Executive Summary
- Overview: In response to declining confidence in college degrees, FranklinCovey developed LeaderU, integrating essential soft skills into higher education curricula. Utilizing Credly's digital badges, LeaderU enhances employability, professional visibility, and accelerates sales and completed deals.
- Intent: The initiative aims to restore the perceived value of higher education by equipping students with critical soft skills and validating these competencies through digital credentials, thereby bridging the gap between academic knowledge and career readiness.
- Impact: Since its launch, LeaderU has achieved an 80% badge acceptance rate and significantly improved students' job market competitiveness, leading to increased course demand and successful institutional partnerships.
A research from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, HCM Strategists, and Edge Research shows a decline in confidence in the value of a college degree in 2023, while confidence in job training and professional licensing programs has increased. Meanwhile, a McKinsey survey reported a significant rise in companies prioritizing soft skills like empathy, leadership, and management.
Colleges and universities now face both a challenge and an opportunity: to restore the perceived value of higher education by integrating in-demand soft skills into their offerings. By equipping students with skills such as communication, leadership, self-awareness, empathy, resilience, collaboration, and teamwork, institutions and organizations worldwide ensure that graduates confidently enter the workforce and make an immediate impact.
Recognizing this urgent need, FranklinCovey developed LeaderU, an online learning solution that seamlessly integrates with educational institutions' curricula to provide essential soft skills training. LeaderU leverages FranklinCovey's extensive experience working with 80% of Fortune 500 companies to deliver industry-recognized credentials.
Impact on Career Readiness and Employability
LeaderU was launched in 2021, and the team quickly realized that in today's technologically advanced world, individuals enjoy sharing their achievements online and validating soft skills is crucial.
This is where Credly digital badges play a critical role. These badges include detailed metadata that meticulously outlines the criteria fulfilled by an individual to attain a specific credential, along with tangible proof of meeting those requirements. This transparency gives employers confidence that badge earners possess the necessary soft skills, thereby enhancing their employability.
Moreover, FranklinCovey selected Credly's digital credentialing platform for its intuitive features within the LeaderU program:
- Automated badge issuance, enabling efficient and large-scale credential distribution.
- Robust support for skill validation and sharing, ensuring badges are meaningful and easily shareable across professional networks.
- The straightforward setup with Canvas and Credly's Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) made it a practical and efficient choice for implementation within LeaderU.
- Built-in analytics provide insights into badge engagement, enabling continuous improvement efforts.
- Customer support and resources are readily accessible, making it ideal for a smaller team that benefits from self-service and continuous learning.
Since its launch, LeaderU has seen outstanding results:
- 80% badge acceptance rate (average 67%) and 80% share rate (average 47%) on Knowledge Certificates
- Increased course demand and completed deals, supported by the value of digital credentials. Leading the team to successfully close a deal with a university in Texas for the entire business school within the institution, comprising over 1,000 students from first-year through graduate levels.
- Positive feedback from badge earners who report increased confidence and improved job market competitiveness.
- Enhanced students’ visibility on LinkedIn, enhancing their professional profiles and credibility.
Insights from Badge Earners
- “I have benefitted from the digital badge and certificate by gaining confidence in the 7 Habits and in performing my job.”
- “I have shared it with the key people in my circles and it has given me visibility. It's a symbol of honor to me.”
- “Placing on social media site has created activity and interest. I feel the badge adds to my creditability.”
Effective Marketing Strategy and Unique Value Proposition
The success of LeaderU’s digital badging program is rooted in a strategic marketing approach and a compelling value proposition for students. By identifying the need for credentialing and making it a central selling point, FranklinCovey effectively differentiates LeaderU. Institutions are attracted to the prospect of their students graduating with globally recognized FranklinCovey credentials, setting them apart from graduates without such credentials.
To boost brand awareness, all badges come with a pre-populated LinkedIn message. This feature allows non-earners to easily discover and read about badge earners' achievements by searching "View my verified achievement from FranklinCovey." This visibility enhances the professional profiles of badge earners and promotes the value of FranklinCovey credentials.
Additionally, FranklinCovey provides a dedicated manual for client partners, offering detailed information on courses, exam processes, and marketing materials. This support encourages institutions and learners to maximize the reach and impact of their courses.
“With LeaderU, students not only develop essential skills, but also industry-recognized credentials to help them stand out in the job market. After passing a proctored exam, students qualify to receive a certificate and digital badge (powered by Credly) and endorsed by FranklinCovey, the world’s most trusted leadership development company.”
- Joshua Covey, Vice President - Education Division
Recognizing the strategic advantage of credentialing, FranklinCovey aims to broaden Credly's application in its educational programs. This includes using Credly with the Leader in Me product for high school students and exploring custom solutions for corporate clients through FranklinCovey's Customs Team.
In today's job market, soft skills are more in demand than ever. Employers seek candidates with strong communication, leadership, and teamwork abilities. FranklinCovey's LeaderU is bridging the career-skills gap by equipping students with essential soft skills and providing industry-recognized credentials.
Credly is proud to partner with FranklinCovey in this mission, supporting lifelong learning and celebrating achievements through our digital credentials. Together, we empower students, enhance their employability, and contribute to their professional growth. As we look to the future, Credly remains dedicated to fostering continuous learning and meaningful recognition of accomplishments.
To discover how Credly can help your organization to succeed, talk to our team now.
