be unending, so where do you put your focus? That’s why effective skills management requires a strategy. An SLS has multidimensional solutions for improved upskilling, business outcomes, and human-centered learning.
1. Spot skills gaps before they become a problem
An SLS acts as a skills GPS, tracking employees’ competencies and identifying gaps before they impact performance.
In the past, insights on your organization’s skills gaps have been a mystery to unpack but are the key to turning learning into a central business strategy. And with strategic learning, you can predict which skills your team will need six months from now, before they realize it themselves.
Why an SLS makes skills tracking better:
- Observation checklists to track and report on competencies
- Find and track skills gaps with data integrations from your existing tech stack
- Custom reporting templates to monitor progress
Instead of playing catch-up, you can proactively address skill shortages by integrating data-driven insights into your skills-focused annual training plan. With real-time analytics, you can work closely with different departments – marketing, sales, operations, and customer support – to ensure everyone has the knowledge they need to excel.
2. Automate mission-critical skilling programs at scale
An SLS automates upskilling management, so no gap falls through the cracks.
Some skills are non-negotiable. Compliance training, leadership development, and cybersecurity protocols are essential for business success and risk management. But ensuring every employee completes mandatory training? It’s a logistical headache.
Why mandatory skilling programs are better in an SLS:
- AI-generated content suggestions put your engagement initiatives on autopilot
- Automatic training reminders to encourage accountability with minimal oversight
- Custom learning paths for different roles and regions
With an SLS, automation takes the wheel. AI-driven recommendations push the right content to the right people at the right time, and automated reminders significantly reduce the manual workload for L&D teams.
3. Prevent skill erosion after onboarding
An SLS ensures learning doesn’t stop after week one.
Onboarding is a major investment. But what happens after new hires complete their initial training? Without reinforcement, most of that knowledge fades fast.
How an SLS prevents skill erosion:
- Quick refreshers embedded right into employee workflows and apps
- Scenario-based learning for hands-on, real-world learning examples
- Engaging learning experiences that keep employees motivated to maintain their skills
The strategic approach supports continuous development through just-in-time training, refresher modules, and on-the-job learning opportunities. Employees can revisit key lessons exactly when they need them, reinforcing retention and application.
4. Reduced admin leaves more time for skills management
An SLS eliminates administrative bottlenecks with automation.
L&D teams have enough on their plate. Between tracking employee progress, updating training materials, and sending reminders, there’s little time left for strategic initiatives. Automation frees up time for high-impact work, like designing better learning experiences.
What this means for your team:
- Bulk updates for course enrollments, modifying roles and departments
- Create a skills taxonomy by applying tags to hundreds of courses or resources
- Reporting templates for easy setup and accelerated time-to-launch
- Automated reminders for training deadlines
- Data integrations for seamless tracking and insights: HCMs/HRISs, CRMs, and more
If you want an out-of-the-box solution to start, an SLS covers you with templates, automation, and easy-to-use permissions to get started with skills management. If a custom system is on your mind, an SLS can integrate seamlessly with your existing training to improve and scale skills gap initiatives.
An SLS supports a human approach to skills training
You might be in a rush to train for AI or new data regulations, but the truth is that you need buy-in from employees. Yes, they need the time in the workday and easy access to the content, but this is just the beginning.
Here’s how an SLS is helping our customers generate enthusiasm for employee upskilling and reskilling and creating a proactive learning community.
5. Win over employees with a skills-focused career roadmap
An SLS motivates employees by turning training into career-building.
Employees don’t just want to check off your training modules—they want to grow. That’s why a well-designed SLS doesn’t just assign mandatory courses; it helps employees build a clear career path that still fits in with your business outcomes.
If employees have a say in the process, they're more likely to participate in organizational change. By offering structured learning pathways and role-based benchmarks, you boost engagement in digital transformation and improve retention by making learning meaningful.
Key career roadmap features in an SLS include:
- Personalized learning paths based on their career goals
- Role-specific training recommendations
- Curate a library from thousands of pre-built courses
If you think building a skills taxonomy for career paths will be quite the undertaking, an SLS makes it feasible. For L&D teams of all sizes, from global enterprises to national non-profits, choose from a library of thousands of pre-built courses from renowned SMEs to get you to the finish line.
6. Skills training becomes an unmissable networking opportunity
An SLS turns networking into upskilling with mentorship programs, peer learning opportunities, and team-based training.
Learning isn’t just about absorbing information – it’s about making connections. When employees can track their growth, connect with mentors, and engage in structured networking, learning becomes an opportunity to build relationships and advance careers rather than just an upskilling requirement.
How learning culture thrives in an SLS:
- End-to-end peer learning and modern mentoring management
- Track and measure the effectiveness of internal networking
- Boost retention with social skills gap initiatives that actually work
Internal mobility is a strong priority for leading companies to help boost retention in 2025, Social learning, and modern mentoring, in particular, is the pathway to a more active and loyal team culture that champions learning. Overall, leading mentoring software Together helped Randstad reduce turnover by 49% with its revamped mentoring program. In combination with an LMS, networking becomes a key driver for employees to take responsibility for their own skills gaps.
Try our handy ROI calculator for more ways to optimize learning with an SLS.
7. Prepare employees for the next big skills gap
An SLS makes training a natural part of the workday.
We know skills are constantly evolving. Whether it’s AI, new regulations, or industry disruptions, employees need to stay ahead of the curve and emotionally ready to navigate change. But is your workforce ready to adapt?
Building a culture of trust during rapid transformation is no easy feat. Your people need the emotional intelligence and leadership skills to match the enormity of the change. That's why business transformation is 2.6x more likely to succeed if humans, not processes, drive change. The trouble is, that employees have lost trust in leadership, with only 20% of employees strongly agreeing they can trust the leadership at their organization.
But there’s a solution.
An SLS can prime employees and leaders for change:
- Develop a learning habit with continuous learning and accessible training resources
- Emotional upskilling courses for in-demand soft skills like analytical thinking, leadership, and active listening
- Certifications and credentials that social proof employee skills and keep them competitive
- Self-guided career-building pathways that align with industry trends and evolving roles
Your change management team will be relieved to have a workforce that champions emotional intelligence as a key driver of successful business transformation. And when you combine a regular learning practice with engaging experiences (ex. mentoring, gamification), new mandatory courses become enjoyable and business as usual.
8. Make learning click-through-worthy
An SLS uses gamification to turn training into a rewarding experience.
Let’s face it—most employees don’t love mandatory skills training. But what if learning felt more like a game? Gamification adds a layer of friendly competition, motivating employees to keep progressing.
Here are some SLS features that’ll keep them coming back for more:
- Leaderboards to spark friendly competition and encourage participation
- Badges and rewards for progress milestones and achievements
- Quizzes to reinforce learning and make knowledge retention fun
- Generate bite-sized, interactive courses with slide presentations in minutes
Being realistic, your training competes with those ten minutes your employees have over lunch or squeezing time in on a Friday afternoon before a manager nudges them again on Monday. Gamification takes the urgency and obligation out of closing skills gaps by enticing learners to reach their goals before the deadline.
An SLS closes gaps in every corner of your business
We can all agree that business outcomes shouldn’t be limited by location, timing or external barriers. Thankfully, a strategic learning approach operates in the areas you can’t see with a management mindset.
With advanced data, and a vision for what that data can do, a strategic learning approach can diagnose and intervene where skills gaps are hiding beneath the surface of your routine learning management.
Let’s explore how external and embedded training can patch up the holes in your company's potential.
9. Support frontline workers with grab-and-go learning
An SLS provides frontline employees with location-independent learning that fits into their schedules.
Not every employee can sit through hour-long training sessions at the office computer. This would mean time off the job site for events, off the road for deliveries, and other frontline work, putting a serious dent in your bottom line.
Microlearning and mobile-friendly content give your employees real-time compliance information, process updates, or other skills they need, when and where they need it.
Close skills gaps for busy employees with:
- Learning in the flow of work with bite-sized content
- Custom configurations to embed your training in your company tech stack
- Turn legacy content into microlearning courses in minutes
To get as much value out of learning as possible, business outcomes must reflect the needs of employees and customers. Thanks to a strategic framework, water management company Wave Utilities is seeing highly integrated performance improvements that resulted in an eight-point improvement of their NPS score. Their award-winning L&D team focuses on role-specific, just-in-time learning that improves employee and customer retention, satisfaction, and a thriving culture of improvement. It’s a win-win.
10. Extend your skills gap management to external stakeholders
An SLS makes it easy to close skills gaps in your business ecosystem.
When it comes to closing skills gaps, looking inward is only the beginning. Customers, partners, members, and suppliers all play a role in a business's success, and without the right knowledge, inefficiencies and missed opportunities can pile up. The solution? Training external stakeholders can permeate hidden gaps, turning learning into a strategy for more productivity and profitability.
Beyond saved time and revenue, there’s also risk to consider. Third-party risk management (TPRM) is crucial for maintaining compliance and protection in your organization. When vendors and suppliers understand your standards and expectations, you reduce vulnerabilities and keep operations running smoothly.
Here’s what you’re missing without an SLS:
- Curate a library of high-priority topics from thousands of pre-built courses
- Create custom courses in minutes for proprietary knowledge training
- Sell your training as a revenue stream
- Use your design guidelines to brand your platform for a seamless learning experience
Well-trained external stakeholders get way more value from working with you, leading to higher retention and satisfaction. Essential knowledge brings smoother collaboration, more leads, and overall stronger business outcomes.
SLS case study: AI adoption with Atlassian
Before Atlassian introduced an SLS for AI training, they knew two things to be true: that AI adoption wasn’t going to appear out of thin air, and two, where a gap in their business needs necessitates a strategy, upskilling is the number one solution.
Challenge
Use AI training to create savings and revenue opportunities
Teaching sales teams how to use AI is akin to throwing jet fuel on a bonfire. Automation brings sales teams renewed energy, increased communication with leads, and more strategic thinking. Operating in 13 countries and with over 10,000 employees, Atlassian didn’t want to miss the opportunity to enable their sales team with AI skills that could give them an edge in a competitive market.
Solution
Create specialized courses for AI-powered sales tools
Atlassian used three main solutions to close the AI gap:
- Developed an AI training program: Created a specialized course called “AI for sales customization and efficiency” and others to increase awareness and use of AI tools for sales and customer experience teams.
- Delivered the courses with an SLS: To scale globally, Atlassian used Absorb LMS to scale with accuracy and security, to get all the insights they need to close the AI gap.
- Engaged key stakeholders in content creation: An LMS is a prescription, an SLS is preventative care. To launch a strong initiative, they easily involved sales leaders and other stakeholders into the content creation process with a SME-friendly course generator.
Results
Atlassian’s teams embrace AI and win
Along with significant time savings for sales teams, their team overdelivered on strategic business goals.
By tying business outcomes to learning, Atlassian saw incredible growth:
- 330% increase in AI tool usage among customer-facing teams during the launch month, with sustained engagement post-launch.
- 20.7% improvement in AI prompt effectiveness scores, enhancing the quality of customer communications.
- 19% increase in daily AI tool adoption, driving consistent productivity improvements across the salesforce.
With an investment in strategic learning, Atlassian’s sales and customer-facing teams could focus on revenue-generating activities like customer calls and account strategies—not administration and email writing.
Read the full Atlassian case study
Case study 2: Closing external skills gaps with TrueCommerce
Supply chain solutions company TrueCommerce needed an upskilling strategy that could match and scale their significant company growth. Here’s how they did it.
Challenge
Performance-driven learning for employees and customers
When one company sets the standard for distribution, compliance, and logistics upskilling, the entire supply chain benefits. Serving over 180,000 retailers, distributors, and logistics service providers, TrueCommerce sought to address skills gaps in their global commerce network for a more lucrative, net-positive future.
But could they make a solid case to senior leaders for learning as a business advantage? Not a problem! Leaders were sold on compelling results from customer feedback and employee surveys, revealing a huge demand for more product training and resources.
Solution
AI content and gamification
An SLS turns your strengths into more value. TrueCommerce knew they had incredible in-house expertise and a global customer community that could be untethered with the right learning strategies.
Here’s how they did it:
- Created TrueCommerce University: Centralized and streamlined their training into one hub for internal and external audiences.
- Rapid content development: Course content was built using a GAI course creator for rapid creation and deployment.
- Transformed learning obligations into learning experiences: TrueCommerce used Absorb Engage for badges to celebrate milestones, spotlight product, and feature value, and improve the overall training experience.
Results
Improved customer adoption and employee retention
TrueCommerce wasn’t about to invest in training to address obvious gaps in their product training. More than this, they wanted to deliver learning that would turn C-suite’s heads with tangible outcomes.
Did they do it? With an SLS, their team delivered ten-fold:
- Trained thousands of employees and customers with over 300 courses in its first year.
- 12% increase in employees reporting adequate training and a 4% year-over-year reduction in employee turnover.
- 90% completion rate for key self-paced customer service courses and reduced customer onboarding time with tailored training content.
SLS solutions improved TrueCommerceès employee engagement in upskilling, accelerated onboarding processes, and made it easy to close customer skills gaps with self-service product training. Bravo!
Read the full TrueCommerce case study
Time to face the music
The need for reskilling isn’t just a future concern. It’s an urgent challenge that businesses must tackle to avoid falling behind competitors, becoming vulnerable to compliance risks, and losing employees to stagnant team cultures. With industries changing faster than ever, employees and organizations alike risk falling behind without the right learning strategy.
The solution? Future-proof with an SLS
Yes, the skills crisis is real, but so is the opportunity! A strategic learning system is both a tool and a business imperative. With an SLS, you’ll ensure that learning isn’t just reactive, but a continuous, strategic advantage. And when you invest in employee development, you create a workforce that’s adaptable, innovative, and ready for whatever comes next.
