HBR Spark™ elevates leadership development for emerging and established leaders by blending timely, world-class content with a unique Leader Profile and AI-driven personalization. This combination helps to develop individuals, empower teams, and propel your organization toward sustained success amid unprecedented volatility.

‌HBR Spark User Onboarding Experience‌

‌Onboarding Questionnaire‌

When users authenticate into HBR Spark for the very first time, they will land on the welcome page, giving them a quick overview of what HBR Spark offers. Here, users can personalize their learning recommendations and begin tracking their skill development by answering questions related to their current leadership development goals. HBR Spark will use this information to suggest a set of skills – defined by the HBR Leadership Framework - that are most relevant and helpful to them in their leadership development. These skill selections influence the content HBR Spark suggests for personalized learning feeds on the user’s Home page as well as other areas throughout the platform.

The first question asks users about their current role in leadership. The next question is customized based on the users answer, offering options that fit their role best. Once the user finishes taking the questionnaire, they are presented with a set of recommended skills to focus on, based on their answers.

Users can select skills from the recommended skills section; they can select their own by searching for skills in the search bar or by toggling the capabilities to view the skills within. Users can add up to 6 focus skills but must choose at least skill to continue. By selecting focus skills, the user will receive personalized content recommendations tailored to those skills which will be tracked within their Leader Profile.

If users decide to skip the onboarding questions, or if your organization has disabled the questions, they will be taken directly to the skill selection screen. On this screen, there are 10 general suggested skills which HBP believes are critical for every leader at any level. Once users select their focus skills and continue, they will be taken to the Home page.

If users access HBR Spark via a link that brings them directly to content or another area of the site, and they have not yet gone through the onboarding questionnaire, they will be prompted to select skills before they can enter the Home page and see their Feed.

‌Updating Skills‌

If users want to change their focus skills, they can retake the onboarding questionnaire and select different focus skills at any time by clicking on the 'Update your Skills' button in their Leader Profile page.

‌Updating User’s Preferences‌

Users enter their organization’s HBR Spark site with a display name that is set by their organization. The display name will be featured on a users’ Leader Profile and when sharing content. To edit their display name and/or add pronouns, users must update their individual profile by going to Your Leader Profile > Your Settings > Preferences.

‌Discovering Content to Learn From‌

‌Types of Content in HBR Spark‌

HBR Spark contains the highest quality content from Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) across a range of formats including:

Articles:
- Most Harvard Business Review (HBR) magazine articles, with new articles added about 24 hours after a new issue is published
- All HBR digital articles, added to HBR Spark daily
- Tips: Short, actionable advice on leadership and management
- Case Studies: Short, fictionalized versions of case studies based on real-life events
Videos: Short videos produced by Harvard Business Publishing across different topics.
Podcasts: Audio content in the form of podcast episodes produced by HBP across different genres.
Pathways: Collections of multimedia content curated by Harvard Business Publishing to develop specific abilities. This includes pathway series like Skill Builders, Editors’ Picks, Conversation Starters and HBR Magazine Edition pathways. All pathways feature a Harvard Business Publishing branded image.

Details on how to search by these content formats appears in the Search section of this guide.

‌Personalization in HBR Spark‌

HBR Spark personalizes each user’s experience to help build the skills they care about most. Users see tailored suggestions in the learning Feed on their Home page and on their Leader Profile page. These feeds are updated daily.

‌Learning Feed‌

The HBR Spark Home page features a personalized learning Feed, which includes articles, videos, podcasts, and pathways chosen for each user.

HBR Spark recommends Harvard Business Publishing content in the learning Feed based on relevance to users' skill preferences. Upon first login, users will find that the feed at the top of the page, next to the user’s Focus Skills, contains content that matches the skills they selected during the onboarding process.

Users can change their Feeds by editing the list of skills they’d like to develop or add new ones. Users can also update their skills at any time from the Update Your Skills tab on their Leader Profile page.

‌Explore the HBR Leadership Framework on HBR Spark‌

The Explore tab in HBR Spark helps orient users to the HBR Leadership Framework. Read more about our Framework in the HBR Leadership Framework section. This tab leverages our HBR Leadership Framework to develop core skills and capabilities. On this tab, users can explore curated lists of assets categorized by our 61 skills grouped by the 10 capabilities.

At a high level, our listed Capabilities can be found on the left in the 'Browse the framework' navigational pane. These Capabilities represent broad areas of focus for leaders and consist of categories of related skills When users select a skill from this tab, they will be taken to a skill page.

‌

Skill Pages‌

Skill Pages are curated by HBP learning designers for each of the 61 skills. The goal of these pages is to introduce users to a skill within the framework, including a brief description and a collection of content to start their exploration. While not meant to be comprehensive or a focused learning experience like a pathway, Skill Pages serve as an introduction. Users can browse the skill essentials or take a deeper dive to learn more.

‌Ask AI Feature‌

HBR Spark’s Ask AI feature enables learners of all levels to quickly find the answers they need to their pressing leadership and management questions by providing synthesized responses, powered by generative AI and backed by HBR content.

When users select the sparkle icon at the top, they can view their question history, suggested questions, and a free-form text box. They can enter a question, such as “How can I be a more inclusive leader in hybrid meeting?” Ater processing, a concise, bulleted response is returned along with references from the HBR Spark library. Ask AI supports questions in the seven supported languages, returning a synthesized response in the language the question was asked, with relevant resources in English.

Selecting a reference opens it directly in HBR Spark, where users can share, bookmark, and utilize the other HBR Spark functionalities. Users can delve deeper into their questions by asking follow-up questions in the thread. They can also start a new thread and use dynamic suggested questions on the main screen to inspire further inquiries and learning.

‌Search‌

Users can search for content from any page in HBR Spark by selecting the search icon in the top right corner and entering a term in the search bar that appears. Users can also quickly search for content by selecting a category in the search flyout.

HBR Spark prioritizes search results based on relevance to the search term entered. Typing a search term in the search bar displays 10 results, with more available by clicking 'More Results' at the bottom.

The search results amount indicates the number of results displayed and the total results for the current query and applied filters. Clicking "More Details" at the bottom of each content card reveals additional information about each result, including product ID, publication date, and language (if applicable).

The filtering options offer a comprehensive way to enhance the search experience in HBR Spark. By default, search results are sorted by Most Relevant, but you can easily change the sorting option by clicking the dropdown.

When filters are used, search results update instantly. Applied filters appear at the top of the results and can be cleared individually by clicking the 'X' next to each label. To remove all filters, click "Reset All".

‌Filter Details‌

Format

The Format filter allows users to select from various content types, such as:

Articles
Pathways
Podcasts
Skill Pages
Videos

Users can refine their content search using secondary filters. For example:

Selecting ‘Articles’ allows filtering by Case Study, Early Career, or Tip.
Selecting ‘Pathways’ allows filtering by Conversation Starter, Editors’ Pick, or Skill Builder.

Duration

Users can apply the Duration filter to select from various durations, such as:

<5 min
5-15 min
16-30 min
31 min-1h
>1h

Publication Date

Users can apply an additional Publication Date filter to specify a timeframe of publication, such as:

<30 days
<6 months
<1 year
<2 years
>2 years

Skills and Capabilities

Users can choose a Capability to view results filtered by Skills within that Capability. They can further refine their search by selecting or deselecting skills within a Capability.

Dynamic Filters

The dynamic filters ensure a seamless search experience by adapting to the search results.

Filter categories, such as Format and Skills, adapt based on the available options within the search results. As filters are applied, the options for subsequent filters will dynamically change to reflect the remaining results. This dynamic filtering system ensures that users can easily navigate and narrow down search results as they evolve based on selections.

‌

Pathways‌

Pathways are curated collections of learning content focused on specific skills. Pathways enable users to get up to speed quickly or to sharpen existing expertise in an area. There are over 250 learning pathways, curated by HBP editors for users to start and complete.

There are a few different HBP-curated pathway types designed to support diverse needs.

Editors’ Picks
- Deepens awareness or understanding of something
- Curated lists that quickly surface top resources within HBR Spark on this topic for learners or curators
Skill Builders
- Specific skill-based learning experiences
- Used in full to build a specific skill set
Conversation Starters
- Designed to engage and connect employees
- Can be used by any learner – at any level – to start a dialogue on a timely topic with their manager, peers, or team
- Learning and development teams can use Conversation Starters in pathways or program design
Magazine Editions
- HBR Magazine Issues or Special Editions curated into a learning pathway

If users are interested in a pathway topic, they can click the “Start Pathway” button on the pathway page. To complete a pathway, users must complete each required item in that pathway. They do not have to mark items complete specifically from within the pathway, they can mark items complete wherever they complete them (e.g., after reading the article from their Home page or from the search results page).

If users mark an item ‘Complete’ and that item is included in multiple pathways, it will be marked as complete in every pathway that includes it. However, if a pathway contains Learning Activity items, such as application or reflection activities or tasks, these do not contribute to a users’ Leader Profile (for more information about this, see the Leader Profile section).

As users make progress in a pathway they have started, their completion percentage will increase on the main pathway page.

If users select an asset from within a pathway, the utility navigation at the top of the page provides a quick link back to the pathway. Similarly, when users complete an asset on the asset page, a prompt will appear asking if they would like to return to the pathway to continue learning. These small nudges keep users engaged with the pathway.

‌Content Add-Ons‌

If your organization has purchased Harvard ManageMentor (HMM) content, users will see HMM Lessons within HBR Spark. These lessons integrate practice and reflection into the primary learning content to reinforce concepts and actions for building new skills. This approach helps users apply the knowledge gained to their life and work. Lessons are engaging, actionable, and relevant, featuring proven business concepts in various formats like text, videos, and infographics. Additional resources such as articles, videos, and podcasts are included to enhance their learning experience. Please contact your Relationship Manager at Harvard Business Publishing for more information.

If your organization has purchased the HBR Spark Language Pack, users will have access to thousands of translated content items and pathways in the following languages:

Spanish
Japanese
Chinese
Portuguese
German
French
Arabic

The Language Pack includes HBR Digital and Magazine Articles, Case Studies, Videos with translated captions. Harvard Business Publishing will add new translated assets each quarter to ensure the most recent content is available for users. This add-on is available at the organization level for an additional cost. Please contact your Relationship Manager at Harvard Business Publishing for more information.

Leadership Labs provide a safe environment for users to practice and enhance key leadership skills on the job. These labs focus on improving a leader’s ability to navigate change and uncertainty. With 34 engaging and interactive labs, users can explore skill development through videos, quizzes, feedback, and more, all designed to drive engagement and effectiveness. Offering a unique learning design compared to other HBP learning experiences, Labs begin by asking users to practice with minimal context, and the system provides the guidance through feedback. Users who record and re-rate their performance are expected to improve by the end of the Lab, thanks to the built-in loop of practice and feedback.

These Labs feature scenario-based content tailored to specific types of leaders. Users can utilize the Self-Record feature to get into character and respond to video prompts. They can practice their responses and redo them until satisfied, helping to internalize skills. Recordings are transient, hosted within the user’s browser, and erased when their session ends, ensuring privacy. After users are satisfied with their recording, the Lab prompts them to reflect on their performance. They can play back their recording, and the system will tabulate their responses and provide feedback.

‌Individual Content Actions (e.g., Complete, Bookmark, Share)‌

‌Mark Complete‌

When users click the “Mark Complete” button, the content item is added to their Learning History, which is found on their Leader Profile page. The item also contributes to their Leader Profile. Once completed and added to their Leader Profile, the content is grouped into the related skill for users to reference.

‌Bookmark & Share‌

Users can use the buttons on the content cards to bookmark or share content.

Users can also share an item using the Share button on the content card. When sharing, users will have the option to select other users from within their organization that have logged into the platform at least once. Users can also copy a deep link to the content item from within the share screen to send to users outside of the platform. Users will receive an in-app notification when an item is shared with them.

‌Individual Profiles‌

Users can track their learning on their Profile pages, accessible by clicking on the avatar in the top right corner and selecting any of the three options: Leader Profile, Your Bookmarks, or Your Settings. Currently, peers cannot view other user’s profile pages. The profile pages are completely private to the user.

‌Profile Tabs‌

Each Profile section consists of three tabs to help users track their learning and view settings:

Leader Profile: A user’s leadership GPS, focused on a select group of focus skills to track learning and guide future development.
Your Bookmarks: A list of all content items the user has bookmarked for later in HBR Spark.
Your Settings: Where users can update their preferences and view relevant access information.

‌Leader Profile‌

Based on the HBR Leadership Framework, the Leader Profile is a user’s personalized leadership GPS that features targeted recommendations to support their development goals and helps them stay motivated in their learning journey.

Visualization

The “Your Focus Skills” visualization on the Leader Profile page displays users’ progress in specific skills based on completed content only. On the first visit, the visualization displays blank bubbles of equal size, as no content has been completed yet. Users can click on a skill bubble to view details about their focus skill activity, including the number of completed articles, pathways, podcasts, or videos.

As users engage with and complete content in HBR Spark, their skill bubbles will grow and change in size and color based on their activity. If users focus more on one skill, its bubble will become larger compared to other skills they haven't explored as much. For example, if users read numerous articles on creating a business case, that skill's bubble will be larger due to the higher number of completed assets related to it.

The Leader Profile empowers users to adjust their focus skills as they progress through their learning journey, recognizing that users leadership development goals can change over time. Users can update their focus skills at any time by using the ‘Update Your Skills’ button on the Leader Profile tab. This will automatically update their personalized recommendations on HBR Spark.

‌HBR Leadership Framework‌

The Your Overall Progress view provides a comprehensive look at the user’s journey within the HBR Leadership Framework, encompassing 61 skills across 10 capabilities. It allows users to track their current focus skills, the skills they've engaged with, and those they have yet to explore within the HBR Leadership Framework.

In this view, the bubbles represent "Your Focus Skills" and the skills included in "Your Overall Progress", grouped by capabilities.

Users will also receive a summary of aggregated data for each capability, along with a snippet of their activity within the capabilities they have already started.

By clicking on any skill bubble, users can see how many assets they have completed, including articles, pathways, podcasts, or videos.

Develop Your Focus Skills

In this section, users can discover recommended content related their chosen Focus skills, allowing them to delve deeper into these skills and review curated recommendations from HBR Spark.

Your Learning History

Users can filter their learning history by entering keywords in the "Search Your Learning History" field. For example, typing "Article" will display completed articles, while "Leadership" will filter results by title. Only completed items will be shown; items currently in progress or recently viewed will not appear.

‌Your Bookmarks‌

This section allows users to access the content they have saved (bookmarked) throughout HBR Spark.

Your Settings

Users can view and edit their display name and pronouns set by their organization. To edit their display name and/or add pronouns, please refer to the Updating User’s Preferences section of this guide.

‌Notifications‌

Users receive in-app notifications when content is shared with them via the Share feature. Notifications can be accessed by selecting the bell icon in the global navigation. Unread notifications are marked with green tags. These in-app notifications include the sender's name, the format of the shared item, the hyperlinked title, and an optional message from the sender. Users can select the title hyperlink to navigate the shared item.

‌Privacy‌

HBR Spark uses cookies. Users can indicate their preference by accepting all cookies or rejecting all nonessential cookies. If users have questions regarding cookies, they can visit our cookies privacy policy page .

‌Admin‌

As an administrator, you have access to an Admin section within HBR Spark. Here, you can create a custom Pathway, search custom pathways, and view a list of published, drafted, or archived pathways that were created by yourself or others in your organization.

‌Providing Access to HBR Spark‌

There are two primary methods of providing employees access to HBR Spark. The easiest for the user and administrator is to use Single Sign-On (SSO) auto-provisioning. When a new user initiates their first session in HBR Spark, that user’s account is automatically created and passes the user into the site.

If your organization does not have SSO set up, then users can pre-loaded with a bulk upload to HBR Spark once a month. This work can be completed by the HBP Product Support team.

Although they will have access, users will not appear in the HBR Spark interface until they authenticate into the HBR Spark site.

‌Pathway Authoring‌

Only the organization’s Admins have access to the Pathway Authoring feature. All custom pathways created within your organization will be available to all admins in the “Admin” section of the platform, under the Catalog tab. Learners can view, start, and complete published pathways created by admins but cannot create custom pathways themselves.

‌Creating a Pathway‌

Creating a pathway on HBR Spark is a straightforward process designed to help administrators craft custom learning experiences for their organization. To create a new pathway, access the Admin section from the link in the top right of the navigation. Here, you can create a new pathway by

selecting the “+ Create Pathway” button. This action will create a new, unique pathway and then list it in your catalog. Even if the pathway is empty, it will still be part of the catalog. Once you create a new pathway, you will be taken directly to the pathway editor to begin adding and editing content.

Editing a Pathway

The pathway editor provides a visual, WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) interface, allowing you to see how the pathway will appear to learners. Any changes you make in the pathway will save automatically. Below are the steps you can take for editing a pathway.

By default, all pathways have a default title placeholder that can be updated and an optional description section. To update the title and description, simply select on the area to type. Admins can add skills from the HBR Leadership Framework to a pathway. Published pathways with skills added will appear in search results when filtered by those skills. There is no limit to the number of skills that can be tagged to a pathway.

‌Adding Content‌

Select the “Add Items” button to add content from the HBP Catalog or create your own. All these

items contribute to the overall pathway duration but can be marked as Optional.

Admins can search, filter, and sort content from the HBP Catalog and add multiple items at once. Custom pathways can also contain other pathways.

Posts and Links are only available in the specific pathway they were created in. Learners can complete these items, which will count towards their pathway completion. Links direct to external URLs, which will open in a new tab. With a Post, you can add text and images. Titles and descriptions can be added to both Links and Posts.

‌Marking Content as Optional‌

You can mark items within a pathway as optional to let learners know they aren't required for pathway completion. Optional items do not factor into learners' completion progress and are excluded from the overall pathway duration.

‌Deleting Items‌

If you need to remove an item from a pathway, you can delete it within the pathway editor. Deleted items are not stored, so if you want to re-add an item, you must do so with the “+ Add Items” button. To delete, select the trash can button in the asset menu when an item is selected.

Adding Sections

Sections help to categorize your items in a Pathway. These are not required but are helpful when creating Pathways with larger numbers of content items. To create a section, select the “Create a Section” button in the pathway editor. Sections have their own titles, descriptions, asset counts, and durations. You can create up to 50 sections in a pathway, and sections can be deleted.

Rearranging Assets

All assets in a pathway can be rearranged to change their order. If you move a section, all items within that section will move with it. To rearrange, select the rearrange button in the asset menu, and drag the asset to the desired area. Items can be dragged from:

Section to section
Pathway to section
Section to Pathway

Items can also be dragged to different positions within the same section of items.

‌Saving Changes‌

Changes made in the pathway editor are saved automatically. If you finish editing but do not want to publish the pathway yet, you can save and close, which will retain your changes in an ‘Updates

Pending’ state, while keeping the previously published version of the pathway visible to learners. If your session expires, any changes made will be saved automatically. If an error occurs during this process, the system will prompt you to save manually. You can see the save status from the top center navigation of the pathway editor. Note: the editing session will time out after 2 minutes of inactivity, in which you will need to login again.

‌Publishing a Pathway‌

Once you have created a pathway and are ready for learners to start using it, it is ready to be published. Publishing a pathway makes it visible to all learners within your organization only.

When an admin publishes a pathway for the first time, they are brought to a preview page of the pathway, where they can copy and share the link with learners immediately. Learners will be able to find the pathway on their own through search results 24 hours after publication.

‌Pathway States‌

Draft State

This is the default state for a newly created pathway. In this state, admins can edit the pathway, save and close it without publishing, or publish from the draft state. Draft pathways are not visible to learners and can only be accessed by admins from the catalog. Note that draft pathways can also be archived.

Published State

When a pathway is published, it becomes accessible to all learners in the organization to be started and completed. Anyone with admin access can edit and archive any published pathways. Editing a published pathway puts it into the Updates Pending state.

Updates Pending State

This state occurs when an admin has edited a published pathway but not yet published the changes. The published version remains available to learners while the admin makes changes. Admins can save and close without publishing, discard changes, or publish the updated pathway. Once published, the new version replaces the old one. If the pathway has been saved with changes but without publishing, the status on the Admin catalog will say ‘Updates Pending.’ An admin cannot view or restore previously published versions of a pathway.

Archived State

Both draft and published pathways can be archived. Archiving removes the pathway from the learner’s view but retains the data for administrative reporting purposes. Admins can restore archived pathways, which sets them back to the draft state. Note: you cannot edit a pathway that is in archived state. It must be restored to be edited and then republished. After restoring, user data is restored (ex. learner pathway progress – if a pathway is at 80% before its archived, when it is restored, the learner will still be at 80%).

Locking and Unlocking

To prevent concurrent editing so no two administrators are making conflicting edits, pathways are locked when an admin is editing them. This means no two admins can edit the same pathway simultaneously. Similarly, pathway actions are limited to the current editor. For example, an admin cannot archive a pathway that is locked by another admin. The pathway is unlocked when the admin exits the editor or their session times out.

If an admin enters the pathway editor (opens a draft, opens a pathway previously published or a pathway with unpublished changes):

The specific pathway is locked for all other admins in the organization (no one else can be in the pathway editor at the same time).

Locking also applies to the admin editing the pathway in the sense that they cannot open multiple tabs/windows of the pathway editor.

In the catalog, all other admins can see the pathway is locked and is not available to be edited. When an admin creates a new pathway, they are taken to the pathway editor page and the draft pathway is added to the catalog. The new pathway is then locked, which is reflected in the catalog.

A pathway is unlocked when:

An admin is no longer in the pathway editor, whether it is due to user action (saving and closing) or abandonment (exiting out of the browser).
Their editing session expires

A pathway is archived
When a pathway is published, the page redirects to the learner view of the pathway. At this point, the pathway is unlocked.
When a previously published pathway is republished with updates, the page redirects to the learner view of the pathway. At this point, the pathway is unlocked.

Pathway Preview from Catalog

Multiple Admins can preview a pathway from the client catalog without publishing changes. The Edit lock allows one admin to make changes in the pathway editor while someone else can preview.

Preview is available for:

Drafts
Published Pathways
Archived Pathways
Published pathways with Updates Pending

‌Deleting a Pathway‌

An archived pathway can be deleted from your HBR Spark instance to avoid cluttering the catalog. An admin will need to archive the pathway before it can be deleted permanently. Reporting data will still be available.

‌Duplicating a Pathway‌

Admins can duplicate and edit published pathways to have a starting point when curating their own pathways.

‌Pathways: Reporting‌

You can report on custom pathways usage by referring to your existing reports in Domo to help track the engagement with your custom pathways and make data-driven decisions.

Custom Pathways will integrate into the existing reporting functionality, like any other asset or HBP Pathway:

The HBR Leadership Framework will include activity around Custom Pathways based on the active skills associated with the Pathway
The Content Report will include Pathway details (name, ID, etc.) and relevant activity Pathway Activity Over Time
Pathway Activity Details will include Pathway details (name, ID, etc.) and relevant counts of pathway starts, completions, and calculated completion rate
The Activity Transaction Report will reflect views, starts, and completions
The Pathway Activity Report will reflect the pathways and each user’s relevant start and completion date

Other data around pathways (e.g., pathway progress, custom assets within the pathway, etc.) will be considered as part of a future update and are not yet available in Domo.

Pathways: Learner Experience‌

Once a custom pathway is published on HBR Spark, learners can access and interact with it in various ways. Here’s what learners can expect:

‌Accessing & Interacting with Custom Pathways‌

Learners will only see custom pathways once they have been published. These pathways can be found via search or through notifications if they have been shared with the learner. Admins also have access to published custom pathways from the learner's point of view.

The interaction with custom pathways is like existing HBP pathways. Learners can share, start, bookmark, and complete pathways. They can also track their progress within a pathway. For example, if a learner has completed half of the required assets in a custom pathway, their progress will show as 50% complete.

‌Progress and Completion‌

Currently, the completion of custom pathways does not count towards a learner's Leader Profile. However, the completion will be reflected in the Learning History section of the learner’s profile and will appear in Admin reporting via Domo.

‌Pathway Updates‌

Learners will always see the most recently published version of a pathway. If an admin is editing a pathway or has saved changes without publishing, learners will still interact with the last published version. When changes are published, the learner will see the new version of the pathway.

When a pathway that a learner has already started is updated, the learner's progress will be updated accordingly. For instance, if a learner has completed 8 out of 10 assets (80%) and the admin adds two more required assets, the progress will adjust to 8 out of 12 assets (67%) automatically.

If a learner has completed a pathway and it is later updated, the completion will still be noted in Admin reporting and the learner's If a learner has completed a pathway and it is later updated, the completion will still be noted in Admin reporting and the learner's Learning History. The learner will see an indication that the pathway was previously completed, but the progress percentage will reflect the new total (i.e., the pathway in the use case above will be marked as Previously Completed, but the pathway percentage will reflect 67%).

‌Archived Pathways‌

When a pathway is archived, learners can no longer access it. If a learner has started but not completed an archived pathway, it will not appear in any learner-facing views, including search results, Learning History, and Bookmarks. If a learner has completed a pathway that is then archived, it will no longer appear in their Learning History, but the completion will be retained in Admin reporting.

‌Restored Pathways‌

If an admin restores and republishes a previously archived pathway, learners will be able to find it in search and see their last progress. For example, if a learner was at 80% completion before the pathway was archived, they will still be at 80% when it is restored. Restored pathways will reappear in Admin reporting with the latest learner progress and completion data.

‌Creating Groups‌

‌Create groups and manage audiences‌

Groups allow administrators to organize learners into specific cohorts or segments to streamline content distribution. By creating a Group, you can assign pathways or share individual assets with a targeted audience in a single action. Administrators can create Groups and manage Group membership to ensure that learning experiences remain relevant to specific roles, departments, or development tracks. Within the HBR Spark admin view, administrators can access a centralized Groups Table to see and manage all of their organization's groups.

‌Managing Group Details‌

By clicking View Details for any specific group, administrators can access the management interface to perform the following updates:

Edit Name: Modify the group identifier for better organization.
Member Management: Manually add or remove individual learners to keep the cohort current.
Delete Group: Permanently remove the group from the system.

Assigning Content‌

‌Create assignments for learners or groups‌

The Assign feature enables administrators to mandate specific content—such as individual articles, videos, or full pathways—to individual learners or defined Groups. When initiating an assignment, administrators have the option to include custom instructions, providing learners with specific context or guidance on why the material is relevant to their development. Once assigned, the learner is instantly notified, and they can access the assignment via the notification.

‌Managing Assignments‌

Administrators can monitor and manage all active distributions through the Assignments Tab within the HBR Spark admin view. This centralized table provides a comprehensive overview of current assigned activity throughout their organization, including:

Assignment Title: The internal name given to the assignment.
Item Assigned: The specific pathway or asset name.
Created By: The name of the administrator who initiated the assignment.
Date Created: The timestamp of when the assignment was issued.

Cancellations and Notifications

Any administrator with appropriate permissions can cancel an active assignment. If an assignment is canceled, the assignee is immediately notified. To ensure internal alignment, if an administrator cancels an assignment that they did not originally create, the original creator will receive an automated notification informing them of the change. Regardless of cancellation, any learner completions already recorded will be retained in both the learner's history and admin reporting.

‌HBR Spark Reporting‌

‌HBR Spark Dashboard‌

The HBR Spark Dashboard, powered by the Domo platform, offers on-demand access to timely and meaningful product data. Designed for self-service, the dashboard is updated daily with the latest data and features to help you, as an administrator, to monitor team engagement and learning. This document provides an overview of the dashboard's functionality and available metrics.

‌HBR Spark System Requirements‌

‌Whitelist URLS‌

To optimize HBR Spark, the following URLs should be whitelisted at your organization:

Domain	Purpose
`*.hbrspark.org`	Core URL for the HBR Spark product
`*.hbr.org`	Podcasts, terms of use
`*.hbrascend.org`	Certain images and data
*`dwl62ljnkbjtp.cloudfront.net`	Certain images
`*.myhbp.org`	Asset delivery, manual login, system check
`*.appcues.com`	In-app learner experiences
`*.appcues.net`	In-app learner experiences
`*.kaltura.com`	Video delivery
`*.ctfassets.net`	Asset delivery (Contentful)
`*.typekit.net`	Adobe fonts
`*.adobetarget.com`	Adobe analytics and testing
`*.adobedtm.com`	Adobe analytics
`*.omdrtc.net`	Adobe analytics
`*.demdex.net`	Adobe analytics
`*.googletagmanager.com`	Google analytics
`*.google-analytics.com`	Google analytics
`*.qualtrics.com`	Learner survey and analytics
`*.zendesk.com`	KnowledgeGuide, support tickets
`*.zdassets.com`	Customer support
`*.zdassets.org`	Customer support
`*.zopim.com`	Customer chat

‌Desktop System Requirements‌

You can run HBR Spark from any operating system with one of the supported internet browsers. HBR Spark uses an SSL connection.

‌Supported Desktop and Mobile Browsers‌

Harvard Business Publishing recommends Google Chrome. However, you can use:

The latest version of Google Chrome
The latest version of Safari
The latest version of Firefox
The latest version of Microsoft Edge
The latest version of Internet Explorer

BlackBerry Access, which is an alternative app to BlackBerry’s native browser, is not supported.

‌HBR Spark Admin and User Support‌

You can access the HBR Spark help center by clicking on the link in footer at the bottom right corner of the screen. Clicking on the Technical Support link will open an email draft addressed to the Harvard Business Publishing Product Support team.

Selecting the System Check link will take you to our Harvard Business Publishing Help Center.

If users or admins cannot access HBR Spark, please contact our Customer Service team via one of the following methods:

techhelp@harvardbusiness.org
1-800-668-6705 (US)
1-617-783-7474 (International)
Go to https://myhbp.org/ to chat with Customer Service

ADMINISTRATOR’S GUIDE

HBR Spark™