Certification is an essential component of many training programs. Certification ensures that companies are in compliance with a number of issues ranging from external regulations, required job skills, important company updates and a range of other requisite needs. 

In this sense, certification ends up almost transcending learning: it’s the knowledge that people should be learning, but more importantly, it’s the knowledge that companies need to record for proof of compliance. 

This creates a situation — particularly in the efficient context of eLearning — where compliance becomes the use case, not people learning the underlying concept.

That dilemma — the need to prove compliance versus prove that people know the underlying concept — creates some real challenges. With research showing that people rapidly forget things they’ve learned without knowledge reinforcement, the risk in compliance scenarios is that an organization documents that people completed the exercise vs assessing if employees actually understand and learned what they need to about the subject in question. Certification should be about both: confirming that someone has attained a required certification threshold and knowledge reinforcement and learning.

Introducing Qcert Micro-Certification

My team at Qstream recognized this problem and introduced Qcert, a new micro-certification capability built into the solution to ensure learners are reaching a knowledge threshold. It’s been proven that microlearning is one of the most effective knowledge reinforcement strategies today. Its ability to push scenario-based learning challenges into the flow of work helps reinforce critical business information and leads to higher performing employees and companies.

Beyond microlearning’s user-friendliness, its real-time feedback, heatmaps and leader boards transform the learning experience allowing managers to drill down into skill-set gaps and customize training proactively. 

This same methodology is an integral part of the Qcert micro-certification solution and not seen in off-the-shelf, one-time-only certification solutions.

Long-Term Knowledge Retention is an Added Benefit of Qcert

Qcert means that companies substantiate that learners have been tested and have reached a requisite threshold for certification. But learners also benefit from improvements in long-term knowledge retention with reinforcement as part of the certification process. 

We want companies to know that their employees reached the threshold required but also help these employees truly learn and retain the subject matter well after the certification period. 

Micro-Certification Makes the Process Enjoyable

Qstream’s microlearning solution has been proven to consistently reach a learner engagement level over 90% because of its user-friendliness. This is especially important in the certification context. More people are certified faster and with less pushback by learners. In fact, it makes certification an enjoyable experience, not a tick box chore. 

With micro-certification, people spend less time training and remember more. 

Continuous Micro-Certification Maintains a Knowledge Threshold

A continuous micro-certification model ensures that a minimum knowledge threshold for success is consistently met throughout a company and motivates employees to not only meet but exceed expected professional standards required for internal compliance.

Resulting reports illustrate learners who have attained required knowledge, but also illustrate exactly where additional learning investment may be necessary.

How Qcert Works

Qstream’s microlearning solution now is equipped with its own micro-certification tool, Qcert. Qcert delivers scenario-based micro-challenges that reinforce knowledge and assess competence to motivate employees to work to the expected professional standard — and beyond — required for internal compliance. 

The micro-certification solution tracks engagement and proficiency levels against a preset knowledge threshold and stores a certification record for each employee enrolled in the program. Learners receive real-time micro-certification pass/ no pass notifications and feedback on whether they achieved the required threshold level. The learner also benefits from immediately know which micro-challenge scenarios they have or have not mastered and can further reinforce their knowledge by reading the micro-explanations for each question. 

Managers can use data to analyze performance through Qstream’s proficiency heatmaps, exposing a real-time view of the performance readiness of individuals, teams, and cohorts.

Microlearning alone has the capacity to greatly increase employee knowledge retention. Now, organizations can give themselves an extra edge with Qstream’s Qcert to create company and job role level standards, demonstrate care and improve employee confidence and performance.