Introduction
The way we recognise and validate skills and achievements is evolving. Digital credentials are one of the tools used to meet this change by offering verifiable, shareable, and portable representations of professional development.
For associations, these credentials have great potential not only as a tool to modernise the organisation but also to foster a culture of continuous learning and engagement. In this article, we explore some of the ways digital credentials can help drive growth and member retention, and the role of technology in scaling these efforts. By understanding how to leverage digital credentials, associations can offer more value to their members, automate processes, gain valuable data insights and stay competitive in a rapidly changing environment.
Understanding Digital Credentials
Definition and Types of Digital Credentials:
Digital credentials are verifiable, sharable and portable representations of skills, knowledge or achievements. They can be displayed across various platforms, shared with and verified by relevant third parties. This sets them apart from traditional paper or PDF as they are designed to be used in a digital environment, making them more accessible and easier to manage. For associations there are several types of credentials they can offer, each with a different purpose and different opportunities for the earner:
- Micro-credentials: These are focused, bite-sized credentials that recognise specific skills or competencies. They are mainly used to acknowledge incremental learning and achievements in a particular area, allowing individuals to build a diverse portfolio or a gradual accumulation of skills that can be showcased and stacked to create a broader qualification.
- Badges: Digital badges are visual representations of membership, achievements, skills or experience. They are often used to recognise completion of a course, participation in a workshop, or acquiring a particular new skill. They typically carry metadata, providing detailed information about what the badge represents, criteria for earning the badge and the issuing organisation.
- Certificates: Digital certificates are most commonly used to recognise more comprehensive achievements traditionally recognised with paper or PDF certificates like a degree, completion of a course, training programmes or achieving a professional milestone.
- Licences: Digital licences are formal permissions or qualifications allowing holders to practise in a regulated profession or activity. These are typically issued by governing bodies or professional associations, often requiring periodical renewal to ensure the holder meets current or evolving requirements.
How Digital Credentials Can Drive Growth and Member Retention
Increased perceived value of membership:
Digital credentials significantly enhance the perceived value of association memberships by offering tangible, verifiable proof of a member’s qualifications and accomplishments:
- Offering Members Tangible Proof of Accomplishments: Digital credentials being easily shareable and verifiable become a valuable tool for individuals in building a credible professional profile in their network and positioning themselves in the job market. This, in turn, enhances the visibility of the issuing organisation to the relevant audience within its members’ network.
- Promoting Continuous Learning: Digital credentials can help encourage a culture of continuous learning. By offering a range of credentials that recognise different skills and competencies, associations can motivate members to engage in ongoing education and professional development. Members are more likely to stay engaged and renew their memberships and participate in learning when presented with tangible value and benefits of participating in continued learning.
Gamification and Incentives:
Incorporating gamification and incentives into the digital credentialing process can further boost member engagement. Here are a few examples:
Using Digital Credentials as Rewards in Contests or Challenges: Digital credentials are a great tool for making learning more engaging by using them as rewards for completing challenges, and participating in contests. An example could be completing a series of tasks, such as attending webinars or contributing to a community discussion, could earn badges that recognise their involvement. Or simply breaking courses into levels to be completed, each level earning a specific badge that displays a learner’s progress until a final badge is issued upon course completion. A gamified approach makes learning and participation more fun and engaging, encouraging members to stay active within the association.
Offering Badges or Certificates for Volunteer Work or Participation in Association Activities:
Digital badges or certificates can also be used to recognise members’ involvement in an organisation’s activities, mentoring other members, attending webinars and conferences or contributing to publications. These credentials not only acknowledge members’ contributions but also incentivise continued involvement. Recognising volunteer work and participation can help build a stronger community and foster a deeper connection between members and the association.
Leveraging Technology for Scalability and Automation
To effectively manage and scale digital credentialing efforts, associations need to invest in the right technology. This involves several key considerations:
Evaluating and Selecting the Right Credentialing Service:
Choosing a credentialing platform is a critical decision that requires careful evaluation of both an organisation’s needs and the features of the platform. Some of these feature include robust security features, user-friendly interfaces, and the ability to issue, manage, and verify credentials efficiently. It’s important to partner with providers who have a proven track record and who can offer ongoing support as the association’s needs evolve.
Ensuring the Platform Integrates with software: Seamless integration with existing management software is essential for streamlining operations and ensuring a smooth user experience. This integration minimises manual data entry while reducing the risk of errors, and allows for more efficient management of member information.
Reducing Administrative Burden While Maintaining High Standards: With automated systems in place, the administrative burden on association staff is greatly reduced. This allows staff to focus on more strategic tasks, such as developing new credentialing programs or enhancing member engagement initiatives.
Data Analytics and Member Insights:
Leveraging data analytics from credentialing activities can provide valuable insights into members’ behaviour and preferences.
Each interaction with digital credentials generates data that can be analysed to gain insights into member needs and preferences. For example, associations can track which credentials are most popular, which demographic groups are most engaged, and how members are sharing their credentials. This information can help associations better understand their membership base and identify areas for improvement or new opportunities.
Tailoring Offerings Based on These Insights: By analysing the data, associations can adjust their activities to better meet member needs. Data can show a growing interest in a particular skill or industry trend, the association can scale programmes, develop new credentials or educational programmes to address this demand. This data-driven approach ensures that associations remain responsive to their members’ evolving demand, enhancing both engagement and retention.
Overall, using a credentialing platform allows associations to observe changes in demand and quickly and easily scale programmes accordingly.
Marketing Digital Credentials to Drive Adoption
Crafting a Clear Value Proposition:
To encourage members to adopt and use their new credentials, it’s essential to communicate their value effectively:
- Articulating the Career and Educational Benefits of Earning Digital Credentials: Associations can emphasise how digital credentials enhance career prospects and support ongoing professional development. This can include highlighting how digital credentials prove the authenticity of a person’s skills to third parties and the various ways they can be used to build members’ professional profiles both online and for prospective partners or employers.
- Creating Targeted Marketing Campaigns for Different Member Segments: Different member segments may value digital credentials for various reasons. For example, early-career professionals might have an interest in credentials that help them build foundational skills and give them an edge in the job market, while seasoned professionals may seek advanced credentials to demonstrate their expertise in niche areas or prove existing experience.
- Encouraging Members to Share Their Digital Badges on Social Media: Associations can leverage social media to amplify the visibility and perceived value of digital credentials. By encouraging members to share their badges, certificates, or other credentials on platforms like LinkedIn, members can market themselves using their credentials while the association and its programmes are marketed to a relevant audience of members’ peers.
Case Studies and Success Stories – International Compliance Association
Before:
- Verification Challenges: Membership status was signified through physical letters which presented challenges as they were not verifiable leading to issues with credibility and potential fraud.
- Lack of visibility for issued credentials: Members had no effective way of showcasing their credentials publicly thus restricting the value of their achievements to private or internal recognition.
- Time-consuming issuing processes: The ICA relied on hard copy or PDF certificates to validate memberships which meant a time-consuming issuing process as well as verification of issued credentials.
After:
The ICA has issued over 35,000 digital badges to members and learners providing them with a verifiable and easily shareable form of recognition of skills.
- Enhanced Social Media Presence: The introduction of digital credentials has led to a significant increase in the organisation’s online visibility. Members and learners actively share their digital badges thus subtly promoting ICA and positioning them as a forward-thinking organisation to both current and prospective members.
- Reduced Administrative Burden: Adopting digital credentials has significantly reduced the organisation’s administrative burden by automating the issuance and verification process, thereby freeing up staff to work on higher-value tasks.
- Increased Member Retention: Members now enjoy an easy, efficient way to validate and display their professional status. Importantly, this digital transformation has directly contributed to a notable increase in member retention, especially at the highest level of membership, where the retention rate has increased to an impressive 99%.
Click here to watch the full interview with the ICA’s Tom Perry
Conclusion
With the right technology and strategic implementation, associations can significantly reduce administrative burdens while maintaining high standards of credentialing. Moreover, by effectively marketing these credentials and encouraging members to share them, associations can amplify their visibility and attract new members. By understanding the full potential of digital credentials associations can successfully leverage digital credentials for membership retention and growth.
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