How Accredible Positioned an International Executive Development Organization as an Industry Leader
The Organization
Headspring Executive Development is a joint venture between the Financial Times and IE Business School established in 2015. Founded on the principle that executive development needs to be collaborative, relevant, and measurable, Headspring’s purpose is to design a new and more relevant approach to executive development that is fit for the challenges and business environment of the 21st century. Their educational programs are customized for a host of international companies, providing highly specialized virtual and hybrid learning models.
Challenges
As with many learning programs, Headspring was not immune to the global COVID-19 pandemic impacting their learning and credentialing experience.
With a large majority of Headspring educational programs being taught in-person or through a hybrid model – the sudden shift to solely virtual learning drastically shifted how their certificate delivery was handled.
“Previously, it took our staff hours to manually create each certificate template, get the content approved by our marketing team, print the certificate out on special paper, and then place each certificate in a special diploma case. That was already a very time-consuming process, but then when we had to shift this to an entirely digital format – we weren’t sure where or how to start,” shared Adriana Botzeva, Program Manager at Headspring Executive Development.
Their paper certificates – although well-received by participants – were rarely shared on social media platforms, giving Headspring extremely limited visibility online.
“When we did create PDF versions of our certificates, they were hard to share with our participants. The format we used also made it hard for participants to post their achievements on websites or social media. Plus, we didn’t have a reliable way to know when our credentials were opened or shared,” explained Adriana Botzeva, Program Manager at Headspring Executive Development.
The Solution
To enhance their virtual learning programs, Headspring partnered with Accredible to launch a streamlined digital certificate solution that now offers them:
- Time and Money Savings— They’ve significantly reduced the time it takes to design and deliver their credentials, freeing their staff up to provide better service to their partner organizations.
- No-Cost Marketing & Brand Visibility — The Headspring Executive Development Brand is now more visible on LinkedIn and other professional social platforms.
- Enhanced Features— Participants enjoy easy, one-click social sharing and can take their achievements with them on the go using Accredible’s digital wallet cards.
- Data Tracking— Program teams can automatically monitor and track course completion rates and credential share rates for the first time.
- Blockchain Protection – Headspring’s digital certificates are written to the blockchain, giving their partner organizations the peace of mind knowing that their credentials are securely protected.
Results
Headspring has enjoyed an impressive 76% credential open rate and a 44% credential share rate. The number of hours it takes to create a new certificate has been significantly reduced, removing many bottlenecks that once existed in their credential process.
“We now have a certificate that has a highly adaptable design and template that we can use again and again. We’ve been able to standardize the process and offer previews to our clients before we actually publish the certificate. This has made the entire credentialing process so much easier. And, most importantly, our participants can print out their certificates – in high resolution – and still enjoy the traditional certificates they’re used to,” said Nina Shurchkova, Program Manager at Headspring Executive Development. "Another important point is the increased level of interaction on social media. We are now seeing a lot more engagement from program participants and we are able to celebrate their achievements with them on LinkedIn."
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