The Background

Admiral is a leading financial services company in the UK with a diverse product portfolio, which includes motor, home, pet, and travel insurance, insurtech, personal loans, car finance, and legal services. The organisation is part of Admiral Group, a FTSE 100 financial services company with brands in the UK, Europe, and the USA, and is proud to have headquarters and UK offices in South Wales, with support from colleagues in Canada and India.

In the UK, Admiral employs over 7,500 colleagues and serves 7.2 million customers. They recognise that “people who like what they do, do it better” and it is through a culture of caring that Admiral enjoys exceptional results and is recognised as a great place to work in all markets.

In today’s dynamic and digital world, organisations such as Admiral face new challenges in educating employees on cyber security. Indeed, bringing traditional training methods to remote and hybrid workers can prove difficult as they are often perceived as less engaging. By adopting VIVIDA’s Online Cyber Escape Rooms and Virtual Reality experiences, Admiral successfully tackled these challenges and transformed their approach to cyber security awareness training.

The challenge

Admiral’s Security Culture team had been assigned the task of “reducing human risk behaviours that could lead to data breaches” and wanted to address this in an effective yet innovative way. The company had already employed some of the more traditional awareness-raising methods, such as online training, phishing campaigns, alerts, newsletters, focus groups, guest speakers, and awareness articles. However, they realised that a more engaging, gamified approach would be needed to truly resonate with employees and accommodate a hybrid working environment.

Additionally, Admiral was seeking a solution which would ‘humanise’ the Security Culture team and boost interaction from employees. With Cyber Awareness Month fast approaching, the company needed an inventive solution to a multifaceted issue.

The work

To increase awareness of crucial security topics, Admiral’s Security Culture team partnered with VIVIDA, whose Online Cyber Escape Rooms and Virtual Reality experiences presented an innovative means of delivering cyber security awareness training. Using state-of-the-art technology and interactive storytelling, VIVIDA’s groundbreaking immersive experiences allow Admiral employees to learn about cyber security in a collaborative and unique way.

Training content was customised to meet Admiral’s specific needs, allowing their internal Security Culture team to gauge the effectiveness of the training. Data collected from the Escape Room can be analysed to identify areas of strength and weakness. As a result, Admiral is able to use these insights to tailor future campaigns and training sessions. It also allows them to focus on any topics requiring more in-depth exploration or simply touch briefly on any areas that need a refresher.

The Results

The training was received with enormous enthusiasm and word of mouth quickly spread among colleagues who had completed the Cyber Escape Room experience. The experiential learning approach, which combines innovative technology with storytelling, proved highly effective, with participants reporting that they learned more from “working together in the Escape Room than by completing traditional online training alone.”

Learning through gamification generated excitement and involvement, with employees describing the experience as ‘”fresh” and “super interactive”. The collaborative and competitive elements were also praised for promoting healthy competition among teams. Additionally, the connection between Admiral employees and their Security Culture team was strengthened through this new means of engagement.

Most importantly, however, VIVIDA’s immersive training significantly boosted staff engagement and overall awareness of cyber security within Admiral. Using Virtual Reality and Online Escape Room experiences was interactive, engaging, and memorable, equipping employees with a better understanding of cyber security and how to stay safe online.

Clients Feedback

"What VIVIDA offered took it to a new level. It had never been done at Admiral Before." - Rhys Bevan, Security Culture Lead