How are Digital Badges Valuable for Businesses?

Open Badges are a way for an individual to exhibit, and an organisation to quickly validate certificates, achievements, and academic qualifications in a very visible manner online. In an age where we are transmitting more and more information electronically, Digital badges, for example, are utilised on prominent social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, as well as integrating badges into your websites, e-mail signatures, portfolios and resumes.

Open Badges are low-stake credentials that are represented by a digital visual which contains verifiable metadata that specifies a person’s qualifications and the method for earning them. Digital Badges are issued to acknowledge a person’s qualification, accomplishment, talent, or skill that is used to demonstrate their eligibility for career development or employment.

In 2014, IBM established the ‘Big Data University’ digital badge programme, which is currently known as ‘Cognitive Class’ on their online learning platforms. Since issuing digital badges as an incentive, the programme has seen a startling 129% rise in enrollments and participation, with 226% of course completion candidates.

Following the success of their online learning programme after introducing digital badges, IBM chose to expand their initiative, which has already resulted in the distribution of over two million digital badges in 195 countries.

A survey was undertaken to assess the organization’s growth about the topic of Digital Badges, and the following results were obtained:

Increased Engagement:

Employees may exhibit better engagement towards an online programme if it recognises participants by incentivizing a digital badge for each success or accomplishment since the digital badge will be more valuable to them.

Fills the Skills Gap:

The global pandemic has caused significant changes in the way corporate activities and training are conducted. It also provided new learning methods and technology to enterprises, resulting in a skills-gap catastrophe. Businesses have begun to address this issue by conducting an online-training programme that rewards employees with a digital badge for every skill or achievement completed. Digital badges ensure faster changes in building knowledge to keep up with the changing industry.

Identifying the right candidate:

Because each digital badge gained reflects a unique skill, ability, or qualification and is accompanied by meta-data, hiring managers and recruiters can more effectively select the optimal candidate based on the digital badge that corresponds to the desired job title. With the use of meta-data, they can swiftly assess a candidate’s competency. Brand Awareness via Digital Platforms:

People enjoy spreading the word about their digital badge achievements on social media. Digital badges can be exhibited on any digital platform, such as social media, social networking sites, websites, or by email because they are portable, shareable, and easy to view.

When someone uses social media to exhibit their badge, it enhances engagement and helps both the business and the recipient build brand awareness. One can also look for the granted badge credential on social media; in fact, when one searches for a digital badge and comes up with thousands of responses, it creates a sense of curiosity and trust among people.

In Conclusion:

The Digital Badges system helps businesses increase engagement and attract more enrollees and also provides more precise information about any certification. The badges enhance and make it easier to verify potential candidates’ credentials. This also allows recruiters and employers to acquire a better understanding of an individual’s certifications and the context in which they were obtained, allowing for a more thorough decision-making process.