From Tradition to Transformation: How Swiss Life Select Slovensko modernised learning at scale

Swiss Life Select Slovensko a.s. is part of the international Swiss Life Group, with a history spanning over 165 years. The company focuses on financial advisory services built on a personal approach and long-term partnerships with clients.

Through an extensive sales network and internal teams, it supports the professional development of its people through structured and systematic learning. The digitalization of learning processes, including the implementation of an LMS, plays a key role in increasing the efficiency, quality, and accessibility of training across the entire organization.

The Challenge

As a company, we faced several challenges in the area of learning and development. Our primary objective was to streamline all learning activities into a single platform, improve the visibility and promotion of learning opportunities, and create structured learning paths aligned with different roles.

We needed to tailor training to the specific needs of associates, redesign onboarding for new employees, and address the distinct requirements of managers and sales representatives. At the same time, compliance with regulatory training requirements was critical, with a strong focus on automation and process efficiency.

Another key challenge was ensuring that learning content remained engaging, visually appealing, and interactive, while effectively combining classroom training with digital solutions and providing clear, reliable reporting for managers and learning administrators.

As our learning ecosystem expanded, we also faced the challenge of balancing high-quality training with financial sustainability.

The Solution

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  We chose Totara Learn, an open-source LMS designed for flexibility, scalability, and high customisation, allowing us to fully align the platform with organisational needs, regulatory requirements, and our long-term learning strategy. Thanks to its open architecture, the LMS could be seamlessly integrated into our existing ecosystem and tailored to internal processes. From the user perspective, the post-implementation environment is familiar, clear, and intuitive, which significantly supported adoption across the organisation.

• To drive early engagement, we launched the platform with e-learning modules made available to every associate. This ensured that all active users logged in and familiarised themselves with the new learning environment from the very beginning.

• The learning ecosystem continues to evolve through continuous improvement, with new courses, formats, and system enhancements gradually added and tested in practice.

• A key component of the solution is structured onboarding, recognising that the first three months are critical for new associates in terms of adaptation and retention. Through the LMS, new hires are guided step by step from day one, gaining an overview of processes, available tools, and key contacts. This approach contributes to faster integration, higher confidence, and improved early retention.

• Totara Learn also enabled us to implement a transparent and sustainable learning model, reflecting growing demands for quality and financial management. The LMS now supports both internal and external training programmes, including courses co-financed by associates. For each course, the full price, company contribution, and final participant payment are clearly displayed. An essential part of the process is the explicit confirmation of course conditions, ensuring that participants acknowledge and agree to co-funding arrangements.

• This approach allows us to maintain high training quality, ensure financial transparency and budget control, strengthen participant accountability and engagement, and sustainably develop our learning ecosystem in line with the company’s business objectives.

The Results

Implementing Totara Learn has delivered significant benefits across multiple dimensions of learning and development:

• Higher quality of learning: Standardised and repetitive content was converted into engaging e-learning modules, providing associates with consistent access to high-quality learning materials anytime and anywhere. Face-to-face training is now reserved for high-value topics where interaction, discussion, and practical exercises deliver the most impact. Pre-study activities ensure that participants arrive well-prepared and aligned, maximising the outcomes of in-person sessions and creating a more efficient and effective learning experience.

• More efficient budget utilisation: By converting traditional classroom content into e-learning and adopting a blended learning approach, we have reduced costs associated with in-person delivery, travel, and printed materials. Digital content can be updated faster and rolled out immediately, allowing learning to remain current and relevant without incurring additional classroom costs.

• Process automation: Key learning processes, particularly onboarding, are now automated. New associates receive personalised content tailored to their role and learning needs from day one, supporting faster adaptation and smoother integration into the organisation. Automation also ensures that standardised training compliance and approvals are handled consistently across all associates.

• Enhanced reporting: Totara’s reporting capabilities have enabled automated, role-specific dashboards for managers and learning administrators. This eliminates time-consuming manual data collection, provides real-time insights into participation, completion rates, and learning outcomes, and helps identify areas for further improvement.

• Alignment with company goals: The LMS also supports broader organisational objectives, including ESG initiatives. By replacing printed materials with digital resources and enabling remote learning, the company reduces environmental impact while promoting sustainable learning practices.Overall, Totara Learn has allowed us to raise the quality of learning, optimise budgets, automate critical processes, provide actionable insights, and align learning initiatives with corporate strategy, creating measurable business value and stronger engagement across the workforce.