Tracey Flynn

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A certification program must clearly answer the "What's in it for me" objection from its potential audience. A successful certification program will include strong, tangible benefits for participants.

How many customers, partners, employees, or end users approach an organization and demand to be tested? Resellers quickly come to this realization: "Let me get this straight: you want me to take a test and pay for it, just to be able to sell your products?" Why shouldn't resellers tell you they can do business more easily with other companies? Companies have to overcome the "What's in it for me" objection with real tangible benefits before continuing to build the program. Do the certification benefits only include the following?

• A wall plaque
• Use of a business card logo
• The promise of greater customer confidence

When assessing benefits, assess the turnover rate for the potential audience. It's important to consider this rate and ask whether a certification requirement would be viewed favorably or unfavorably in light of the turnover.

Conducting an initial search of competitors' certification program benefits is helpful for comparison. The next step is to ask your potential audience what they would consider a benefit. Have you ever been provided an incentive that didn't motivate you at all? For example, you may have been awarded a certificate when you really wanted monetary compensation. Choose benefits that appeal to your audience, as described in my book.

GoCertify: What is the biggest factor affecting whether a certification program will be successful?

Tracey Flynn: The biggest factor affecting certification program success is subject matter expert (SME) availability. This may seem odd or like a no-brainer but you'd be surprised at the number of delays, which in turn spike costs, due to this one single factor. Let's face it everything boils down to the integrity of the exam. If the certification exam is too easy or too hard or doesn't measure what it's supposed to then everything else will fade over time. The SMEs are the foundation from which all of the other components will be built, without their commitment to the exam development, the program is doomed. SMEs are often the most sought after resources for any corporation. They tend to juggle a number of different projects and may not be goaled on certification. Certification and exam development can quickly fall to the bottom of their list of priorities if they are expected to resolve technical issues, customer issues or meet quotas. They may want to help but may not be able to help because of the other pressures they face. Consequently the other certification development members will be thwarted in their efforts to accomplish anything and may be incurring vendor costs while they wait for SMEs to have some available time.

GoCertify: Where does certification belong in the corporate structure?

Tracey Flynn: There can be different outcomes for the certification program depending on where it resides in the company's organizational structure. How does certification affect your business model? Take a look at your organization's business model both internally and externally and determine the inputs and outputs required for certification to be successful. Identify the affected departments and linkages within the organization.

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