Effective Digital Credential Strategies: Lessons from Top Companies

Digital credentials are transforming the way people acquire and showcase skills, offering individuals and organizations a powerful way to stay competitive. Skills are becoming outdated at a never-before-seen pace, underscoring the need for organizations and workers alike to embrace ongoing skill development.

According to the World Economic Forum, in 2023, employers estimated that 44% of workers’ skills will be disrupted in the next five years and 60% of workers will require training before 2027. According to 2024 data from PwC, more than a third of employees experienced significant change in their role in the past year.

Credly’s own statistics reflect this trend. Between 2020 and 2024, the number of Credly users earning two or more digital badges increased significantly, reflecting the growing adoption of digital credentials and a trend toward earning multiple credentials. For example, the number of Credly users earning two badges rose by 123% and the number earning 10 digital badges saw an 81% increase during this period.

As the demand for digital badges grows, organizations running digital badging programs have a unique opportunity. But how can you capitalize on this shift by offering credentialing programs that drive results for both learners and the organization?

Secrets of Credentialing Success

This is where the insights from Credly's Top Elite Issuers of 2024 come in. Collectively, they issued almost 10 million badges in 2024, showcasing their commitment to learner growth and the success of the individuals and employers they support. Their credentialing program tips can guide you in kickstarting or scaling your own program, especially in areas that are commonly overlooked.

Top Tip #1: Align Credentials to Business Objectives

A strong foundation for any successful credentialing program involves aligning badges with your organization’s strategic business goals, such as increasing learners interested in developing needed skills, to create appealing, market-driven programs.

This approach increases program credibility and attractiveness. At the same time, clear governance maintains consistency in value and badge delivery, ensuring the program remains competitive in the marketplace.

By tying credentials to measurable business outcomes, credentialing providers can continuously assess and adjust their approach to meet learner needs while also achieving organizational goals. This maximizes return on investment and strengthens program value for all stakeholders.

Top Tip #2: Prioritize User Experience

A user-friendly credentialing program ensures badge earners find the process intuitive and rewarding — significantly boosting engagement and completion rates. Programs that are easy for earners to navigate, find relevant content and share across social media platforms increase access to diverse groups, which improves badge claims and acceptance rates.

PMI and Cisco, both top credentialing issuers, believe programs that feature easy social sharing create seamless rewards that celebrate badge earner achievements. That makes the user experience a critical digital badging strategy.

One of the greatest parts of Credly is just ease of use. The fact that I can get that recognition very easily from Cisco through Credly, then I'm able to share it just as easily, and then I'm able to take those badges with me wherever I go...  I think if you're going to put all this work into getting that skill, you want the recognition part to be easy.

Ryan Rose

Director, learning and development

Top Tip #3: Regular Communication with Earners

Credly’s Credentialing Mastery Assessment showed that 50% of respondents reported that limited marketing resources are one of the biggest obstacles to improving earner engagement.

At the same time, engaged earners amplify program reach through word-of-mouth marketing with minimal cost. It is important to regularly communicate with earners to increase loyalty, advocacy and brand awareness. [More top tips on strengthening earners' engagement in our blog]

Top Tip #4: Analyze Credential Data to Identify Skill Gaps and Training Needs

Analyzing credentialing data is key to evaluating the success of your training programs to ensure they align with business goals and produce the desired 
outcomes.  Credly’s built-in analytics tool provides issuers and employers with a centralized dashboard to track skills on a granular level. By integrating this data with HR systems, organizations can make data-driven decisions and act on insights to ensure the programs deliver results.

Credly also goes beyond engagement metrics, offering occupational insights that link badge skills to over 200,000 job titles through integration with the Pearson Skill Ontology. This helps issuers ensure that credentialing programs support both learner development and organizational needs.

Start Your Journey to Join the Elite

Creating digital credentialing programs can deliver meaningful results for your organization. Start by connecting your credentials to your business goals. Make the earner experience smooth and engaging. Keep the lines of communication open. And track your progress with data.

Need some inspiration? Embark on your journey to develop a comprehensive credentialing strategy by exploring the profiles of 2024’s top issuers and learning from their experiences.

You can also speak to our team to explore how we can help kickstart your program today!