Training Industry Magazine - Fall 2016 - 49

those impressions lead to a "me too!" effect,
in which others want to earn badges to
bolster their social eminence.

Loyalty and progression
Badges introduce a gamification element
to an activity: Once you are on the leader
board, you want to keep climbing the
ladder. In IBM's case, the average badge
earner returns to earn three badges,
and 87 percent say that the badges
make them want to engage more often
with IBM.

Mapping talent at the "nano" level
We can now map skills in more than 100
countries. When you issue badges for
completing an activity, all of the badges
for an individual flow into a consolidated
badge system, regardless of registration
system. The potential to develop deep
insights has never been greater.

Social eminence for badge earners
A LinkedIn study found that digital
credentials increase profile views by
600 percent. Many organizations issue
paper certificates or digital emblems
in emails, which were probably viewed
only by a handful of colleagues. Open
Badges allow learners to broadcast
their accomplishments with the click of
a button.

Links to real jobs and opportunities
IBM's Open Badges display real-time job
listings generated by the badge skills
tags. A tab in the individual's badge
wallet displays jobs, salaries, locations
and job titles. Double-clicking takes the
badge earner right to the job postings.

Deeper employee engagement
Open Badges motivate employees to
drive their own development. According
to a recent study from the Smarter
Workforce Institute, the engagement
levels of employees who receive
recognition is three times higher than
the levels of those who don't.

Recruiting and hiring
Since they can be verified through
metadata, Open Badges provide
employers with a trustworthy credential.

An IBM case study illustrates these
benefits. Coletta Teske had been out of
the workforce for an extended amount
of time. She earned a series of IBM
Open Badges and shared them on social
media to showcase her employability.
Teske subsequently received an offer to
consult as an information architect.
ARE OPEN BADGES
MINI-CERTIFICATIONS?
Because they can be used as microcredentials, Open Badges are sometimes
compared to certifications and seen as
"mini-certifications." However, badges
provide a digital representation for a
range of activities, like completing a
course or developing an app.
Badges support certifications by
making it easy for a candidate to get
started without feeling overwhelmed
by the daunting task of preparing for a
certification exam. A quick study at IBM
showed promise: When certification
candidates completed badge activities
to prep for the exam, their pass rates
increased by 58 percent.
Just a few years ago, most IT products
were delivered on CDs on an 18- to
24-month cycle, accompanied by
new certifications. With the advent of
cloud delivery, product updates can be
released on a 45-day cycle.
How can certifications keep up? Who
is interested in taking a product
certification every few months? And
how can organizations afford to develop
new certifications on that timeline?
Perhaps the answer is the T-skills model,
in which certifications provide core,
essential and foundational role-based
knowledge for skills that have a longer
shelf life. Badges can then be layered
or stacked onto the certification to
represent "liquid" skills in areas where
technology is changing more frequently.

advanced designation. Imagine the
personalized credential programs you
can develop with this model.
PROVIDING UNPRECEDENTED
OPPORTUNITIES
Just like Uber and Airbnb challenged
the status quo in their industries,
rapid changes in the IT space and the
rise of social media have changed the
credential arena. Open Badges provide
benefits beyond traditional credentials
because of their embedded, verifiable
metadata and linkage to social media:
* Rich social profiles help employees
build a personal brand.
* Transparency makes it easy for
employers to verify skills and
hire candidates.
* Heat maps identify talent gaps
and opportunities for growth.
* Deeper engagement and progression
build loyalty and advocacy.
* Valuable social media impressions
build the corporate brand.
* Learners can enhance certification
programs with micro-credentials.
You have the opportunity to lead and
determine how Open Badges can
help you achieve greatness. This is the
technology disruption you have been
waiting for.
David Leaser is the senior manager of
innovation and growth initiatives for IBM
Training & Skills. He developed IBM's first
cloud-based learning solution and is the
author of a number of white papers on talent
development, including "Migrating Minds"
and "The Social Imperative in Workforce
Development." Email David.

That model also provides new, added
value to certifications, because learners
can stack badges onto a core certification
to represent a specialization or an

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - Fall 2016