IFoA sparks innovation and learning through their revitalised learning platform

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) is the leading UK chartered professional body for actuaries, providing education, development, and regulatory services to approximately 32,000 members globally.

At the heart of their mission lies a commitment to understand current and future members needs and support them through changing sectors and ensure the highest standards of professionalism and integrity within the actuarial profession.

The Challenge

Before Totara, IFoA faced significant challenges. Their existing learning platforms didn’t have the functionality and flexibility needed to provide personalised learning experiences and comprehensive data insights. Historically reliant on face-to-face exams and events, IFoA’s learning offerings were primarily UK-based, posing difficulties for their large base of international members to access resources and progress in their learning journey. With learners at various career stages and diverse global locations, engagement was a key challenge. Administrative burdens and lack of scalability further hindered the effectiveness of their learning initiatives. IFoA recognised the urgent need for a modernised, user-centric platform capable of delivering personalised, engaging learning experiences to their diverse member base whilst streamlining administrative processes and enhancing scalability. IFoA required a platform that could address several crucial needs:

• Ease of use: The platform must be intuitive for users with varying IT skills.
• Scalability: It should handle large numbers of users concurrently.
• Role-based access: Different learner and admin roles are necessary for tailored access.
• Security: Ensuring restricted access for students and monitoring workflows securely.
• Support and growth: A robust support system to facilitate platform growth.
• Integratio: Seamless integration with existing and new technologies was essential

The solutio

IFoA opted to partner with Kineo and Totara’s powerful LMS, Totara Learn, and introduced their refreshed Virtual Learning Environment – VLE.Involving stakeholders from the outset and provided ongoing support throughout the adoption process. The phased implementation, alongside extensive collaboration, ensured a smooth transition and alignment with organisational goals.Collaboration tools empowered IFoA to offer a personalised and interactive learning environment. Leveraging Totara, IFoA has revolutionised formal course delivery, incorporating interactive elements like H5P interactive videos and non-linear learning flows, enriching the blended learning experience for members. IFoA capitalised on Totara’s features to enhance success, leveraging dashboards for seamless navigation, blocks for tailored pathways, top menu for easy access, use of audiences for personalised experiences, Microsoft Teams for online seminars, guest access for unified resources, and diverse content types.Kineo Managed Services facilitated IFoA to integrate CRM via web services, SSO (SAML2), and custom bolt-ons like streaming video, and CPD, and utilised embedded collaboration boards, and a chatbot.Their new platform facilitated streamlined reporting, content tagging, audience management automation, custom reporting, and process automation, enabling the small administrative team to focus on member experience and development.Breaking silos to unite learning: The platform boosted engagement, improved member-organisation communication, increased business interest in learning, and raised awareness within the Executive Learning Team.IFoA members enjoy a seamless learning experience, praising the platform’s intuitive search functionality, which allows quick access to resources based on detailed descriptions. Users appreciate the modern, brand-aligned design, which enhances navigation and fosters a sense of belonging within the community. Learners also seamlessly navigate between the website and VLE which looks and feels like a single experience. The library’s efficient organisation and extensive tagging allow users to easily find tailored content. Members appreciate helpful features like pop-up tour videos, improving user experience.

The result:

IFoA’s training approach has evolved significantly, transitioning from traditional methods to modular, dynamic learning experiences tailored to member needs. The adoption of Totara’s platform coupled with Kineo support has revolutionised IFoA’s learning landscape, driving significant improvements in learner engagement, accessibility, and administrative efficiency. By leveraging advanced features and integrations, IFoA achieved remarkable outcomes. Enhanced user experience and engagement Members have reported increased satisfaction with the platform’s ease of navigation, aesthetic appeal, and access to relevant content. So much so that in one year, user interaction with the VLE surged by 68%, indicating a huge increase in member engagement and utilisation of learning resources.Personalised learning journeys Dynamic audience rulesets and custom profile fields enabled tailored content recommendations and targeted promotions, fostering continuous learning and skill development.Member surveys reveal exceptional satisfaction rates, with 70% rating the platform 5/5, for its look and feel, search functionality, and content accessibility, compared to the previous VLE’s 60% rating of 2 or 3 out of 5.Additionally, 86% of users rated the search functionality 4 or 5 out of 5, and 73% commended the platform for accessing the newest content and staying up to date.Comprehensive data insights Advanced reporting capabilities provided valuable analytics on user behaviour, content utilisation, and learning outcomes, empowering IFoA to make data-driven decisions and optimise learning initiatives.Through its partnership with Kineo and Totara, IFoA successfully transformed its learning platform into a vibrant worldwide community, driving learner engagement, professional development, and organisational growth. 

“Having worked with our Moodle platform for many years it was clear it wasn’t going to see us into the future with all our development needs and the ever growing wish lists from our stakeholders. Kineo had recommended Totara over the years and finally we took the leap to move. The difference is amazing! Finally we have a platform that can deliver what we had before but in a much more modern and engaging way and that allows us to support our stakeholders with their ideas for online learning with exciting new functionality. Having a platform like this makes our job so much more rewarding and we are really proud of it.” – Rosie Brooks, VLE Coordinator