We’ve simplified digital credentialing best practices down to the top 15 most important:
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- Get trained and make it a priority. Access everything you can in the Academy and learn to search the Issuer Help Center. We know that organizations that complete training and issue badges within 60 days and follow best practices are the ones who succeed!
Account Hygiene - Check your account periodically. Keep your profile information up-to-date, especially contact and support information. Learn how to add other users to help you manage your program, but also remove those who are no longer with your organization.
Put Goals and Governance in Writing - The absolute best programs document their goals and strategies through a “governance document.” It becomes the guiding reference as you grow. Having clear goals also allows you to measure success in the long run.
Badge Templates - The badge content tells the story of who did what and the overall value behind the achievement through several data fields you are asked to provide. Be thorough when describing what your credential represents.
- Focus on the earner. Credentials give an organic marketing boost, and we have 2 places where you can link out to information for the public. Still, the metadata should be focused on the earner.
- Make sure your skills have meaning. Test the links once you add them to view what occupation insights data results and refine as needed.
- Layer on features like recommendations and printable certificates so your earners get the most out of the digital credential(s).
- Audit your templates at least annually. Edit for clarity and purpose, and consider archiving those you no longer issue. Test the links that you’ve optionally provided and ensure that they are still active on your site.
Issuing Badges - Issue in a timely fashion. Participation and acceptance rates tend to be the highest when digital credentials are issued as close to the completion date as possible.
- Look into how you might automate issuance, either through using our APIs, existing integrations, or solutions like Workato and Zapier.
- Know how to fix a mistake since everyone makes them! It is possible to edit names, issue dates, expirations and pending emails, for example. Revocation is also an option.
Understand the Earner Experience - Take the time to fully understand the earner experience. That’s the best way to be able to explain it to other champions and to coach earners through the bumps. Pro tip: issue a badge to yourself or a focus group and test it out.
Marketing and Communications - Market, market, market. Education and awareness around your digital badging program is crucial towards achieving buy-in and participation. It is not a one and done activity. You will need to continuously market throughout the life of your digital credentialing program. A lot of marketing is done up front for pre-launch efforts, but as your program grows, marketing activities may look different, and your content needs to reach new earners.
- Think of marketing as an opportunity to teach your earners about the benefits of a digital credential and what to expect. Use our resources. We have a Marketing Toolkit with pre-templated communications and resources for you to leverage. We also have resources on Canva that you can use to brand for yourself.
Check the Metrics - Review your program's analytics periodically to determine how your program is performing. Specifically, reflect back on your original goals (best practice #3) and pull metrics from your analytics to help determine if you have met your goals. Additionally, refine your goals as needed year over year.