GoSkills became our hub for new hires. It gave them structure, clarity, and something meaningful to accomplish in their first 90 days.
— Sherilyn Sperling, Employee Relations & Development Manager at AWKO
Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz (AWKO) is a national law firm headquartered in Pensacola, Florida, with more than 350 staff supporting clients across the United States. With over 160 years of combined legal experience and more than $10 billion recovered for clients, the firm operates at a fast pace that demands clarity, precision, and well-structured training.
As the firm grew, so did the need for a scalable way to onboard new hires and upskill existing employees across departments — without overloading HR or managers. That’s when AWKO turned to GoSkills, choosing it as their learning management system (LMS) for employee onboarding and training.
Since adopting the GoSkills LMS for employee onboarding, AWKO has created a centralized learning hub where employees can access consistent, high-quality training anytime. Today, more than 200 team members use the platform, with course completion rates regularly topping 90%. The result is a streamlined onboarding process and a culture of continuous learning that scales with the firm.
Learn more: Download the full AWKO case study
Why AWKO chose GoSkills as their LMS for employee onboarding
Before GoSkills, AWKO relied on a manual approach called “New Hire Training Week” — a hands-on program that worked well when the firm was smaller. But as the firm grew, the model couldn’t keep up. With 5–15 new hire groups starting every two weeks, HR and managers found themselves repeating the same sessions again and again, leaving little time for deeper development.
AWKO initially adopted GoSkills just before COVID to certify case managers in Excel. But when the pandemic disrupted in-person training, the team quickly realized the platform could support far more than one-off certifications.
Ultimately, AWKO needed an employee onboarding LMS that could support the firm across five key areas:
- Support fast, consistent onboarding
- Reduce the burden on HR and managers
- Empower employees to learn independently
- Make training feel approachable, engaging, and easy to access
- Scale with the firm as it continued to grow
How GoSkills helped law firm AWKO modernize onboarding and training
With GoSkills, the law firm could better focus on high-impact changes that delivered immediate results:
- Structured onboarding that scales
- Easy course creation to empower internal knowledge sharing
- Just-in-time learning that supports engagement and completion
1. Structured onboarding that scales
GoSkills helped AWKO replace its manual onboarding model with a repeatable, role-specific experience for every new hire. Training administrators assign 7–10 essential courses to be completed in the first 90 days — covering communication, productivity, Microsoft tools, and job-specific systems — and track progress with ease.
To keep onboarding structured and scalable, Sherilyn Sperling, Employee Relations & Development Manager at AWKO, and her team relied on features like:
- Due dates to keep new hires accountable from day one
- Automated reminders to reduce manual follow-up from managers
- Progress tracking and reports to monitor completion and learning activity
- Teams and Assignments to tailor onboarding by department, role, or unit
This structured approach saved time for HR, reduced training inconsistencies, and gave employees a clear path to success.
Sometimes when you start a new job, you feel like you’re floating. With GoSkills lessons, you have something structured to focus on, and it feels good to accomplish those trainings in your first 90 days.
— Clara Hottinger, HR Admin at AWKO
2. Easy course creation to empower internal knowledge sharing
As AWKO’s learning strategy evolved, the team started using the GoSkills Course Builder to create internal training tailored to their systems, tools, and workflows. Subject-matter experts from departments like HR and IT began turning their day-to-day know-how into short, accessible courses with quizzes and downloadable guides.
This approach made training feel more relevant and approachable. Instead of waiting for a manager or repeating explanations, employees could revisit bite-sized content built by their peers — whenever they needed it.
It also had a cultural impact. Team members felt more involved in the learning process, and internal knowledge that once lived in silos became scalable, repeatable training.
It’s a great way for us to highlight our team members and make them feel part of the firm’s growth.
— Sherilyn Sperling, Employee Relations & Development Manager at AWKO
3. Just-in-time learning that supports engagement and completion
Beyond acting as an LMS for employee onboarding, GoSkills also became a go-to resource for just-in-time learning across the firm. The bite-sized courses in the GoSkills Course Library made it easy for employees to revisit lessons whenever a new challenge or skill gap arose.
It (GoSkills’ Microsoft OneNote Training course) helped me feel more self-sufficient. If I don’t know how to handle a situation, I check if there’s a GoSkills lesson. It’s really built my confidence.
— Clara Hottinger, HR Admin at AWKO
To sustain learning momentum, AWKO also introduced an initiative called “GoSkills of the Month.” Each month, employees who completed selected courses were entered into a raffle to win gift cards. The program created a sense of friendly competition and helped drive engagement across the firm — even as the learner base continued to grow.
My team loves it — they race each other to finish lessons. Even with a hundred people joining the raffle, everyone feels they have an equal chance.
— Clara Hottinger, HR Admin at AWKO
What AWKO achieved with GoSkills
Over the past three years, AWKO has seen measurable improvements across every area of its training program — from learner engagement and completion rates to certifications and time spent learning. GoSkills helped maintain momentum and consistency, reinforcing a strong culture of learning at every level.
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 (Jan–Nov) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course completion rate | 85% | 95% | 91% |
| Certificates earned | 847 | 1,967 | 2,488 |
| Active learners | 112 | 176 | 211 |
| Total time spent learning | 1,293 hours | 1,513 hours | 1,657 hours |
| Total GoSkills reward coins earned | 535,405 | 582,075 | 733,285 |
What your team can learn from AWKO’s success
AWKO’s journey with GoSkills shows that you don’t need a large L&D team to build a high-impact training program. With the right tools and a focused approach, it’s possible to scale onboarding, empower internal experts, and create a culture where learning sticks.
Here are five practical takeaways you can apply to your own learning strategy:
- Centralize onboarding to scale faster: A structured onboarding program with clear deadlines and automated reminders keeps new hires on track and reduces manual follow-up for HR and managers.
- Empower employees to create custom training: Giving subject-matter experts the tools to build and share knowledge boosts engagement and ensures your training reflects real workflows and systems.
- Use bite-sized content to support daily work: Short, focused lessons make it easier for employees to learn in the flow of work — and revisit key information whenever they need it.
- Incentivize learning with simple engagement strategies: Programs like AWKO’s “GoSkills of the Month” raffle encourage friendly competition and help sustain motivation over time.
- Build a culture of self-directed learning: When employees know exactly where to go for support, they feel more confident solving problems independently — and more invested in their growth.
Wrapping it up
AWKO’s story is a powerful example of how the right LMS can simplify onboarding, boost engagement, and build a culture of continuous learning — even without a dedicated L&D team. To explore their full journey, check out the full case study.
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