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How to roll out security awareness without wasting time

21 Apr

Security awareness that actually makes a difference

In sectors like manufacturing and production, productivity, efficiency and continuity are the cornerstones of day-to-day operations. In such environments, spending a whole day on security awareness training can feel like a heavy burden for your colleagues and for the business. And yet, security awareness shouldn’t be seen as a one-off box to tick, but rather as an integral part of your organisation’s strength.

Without the right approach, security awareness becomes just another checkbox: completed but forgotten, without lasting impact. So how do you deliver security awareness that’s time-efficient yet truly effective?

How much time does it take to make a real impact?

Too little time spent on awareness, and your organisation is left vulnerable to cyber threats. Too much, and it drags down productivity and adds to staff fatigue. The goal is to strike the right balance.

In practice, organisations spend an average of three hours per employee per year on security awareness training. And 81% of organisations use interval-based training, offering new content monthly or quarterly.

There are several ways to approach this, each with its pros and cons:

• Classroom training: These sessions are time-intensive and often packed with information, which can be overwhelming. They also rely heavily on an engaging delivery style to keep attention spans from slipping.
• Online training: These offer greater flexibility, allowing employees to learn at their own pace, perhaps during a quiet moment in the day. The content can be spread over time, helping to reinforce learning, and progress is easier to track.
• Microlearning: Over the past few years, microlearning has surged in popularity. Designed to avoid ‘training fatigue’, these short, interactive sessions last no more than five minutes. They allow employees to pick up key information quickly, without requiring too much mental effort.

Look beyond the checkbox

Security awareness is about more than simply ticking off a training course. The goal is not just knowledge, it’s understanding, engagement, and real behavioural change. Training is a vital foundation, but that’s only the beginning. If you want lasting impact, your employees need the right tools and support to put that awareness into action.

Here’s what you need to drive real behavioural change:

• Security awareness training tailored to your organisation;
• Clear internal policies so staff know what’s expected of them;
• Robust technical security, which limits the risks;
• Strong internal communication to explain why security awareness matters in the first place.

That last point is often overlooked, yet it’s crucial to the success of any awareness campaign. Want to learn more about closing the gap between knowledge and behaviour? We share tips [here].

What does security awareness look like in real life?

Picture this: you’ve worked in the assembly hall for 10 years, far removed from computers and IT systems. You like it that way. No fuss, just clear, hands-on work. Then, out of nowhere, you’re told you have to complete security awareness training. But why? Isn’t that for the IT department? How is this relevant to you when you barely use a computer?

Without the right context, security awareness can feel like a pointless obligation, one that breeds resistance. Want to build engagement and get people on board? These tips will help:

• Have leadership introduce the importance of the topic in a brief message; • Start with an engaging kick-off, like a social engineering test, to show that information security goes far beyond just IT;
• Make it relevant to their personal lives as well. Help colleagues protect both the company and themselves;
• Involve leadership, management and internal communications to create top-down buy-in;
• Put up posters in communal areas to raise everyday awareness;
• Run regular phishing simulations to keep everyone alert to suspicious messages and malicious links;
• Choose a training platform that can be customised per department or role, so the content feels relevant to everyone.

Launch a campaign that saves time and makes an impact

By combining these elements, you’ll create a security awareness campaign that doesn’t just save time compared to traditional methods, but delivers greater impact through interactive, targeted engagement. In other words: smarter, not harder.