Leading organizations are using Credly by Pearson to make workforce skills more visible, trusted, and actionable. Across top issuing programs, a consistent pattern emerges: the most successful credentialing strategies are designed around business outcomes, aligned to priority skills, supported by flexible learning pathways, and measured through data. Together, these practices help organizations connect learning to workforce readiness, employee growth, and broader market recognition.

This report highlights best practices from leading Credly issuers, including Cisco, Google Cloud, ISC2, PMI, and SAP, as highlighted in Top Credly Issuers Webinar . Collectively, these organizations have issued nearly 10 million digital badges, demonstrating how strategic credentialing programs can scale skills validation across global workforces and ecosystems.

Why Credentialing Matters  

Organizations are navigating rapid shifts in work, technology, and talent expectations. As skills evolve, leaders need more than participation data from learning programs. They need trusted evidence of what people know, what they can do, and how those capabilities connect to business priorities.

• Skills are changing faster than traditional development models can keep pace
• Career paths are becoming less linear and more personalized
• Learning programs are expected to show measurable workforce impact
• Employers need validated, portable proof of skills and capabilities

Digital credentials help close that gap by making verified skills visible to employees, managers, employers, and broader professional networks.

 “When adopting digital credentials, think about the human need. Start with the (strategic) end in mind and how it aligns with your overarching strategy.” 

Sierra Hampton-Simmons

Vice President, Project Management Institute

What Leading Issuers Have in Common 

Top Credly issuers approach credentialing as a strategic capability, not a standalone recognition tactic. Their programs are intentionally designed to connect skills, learning, workforce goals, and measurable outcomes.

They start with business impact

Leading issuers define the purpose of their credentialing programs before designing badges or pathways. They begin by clarifying the workforce outcomes they want to influence, such as readiness, mobility, capability building, or ecosystem engagement.

They align credentials to priority skills

Successful programs make the connection between credentials and skills explicit. By tying credentials to role requirements, labor market demand, and validated capabilities, organizations create stronger signals of what learners know and can apply.

 “At Google Cloud, we’re looking to meet the skills gaps. Skill tags are used for all credentials to pair them with labor market insights.” 

Liz Bredlau

Google Cloud Certification Development Manager

They support flexible learning pathways

Leading organizations recognize that skills development is rarely linear. They use credentials to support multiple entry points, role-based progression, specialized skill building, and ongoing renewal.

• Entry-level certificates
• Role-based badges
• Specialized skill badges
• Advanced certifications
• Earn credentials over time
• Update or renew skills
• Build personalized, role-aligned learning paths

 “When you complement a badge to a role-based certification, it gives a passport to illustrate the skills that someone is building.”  

Ryan Rose

Director of Product Management, Skills and Certifications Portfolio at Cisco

They use data to improve programs

Strong credentialing programs use data to understand adoption, engagement, sharing, and learner progression. These insights help teams refine program design and demonstrate value to stakeholders.

Best Practices for Implementation and Issuing

The following practices can help organizations design, launch, and scale credentialing programs with greater clarity and impact.

• Define the outcome first: Clarify whether the program is meant to improve workforce readiness, validate learning, increase engagement, support career mobility, or extend market reach.
• Build around skills: Map credentials to the skills, roles, and capabilities that matter most to the organization and its learners.
• Create a clear credential structure: Use levels, pathways, and criteria to show how learners can progress from participation to proficiency.
• Automate where possible: Use repeatable issuing processes and integrations to scale efficiently while maintaining consistency.
• Measure and optimize: Track engagement, sharing, acceptance, and program feedback to strengthen impact over time.

Business Impact

With a strategic, outcomes-first approach, leading enterprises are improving how employees build, demonstrate, and apply skills. Credentialing programs create stronger alignment between skills development and business priorities, giving leaders clearer visibility into workforce capability, readiness, and emerging skill gaps.

Employees benefit, too. When credentials map to roles and progression, learning feels more personal, relevant, and connected to career growth. Recognizing achievement along the way also builds engagement and momentum.

Well-designed badges and certifications also strengthen proof of capability. They signal verified, applied knowledge rather than participation alone, increasing confidence in workforce skills across managers, teams, and stakeholders.

As programs scale, automation and repeatable governance help enterprises issue credentials efficiently while maintaining consistency, learner experience, and program integrity.

The impact also extends externally. Shareable credentials increase talent visibility across professional ecosystems, supporting mobility, employer brand, and broader recognition of skills.

Together, these programs create value for both organizations and learners.

• More visible, trusted workforce skills
• Stronger learning-to-business alignment
• Greater learner engagement
• More confidence in verified capability
• Expanded reach through sharing