In 2012, ADP, a company best known for its payroll software, concluded an analysis of 2.6 million background checks and shared these findings:
- 53% of resumes and job applications contained false statements
- 78% of resumes were misleading
- 21% of resumes stated fraudulent degrees
The study noted that while most companies do verify employment history, they rarely verify education. That includes professional certifications as well as degrees. As a result, some applicants who get hired may not possess the competencies they claim because their credentials were misleading, overstated or outright false.
Enter digital badges and certificates
Digital credentials, like badges and certificates, are digital representations of their paper counterparts. You view them on your desktop monitor, a tablet or a smart phone.
Digital badges that are Open Badge Specification compliant, which includes most digital credentials created these days, can be shared, verified, branded, secured and tracked.
They also contain embedded metadata with the following:
- Names of the recipient and issuer
- Dates of issuance and expiration
- Description of what the badge represents
- Requirements to earn the badge
- Evidence attachments that add further proof of competency
Information such as a transcript, work samples or references can also be attached to the digital version of the certificate.
Secure credentialing
You may have heard of blockchain, the encryption technology powering the recent surge of crypto-currencies like Bitcoin.
The metadata for the badge or certificate can be written directly to the blockchain, thereby offering an exceptional level of security. The credential can’t be faked or hacked, and that creates trust and confidence for those verifying its authenticity.
Badges 101
Accredible is a leading digital-credential provider and is an integrated-solutions partner with Kryterion.
To date, Accredible has delivered more than three million digital credentials on behalf of more than 700 customers (issuers) in many different industries.
Kryterion and Accredible recently hosted a 27-minute webinar (we timed it) entitled Badges 101. Accredible’s VP of Sales, Duncan Mitchinson, explained in detail what badges are, how they can be used and why they can be so valuable for establishing trust and confidence. Watch this webinar.
Duncan offers seven use cases showing how businesses and organizations are capitalizing on badges to increase the visibility and credibility of their test candidates.
Badges also amplify the success of the issuers’ own credentialing programs through the social-sharing features of Accredible’s badging and certificate platform.
Discover how digital badging can be used to create trust and confidence in your credentialing program. Badging can also introduce your credential to whole new audiences potentially interested in credentialing themselves.
