Getting Started
When will we have the first call to talk through the process?
As soon as we receive some documentation from you, our onboarding team will review, respond with questions, and get a kickoff call scheduled with you and your team.
What happens during the kickoff call?
The kickoff call is designed to solidify our team’s understanding of your program, introduce the folks who will be working with you, and review any of your questions. We’ll talk through the services you’ve selected, review the documentation, ask questions about how you’d prefer to have things set up, and provide an overview of our onboarding and training processes.
I’m starting a new certification program and don’t have all the documents. Do I need to supply everything before you get started?
First off, congratulations on getting to this stage in the development of your new program! Our team is experienced with assisting customers with new programs, existing programs, and add-on programs. We know that you don’t have all the answers yet and will gladly start work on components of the system as you provide documentation. At a minimum, send us a basic description of what you know about your program as soon as possible - this includes basic eligibility criteria for new candidates, the number and type of exams you’ll be offering, and general information about recertification. Even a basic description will help our team understand how to start setting things up.
General Questions
Who should I contact with questions during onboarding?
Please direct any onboarding questions to onboarding@prolydian.com or, preferably, use the Monday.com platform once we’ve given you access to it. We work as a team at Prolydian, and everyone on the onboarding team will be alerted of any emails sent to the aforementioned email address. While a “lead” team member will be assigned to your program to make sure everything is progressing as expected, the entire team will be involved in the process.
Can we focus on one component (e.g., application processing) first?
Of course! During the kickoff call, we’ll talk through your ideal timeline and when it makes sense to launch each component. There’s no requirement to have everything finished at the same time. For example, especially for new programs, you may still be finalizing your exam forms but want to start collecting initial applicants. We’re used to this type of setup and will work with you to make sure we prioritize components appropriately.
You mentioned training - what type of training is provided and when?
Throughout the onboarding process, you’ll be given “Review” tasks that serve two purposes: 1) to make sure we’ve imported data and/or set things up correctly and 2) to begin familiarizing you and your team with the system. We’ll incrementally grant you access to parts of the system and provide you with interactive QC tasks to gain confidence in your ability to navigate the platform.
After the final review of a component is completed by you and your team, we’ll schedule a recorded webinar session to go over all of the functionality and the process as it’s been designed for your program. This recorded session will be shared with you so you’ll have access to it at any time. We’ll also point you to our support channels and to some in-application general guides to help you navigate the system.
How long does the onboarding process take?
The length of the onboarding process depends on several factors: timeliness of receipt of documentation, quality of the data received, responsiveness from the individuals who are assigned to QC the components we’ve set up for you, and our own staffing resources. Our team works quickly and has established processes for getting programs set up. The onboarding experience, in general, is directly affected by customer responsiveness.
Is it okay if I play around in the system while you’re getting things set up?
We like the initiative! During the onboarding process, we ask that you not perform any actions unless otherwise directed to do so. The Prolydian system is incredibly full featured and we don’t expect you to be an expert right away. To prevent unintentional modifications to the setup that may negatively affect what we’re working on, please do your best to avoid removing or otherwise modifying records we’ve added. The one exception to this is during the review of your items - we’ll ask that you complete any minor edits to the item content during the review process as the review of imported items typically reveals unknown issues, typos, etc. that may have lingered within your items for years.
Can our entire board or certification committee be involved in the onboarding process?
We recommend having only one or two primary contacts during the onboarding process to ensure consistent communication between our team and your team. Review tasks can be shared with as many individuals as you’d like to ensure a thorough review of the setup. All training sessions will be recorded and can be shared with the other members of your organization or board.
Documentation and System Questions
In what format should I supply my application form?
Please send the current (or proposed) version of the application form in a word document - what we need is to understand the data you’re collecting (and the field types) and any informational content you want displayed within the application. PDFs and screenshots make it very difficult for our team to get the application created and will potentially result in typos or other errors during the import process.
Do you have an application template I can use as a starting point?
We don't have a base template for applications since the data collected is specific to each certification program. Listed below are common requirements as well as the options we have available for input fields. Applications are filled out online from within a candidate's Prolydian account, they'll be able to access them and save them to work on as many times as needed before submitting them for review. The application review is also done within Prolydian, during onboarding we'll establish a review process with you and will set up reviewer accounts. There will be email templates set up to be triggered during different stages of the application process (ex. when an app is submitted, if more info is needed, when it's approved, etc.) After we create an initial application for your program you'll have the chance to run through it as an applicant would to review it and make changes as well.
Common Application Sections
Instructions/Introduction (normally the first page includes any instructions and a link to the organization's handbook)
Applicant information (address, phone number, business name/address, cv)
Education (diploma, degree information, licenses)
Work Experience (prev employer name/address/contact info, job description)
Accommodations request (Text fields and or document upload)
References (Can request reference letter as a document upload or with text fields filled out in app)
Attestation Statement (Field for typed name of applicant or "I agree" checkbox)
Payment (different payment tiers can be established, applicants can pay directly in app and vouchers can be created to bypass payment)
Types of input fields
Single line text box
Multi-line text box
Address
Document upload
Number dropdown
Custom dropdown
Checkbox
Reference request (The applicant will fill out reference contact info, when their app is submitted the reference will automatically receive an email with instructions on how to complete the reference request. You can have references upload a letter or fill out text fields, this info will then be available to reviewers with the rest of the application information.)
Can you embed images or links into emails or applications?
Absolutely! We can include links to resources for your candidates or any other logos/images.
In what format should I supply my items and exam information?
Please send us your items in an excel format. You’ll be provided with a unique customer documentation folder where you can upload all requested documents. We’ve dealt with MANY different versions of item spreadsheets and can pretty quickly determine how best to import things. It’s more important to get the documentation to us early than it is to make sure it exactly matches the import spreadsheet template - the template is simply meant to be a guideline for providing data to us.
My items are all stored in Word documents or PDFs. Can you import those?
Unfortunately our experience has shown us that attempting to import data in these formats results in a significant potential for error. Unless otherwise agreed to, we’re unable to import these.
What is a blueprint?
An exam blueprint defines the content areas, learning objectives, or topics (domains) that are assessed within the exam, often based on a job task analysis. Typically, each content area (domain) will have a certain number of items associated with it based on how often that task or content area is needed to perform a particular job. It's not a requirement to have a blueprint within Prolydian, but we always ask for one just in case.