IOSH all-member forum Q&A

Pre-submitted questions

My membership is due to renew in December. What is the likelihood that I will be able to renew correctly and be issued my new membership card in an appropriate timeframe?

Renewals have improved significantly in recent months, and online renewal is now the quickest and most reliable way to renew your membership. If your membership is due for renewal, please use the online service where possible. Members can also renew by phone using a card payment, if preferred.  

Card payments are processed immediately against your membership record, allowing membership cards to be issued promptly. In most cases, members should receive their new membership card within around two weeks, although delivery may take longer in some countries due to postal and customs processes.  

We continue to experience some challenges with bank transfer payments, but additional processes and support are in place to help members affected by these issues. Overall, we are seeing a much smoother renewal experience than earlier this year. 

Can you provide an update on grade verification?

At present, membership upgrade applications are taking approximately one month to process due to ongoing workload and backlog pressures. To reduce this, we’ve allocated additional resources to improve turnaround times.  

We understand that delays can have a real impact, particularly where career progression, job applications or professional recognition are involved, and we are treating this work as a priority.

If you need guidance about upgrading, assessment routes or the application process, please contact our Professional Development team, who will be happy to help.

What is IOSH doing to address ongoing issues with membership payments, renewals and upgrades, and members losing access to benefits and difficulties receiving timely responses?

Over recent months, restoring access to these services has been our primary focus. Significant investment has been made in customer support capacity, which has enabled us to reduce backlogs and improve response times.  

Receipts and invoices are now operating correctly, although some payment allocation issues remain and continue to be addressed. Membership calls are now being handled within normal service levels, and we’re proactively contacting members who have been waiting longest for support.  

If you have an urgent issue, we strongly encourage you to contact us directly. Many cases can now be resolved quickly over the phone, and our telephone service remains available between 09:00 and 15:00 GMT.  

I'm Tech IOSH and I have a student account. Can these accounts be amalgamated, ensuring that all my CPD records are retained and my current membership level is correctly reflected?

Where duplicate accounts exist, our teams can work with you to merge them.  

Our aim is to ensure that CPD records are retained, transferred correctly and combined into a single record, while also ensuring your current membership grade is accurately reflected. We monitor these cases until they’re fully resolved so members can continue managing their CPD through one account.  

If you’re experiencing similar issues, please contact us so that your case can be reviewed and supported. 

Will compensation be offered for training providers and members for the disruption and lack of services?

We recognise the disruption and frustration that some members and training providers have experienced as a result of the systems issues. We are genuinely sorry for the impact this has had.  

While IOSH is not currently in a position to offer compensation, we remain committed to providing practical support and working directly with members and training providers to address individual concerns wherever possible.  

Our priority remains on returning services to expected standards and working with our training provider network to deliver a better all-round service. Although the implementation has been more difficult than anticipated, the long-term objective remains to provide a more efficient, resilient and effective service for members and customers. 

I’d like to hear from the system people who planned and implemented this to understand how they did not recognise the complexity and plan appropriately, and also from the experts who provide assurance. How did they miss so many red flags?

We recognised from the outset that this would be a highly complex transformation programme. Our previous customer relationship management (CRM) platform and wider systems infrastructure had not been substantially updated for more than a decade, and approximately 60 separate systems needed to be integrated with new web, finance and membership platforms.  

The programme was driven by several important factors. We needed to strengthen our cybersecurity capabilities to protect member data and ensure our systems remained secure. We also needed to modernise our technology so we could deliver a more personalised and effective experience for members in the future.  

Before launch, the programme was subject to extensive governance and oversight. A dedicated Board working group oversaw procurement and commissioning activity. Independent project management expertise was engaged, and an independent specialist technology consultancy provided third-line assurance to the Chief Executive, the IOSH Audit and Risk Committee and the Board. Testing was undertaken prior to go-live.  

While we planned for issues following go-live, the volume of the issues experienced were significantly greater than anticipated. We recognise the impact this has had on members.  

To ensure we fully understand what happened and how we can learn and improve in future, the Board has commissioned an independent lessons-learned review. 

Will the findings of the lessons-learned review be made available to members?

Yes. The Board has commissioned the review specifically to provide independent scrutiny of what happened, identify lessons and recommend improvements for the future. Transparency and accountability are important principles for IOSH, and it’s right that members are able to see the findings.  

The review will help us understand what worked, what did not work and what changes should be made going forward. Once further details and timescales are available, we will keep members informed. 

With the loss of the forums, an excellent resource, when will the new site go live?

Our former online forums did provide valuable opportunities for discussion and knowledge sharing. However, how members interact and seek information has evolved considerably over recent years and we’ve seen usage of these forums gradually decline. In response, we’ve been developing a new online community platform designed to offer a more interactive and connected experience.  

The platform is already operational for selected groups, including around 1,000 volunteers as well as members of our Future Leaders Community. Early feedback has been positive and has demonstrated the potential of the platform to support collaboration and professional networking.  

However, full rollout has been delayed by the wider IT systems integration issues. Our priority is to ensure that core services, including single sign-on and member access functionality, are stable before we expand access further. We’re keen to make the platform available more widely when conditions are right to do so.  

The new online community will ultimately become a 24/7 space where members can connect, network, share expertise and support one another. In the meantime, we encourage members to engage with local and sector IOSH Communities, which continue to provide valuable opportunities for peer-to-peer support and professional engagement. 

Why has the helpline closed? We’ve lost access to competent advice and employment law.

Following careful review, we took the decision to close the helpline on 30 October. This followed a sustained decline in usage as members increasingly turned to online resources, digital tools and other channels to access information and guidance.  
The decision was not about reducing support but ensuring that we’re responding appropriately to shifting habits. We've redirected investment towards new digital services, including our online resource hub, which provides members with access to guidance and resources around the clock.  

We are also continuing to develop our online community platform and wider knowledge-sharing capabilities, creating more opportunities for members to find information, share expertise and learn from each other.  

As an international membership organisation, we must ensure support is accessible to members wherever they are based. A digital-first approach helps us provide access to information at any time, rather than only during UK office hours. 

What other system changes are on your roadmap in the next 12 months?

Digital improvement remains a key strategic priority for IOSH. Our recent IT systems implementation programme was the first phase of a broader digital, data and technology roadmap designed to modernise our services and improve how members, volunteers and training providers interact with IOSH.  

Over recent months, our focus has necessarily been on stabilising services and resolving operational issues. As we move beyond that phase, we are beginning to focus again on continuous improvement and future enhancements.  

Priorities include further improvements to the website, development of the training provider portal, expansion of the online community platform and a programme of member-focused digital enhancements. More than 30 member and training provider-led improvements have already been identified and incorporated into the roadmap.  

Alongside visible improvements, we’ll continue investing in resilience, cybersecurity and system performance to protect member data and provide a reliable digital experience.  

As these developments progress, we’ll continue involving members and training providers in testing, piloting and shaping new services. Your feedback remains essential in helping us ensure future improvements deliver real value. 

Live questions

I’ve had problems trying to update my CPD record. Is that all sorted now?

We’re aware that some members have experienced issues updating their CPD records. Our team is actively working through these cases and applying fixes where required to ensure members’ CPD records are accurate and accessible.

But if you’re still experiencing problems updating your CPD record, please contact us so we can investigate your individual account.  

I have been a Chartered member of IOSH for the past four years, but never received my membership card while I paid £20 for the courier.

Issues such as missing membership cards are among the cases we are currently reviewing as we work through a backlog of member queries and service issues resulting from the systems transition.

Our teams are actively investigating and resolving outstanding cases, and we will be reaching out directly to members affected by issues like this to understand what has happened and put things right.  

I contacted membership about renewing my membership, and they were not one bit helpful. I was led to believe I missed emails to renew. I am in IOSH with about 25 years. I am not a happy camper.

We're currently working through a backlog of member queries and issues arising from the systems transition, and this includes cases where members have experienced difficulties with renewals, communications or account records. As part of that work, we are reviewing individual cases and reaching out to affected members where further investigation or support is needed.

We value the commitment of long-standing members and appreciate the patience many have shown during this period. 

What project management process was used to choose the implementation method for the new systems?

This programme was managed using established project and programme management processes, with formal governance, independent oversight and assurance in place throughout. From the outset, it was recognised as a complex transformation involving the replacement of legacy systems that were more than a decade old and the integration of around 60 different platforms across the organisation.

The programme was overseen by a dedicated Board working group and supported by independent project management expertise and external technology assurance. Extensive testing was also carried out before go-live. The aim was to strengthen cybersecurity, protect member data and modernise the systems that support members, training providers and customers.

However, despite those controls and safeguards, the scale of the issues experienced after implementation was greater than anticipated. We recognise the impact this has had, and the legitimate questions members are raising. That is why the Board has commissioned an independent lessons-learned review. 

Why did it take so long for IOSH to fully acknowledge the scale of the issues and communicate more openly with members and customers? Would earlier and more regular communication have helped prevent damage to trust and credibility?

We recognise that these issues have had an impact on confidence in IOSH, and we accept that our reputation has been affected in the short term. However, IOSH, its qualifications and its training continue to be highly regarded across the profession and remain in strong demand.

Throughout this period, we’ve communicated openly and regularly with members, training providers and customers. We’ve provided updates through multiple channels, maintained a dedicated status update page on our website, and have sought to keep stakeholders informed as circumstances evolved.

But we appreciate that it’s not always been easy to get in touch with us, and we’ve struggled to be as responsive in all cases as we should be. This is improving.

Rebuilding trust where it’s been affected is important for us. We remain committed to being transparent about the challenges we face, the progress being made and the actions being taken to restore and improve services. We’ll continue open and regular dialogue with members, and we’ll keep listening to your feedback to ensure our communications meet members’ expectations. 

When will members be able to access the portal, and what is being done to improve order confirmations, certificate processing and tracking for training providers?

Training providers can access the Training Provider Portal to complete course bookings and issue certificates. If you’re experiencing any challenges with access, please contact our Customer Service team, who’ll provide support.

We’re committed to making continuous improvements to the portal, based on feedback from our training provider network, to enhance the overall user experience. A number of improvements have already been made, with a summary shared in the most recent Training Provider Newsletter.

We’ll continue to review feedback and make further enhancements where possible, keeping training providers updated as improvements are introduced.  

Will there be any change to be able to claim the delegate’s certificate once the results are in and not have to buy stock you don’t always need and have to remember to allocate it? The system also won’t let you proceed with adding a delegate without ticking that you need a workbook even if you don’t. Adding stock is really confusing especially when you have to add it on, only to take it back off again if not needed.

Every delegate attending an IOSH-produced course is required to have a workbook, as set out in the Training Provider Agreement. This is why the system requires a workbook to be allocated when adding delegates. The only exceptions to this are IOSH-approved (TCA) courses, blended learning courses and e-learning courses.

The Training Provider Portal includes an inventory management feature that allows you to purchase, assign, recall and reassign workbook and certificate stock. For example, if a delegate does not attend a course, the stock allocated to them can be recalled and reassigned to another delegate at a later date, helping you make full use of the stock you have already purchased.

At present, there are no changes planned that would allow certificates to be claimed only after results are confirmed without first managing stock through the portal. But we’ll continue to review feedback from training providers on portal functionality and user experience.  

You can find guidance on stock management through the Knowledge Hub, and our Customer Service team is available to provide additional support if you need help navigating the process. 

We are a certified institute in Saudi Arabia, and we paid for the licenses of two programs, Managing Safely and Working Safely. The request was submitted many months ago, and we have been waiting. When your team responded and requested payment, we paid the amount, but we still have not received any further response for more than two months.

A member of our team will look into this matter directly.  

If other training providers are experiencing similar issues, please get in touch with us directly at business@iosh.com so we can review the issue and provide support.