From Trendy to Mainstream: Benefits of Digital Badges for Associations

From Trendy to Mainstream: Benefits of Digital Badges for Associations

Members are looking for faster ways to build new skills. Industry employers need to fill skills gaps and vacant positions, but want to see proof of specific competencies before they take a chance on someone. Your association is perfectly positioned to solve both problems by offering digital badges.

Digital badges are more than just a trendy credentialing format. They're a strategic initiative that transforms how your association delivers value to members and industry employers, attracts new audiences, and generates revenue.

Benefits of Digital Badges for Associations

The digital credentialing market is experiencing explosive growth. What was an intriguing trend only a few years ago is now a mainstream product. Both learners and employers are now embracing digital credentials (and their accompanying badges) as a credible proof of competency.

🎖️Microcredentialing and digital badge basics

Digital badges are awarded when a learner completes a credentialing program, such as a certificate program, microcredentialing program, or certification program. They’ve increased in popularity because of the growth in microcredentialing programs.

A microcredentialing program is a short, targeted learning experience that helps a learner develop a skill or fill in a knowledge gap in a specific subject area. Once the learner has successfully completed an assessment of their new competency, they receive a digital badge.

Microcredentialing programs have grown in popularity because they are:

• Accessible. Because they run for only a few days or weeks, barriers to entry are eliminated for those who can’t afford more lengthy and expensive programs.
• Stackable. Learners can progress through a series of microcredentialing programs, earning one badge after another.
• Shareable. The digital badge earned upon completing the program is public proof of that accomplishment. But, instead of a certificate that no one sees hanging on an office wall, digital badges are displayed on LinkedIn and websites.
• Verifiable. Digital badges are tamper-proof. When an employer or recruiter clicks on a badge, they see metadata about the skills assessed, curriculum, issuing organization, dates of issue and expiration (if any), and links to supporting evidence of mastery. Employers and recruiters no longer have to call the issuer to verify program completion.

One caveat: your association’s digital badges retain their value only if they represent skills and knowledge validated by assessment. Don’t dilute their value and confuse your market by awarding digital badges for membership activities.

👩‍💻 Why are microcredentials and digital badges so popular now?

The job market has shifted towards skills-based hiring, which has increased the demand for microcredentials. The employer perception of microcredentials has shifted too. They see them as a valuable solution for addressing skills gaps. In fact, employers are 72% more likely to hire someone who has earned microcredentials.

Learners are on board too because they can earn recognition for specific skills without committing to lengthy, comprehensive certification programs.

The rising demand for digital badges has intensified the competition. Your own members might even be offering them, like some consulting firms in the association community do. On LinkedIn, I regularly see people sharing Certified Association AI Professional badges from Sidecar or from one of the membership courses offered by the Association Academy.

Universities are scrambling to redesign their continuing education programs around stackable credentials. 67% of higher ed institutions are now developing microcredentialing programs.

But associations have a distinct advantage in the digital badge market. You already have industry expertise, employer relationships, and a trustworthy reputation. Why shouldn’t you be the leader in offering the microcredentialing programs needed by industry professionals and employers?

✅ Benefits of digital badges and microcredentialing for your association

• Attract younger professionals. Students, recent graduates, and early-career professionals are up against fierce competition for career-track positions, especially since most of them haven’t been taught the skills required for entry-level positions. Microcredentials help them stand out from their peers.

  Young professionals must prove they have what it takes to get and keep a job. Digital badges verify their mastery of basic skills and knowledge about your industry and show their commitment to professional growth. This validation is especially important because AI has taken over entry-level tasks in many industries, so young people have fewer opportunities to learn on the job. Digital badges help them get a jump-start on their career and feel good about your association.

   

• Help people stay employable and promotable. Professionals in all career stages are in need of upskilling these days. With digital badges, they can acquire new skills and prove they have the competencies needed by employers.

   

• Strengthen relationships with employers. Employers don’t always have the resources to teach new skills to new hires and employees. Microcredentialing programs make you a workforce development partner who helps attract new talent to the industry and a training partner who helps employers stay competitive.

  To ensure you keep delivering the training needed by employers, invite them to join an advisory group that helps you identify and design new programs. Their participation makes it more likely they’ll pick your association as their trusted training partner.

   

• Establish your association as the source of industry standards. With your advisory group, collaborate on industry-wide skill definitions and assessments. This advantage puts you ahead of competitors who offer similar credentials.

   

• Expand your audience. Microcredentials eliminate barriers for members and customers who can’t or won’t travel to in-person educational programs, can’t afford more expensive credentialing programs, or can’t dedicate months or years to a credentialing program.

   

• Complement existing certification programs. Credentialing seems less intimidating and more affordable if you break down existing certifications into stackable credentials (and badges) that can be earned individually and lead to full certifications.

   

• Gain more visibility for credentialing programs. Everyone who shares one of your digital badges on LinkedIn is helping to spread the word about your programs.

   

• Create pathways that foster a lifelong learning culture. Microcredentials are an entry point into more time-intensive education and credentialing programs. By including them in learning and career pathways, learners feel a sense of progress as they earn badges and get closer to their career goals.

   

• Boost your budget. Eliminate certificate printing and mailing expenses. Generate revenue from credentialing programs that award digital badges.

   

• Future-proof your association. A digital badge program positions your associations as an innovative industry leader. Because microcredentialing programs don’t take as long as more comprehensive programs to design and deliver, you can respond quickly to changing industry needs.

If your association is considering a new learning management system (LMS), make sure you review our guide to selecting and implementing an LMS.