An Interview with Craig Basford, EVP of Product at Absorb Software
The demands on HR and learning and development (L&D) teams are escalating rapidly. With skills needed for work expected to change by 70% in the next five years, HR professionals are facing unprecedented pressure to deliver comprehensive upskilling programmes across diverse workforces. This intensity is pushing nearly half of all HR professionals to the brink of burnout. Craig Basford, EVP of Product at Absorb Software, explores how advanced AI, particularly Agentic AI, can alleviate this burden, transform learning outcomes, and enable HR teams to shift from reactive administration to strategic, human-centred work.
How can AI, like Agentic AI, help HR teams, especially those that are stretched thin, keep up with upskilling demands?
Many learning owners within organisations didn’t set out to become L&D professionals – they found themselves in the role, often by necessity. Historically, HR teams focused on a narrow set of training initiatives, usually centred around compliance or broad, one-size-fits-all programmes. But as AI technology has advanced, so have the expectations. The scope of upskilling has expanded dramatically, and the skills needed for work are expected to change by 70% in the next five years.
AI allows HR teams to move from reactive administrators to proactive enablers, removing the manual burden and creating space to focus on human-forward, strategic work.
As the demand for more sophisticated learning strategies grows, it’s no surprise nearly half of HR professionals say they’re on the verge of burnout. They’re being asked to create and scale complex programmes across dispersed workforces, all while navigating tools they weren’t trained to use. AI technology is both the catalyst for this increased pressure and the solution to solving it. Especially for lean teams, AI allows HR teams to move from reactive administrators to proactive enablers, removing the manual burden and creating space to focus on human-forward, strategic work. According to a report by Gartner, by 2025, 75% of businesses worldwide will have adopted AI-powered tools to support employee development and performance, making it imperative for HR leaders to scale with intelligence, not just effort.
What are some of the best use cases of AI in upskilling and training programmes?
One of the areas where AI is making the most impact is content creation. Building effective learning materials has always been a resource-heavy task, especially when trying to scale across multiple departments or tailor content for different roles. Companies like TMA Systems are using Absorb’s AI content creation tool to produce high-quality, business-specific courses in a third of the time it used to take. For teams managing dozens of modules and limited resources, that’s not just a convenience – it’s transformative.
AI can also deliver learning in multiple modalities. The same way every employee starts at a different place and needs to build different skills, they also learn in different ways. Now, instead of building one static course, HR professionals can ask AI to generate the same content in three different formats like a podcast, a gamified quiz, and a scenario-based walkthrough. Not only does this make training more relevant, it makes it more engaging and accessible.
Additionally, AI-powered skills assessments help organisations understand what individual employees need to develop and where skill gaps exist across the business. HR teams can get a detailed look at where each employee needs support, but can also look more holistically at the organisation’s progress.
As Agentic AI starts to become more accessible, HR no longer has to act as the single point of control. For smaller teams, this often means they end up being lynchpins instead of enablers to learning. Instead, they can become managers of a network of intelligent agents that will handle tasks proactively. For example, they might want to understand which employees have yet to complete the latest product training. Agentic AI can identify those employees, assign content, and track completion.
Ultimately, this kind of automation will turn upskilling from a fragmented, manual process into a more impactful programme that delivers real organisational ROI.
Why does AI-powered upskilling improve learning outcomes, both for employees and for organisations?
AI-powered upskilling is so powerful for a simple, yet previously unattainable reason: it meets every single employee where they are. In the absence of AI, traditional training strategies have defaulted to one-size-fits-all content, regardless of an employee’s role, prior knowledge, or goals. It’s not for lack of trying or carelessness – it’s because up until now, most HR teams haven’t had the resources to personalise training. As a result, engagement drops off and outcomes (and employees) suffer.
AI makes personalisation scalable, helping learners understand where they are today, define where they want to go, and receive curated learning experiences aligned to those goals. This level of hyper personalisation boosts engagement and drives real outcomes, whether it’s improving sales enablement, increasing compliance scores, or accelerating adoption of AI tools.
At the same time, AI lifts the execution burden from HR and L&D teams. Instead of assigning training or chasing completions, they can focus on strategic questions: Are we seeing productivity gains? Which teams are making progress, and which need support?
This shift allows learning leaders to dig deeper and apply human judgment where it matters most.
This shift allows learning leaders to dig deeper and apply human judgment where it matters most. For example, if the IT department is lagging behind sales or legal in training engagement, it might not be a content issue, it might be cultural. Maybe managers aren’t reinforcing the importance of learning, or employees don’t see how the training connects to their day-to-day work. This isn’t something AI can fix, but it’s exactly where HR teams thrive: building learning cultures, driving alignment, and influencing behaviour change.
As AI tools become more advanced, what skills will L&D leaders need to successfully manage AI-powered programmes?
What’s required is curiosity, adaptability, and strategic thinking – all skills HR professionals already bring to the table. The opportunity now is learning how to apply those strengths in collaboration with AI, so it can amplify their impact in the areas where the human touch matters most.
One of the biggest shifts will be learning to delegate to AI agents. Historically, HR teams have been the owners of all parts of upskilling programmes – pulling reports, assigning training, developing modules, and fielding questions. With Agentic AI, many of these tasks can now be automated. This shift enables L&D leaders to move from doing the work themselves to managing a network of intelligent systems executing on their behalf.
To do that well, leaders will need to become strong “AI translators.” This includes prompt engineering – learning how to communicate intent clearly to get the outcomes they want – as well as knowing when and how to pivot when upskilling programmes are falling short.
Data literacy will be just as important. AI can surface insights on engagement, performance, or productivity, but it can’t decide what matters most. HR teams will still need to ask the right questions, interpret the trends, and take action in ways aligned with business priorities.
As AI becomes more embedded in learning systems, the role of L&D leaders is shifting from tactical execution to orchestration of AI-powered learning programmes. This evolution doesn’t require technical fluency or coding expertise, but it does require a new level of strategic thinking and comfort working alongside AI as part of the team.
Conclusion
The integration of AI into upskilling and L&D strategies marks a significant evolution for HR. By automating routine tasks and enabling hyper-personalisation, AI empowers HR teams to overcome burnout and focus on high-impact, strategic initiatives that foster a culture of continuous learning. For HR leaders, success in this new landscape hinges not on technical expertise, but on cultivating curiosity, adaptability, and strategic thinking to effectively collaborate with AI, driving both individual growth and organisational ROI.