Adjusting to working from home is an immediate and obvious example of a use case for learning at speed and scale, but there are any number of situations in which organizations need to deploy a fast track to learning for a broad audience. Here are a few that have come up in recent conversations with our clients:

• A global IT organization – one that’s characterized by its maturity and intelligence – places a high value on the velocity of ideas. They want to get new ideas into the hands of their learners as quickly as possible, so that those learners can begin putting those ideas into immediate practice to benefit their customers.
• Another client isn’t waiting for the DNA of their culture to trickle down. They’re looking to cascade that cultural DNA across their organization in a short span of time so that all employees are aligned.
• A major bank recognizes that the digital revolution is continuing to disrupt the way banks operate, and the expectations that their customers have of the banking experience. They’re planning to create awareness across their entire organization so that all employees think and act from a digital mindset perspective.

Quick and easily consumed learning opportunities – or “learning sprints” as we’ve come to call them – can rapidly engage learners on any number of timely topics, helping organizations harness the velocity of ideas. They can be used to strengthen the competencies that foster embrace of an organization’s principles, values, and culture. They can help drive strategic initiatives across the organization – quickly and effectively. Fast paths to learning also enable organizations to support their employees with opportunities for the continuous learning today’s world requires, while also acknowledging that these employees are more time-pressed than ever.

What do leadership development opportunities that can reach learners at all levels, at speed and scale, look like?

These opportunities provide content that’s right sized and can be quickly consumed when a learner can carve out a bit of learning time during their busy day. These learning sprints start with relevant and timely content that can range from a video viewed in several minutes, to an article laying out the latest ideas from an expert; followed by an easy way to practice in the context of their workplace and discuss it with their peers. Implicit in this is the need for learner choice when it comes to choosing the topics that resonate with them so they are invested in their learning.

While learning at speed and scale can and should offer learners flexibility and choice, it should be offered in a guided way. This will help learners stay on the learning path their organization has laid out for them, whether that’s getting employees to move with the velocity of ideas; internalize their organization’s values; develop a digital mindset; or fully adapting to working or managing from home.

Successful organizations understand the importance of learning – and the importance of making sure that learning can be accomplished at the speed and scale required in today’s rapidly changing landscape.

How do you scale learning across your organization?

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Jeff DeSmet is senior product manager, Digital Learning, at Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning. Email him at jeff.desmet@harvardbusiness.org.