Derek Cribb explains why the quality agenda should be at the heart of everything we do
I was recently discussing strategy implementation with a past president of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. He asked me how we would know if we had successfully delivered on our strategy - what would success would look like? I'd like to share with you the answer I gave him.
In my opinion, success goes hand in hand with quality, and I strongly believe in the quality of our qualification above all else. We can only deliver the professional body the membership deserves if we maintain our high standards, which is the hallmark of our exams, continuing professional development and regulation. This gives us the reputation required to attract the best possible students.
On reputation, you may have seen the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries quoted in the media more often than previously in the past few months. As part of our public affairs strategy, we are increasingly looking to give the profession a strong voice, which speaks out in the public interest in areas where we can add value. However, there is no point in having a strong voice without the reputation to back it up - which brings me back to quality.
It's a virtuous circle: quality breeds quality. Having a strong reputation creates demand from employers for FFAs and FIAs, meaning that we are able to attract the best prospective students, whose skills further cement the reputation of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. An inevitable consequence of this will be an increase in both influence and membership numbers across the globe, which will help us to serve our public interest role.
By delivering our services to the highest standard, we will ensure that our members are fully supported throughout their careers. Therefore, when it comes to measuring how successful we are in implementing our strategy, it all comes back to delivering a quality service. Ultimately, if we have a strong reputation based on the high quality of our activities, we will attract the best members, who will gain the best jobs across the world. I truly believe that this is within our grasp, providing we place the quality agenda at the heart of everything we do. This is our promise to you as your professional body.