Security Awareness Training Is Pointless If People Don’t Take It Seriously

Most businesses understand the importance of cybersecurity. Yet, despite investments in security awareness training, human error remains the top cause of data breaches. According to the 2023 IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report, 95% of cyber incidents stem from human mistakes. That includes clicking suspicious links, ignoring password best practices, or failing to report phishing attempts.

The issue isn’t a lack of training. It’s a lack of impact.

Security awareness training is only effective when employees actively engage with it and apply what they learn. But too often, training is treated as a compliance checkbox. It’s rushed through, ignored, or forgotten. For small and midsize businesses in a growth phase, especially those without a dedicated internal IT team, this can expose the entire organization to avoidable risk.

At Notics.io, we believe cybersecurity training should be part of your culture, not just your compliance checklist. Our approach focuses on changing behavior, not just transferring information. We tailor programs to how your team actually works—with contextual examples, ongoing reinforcement, and measurable outcomes.

This article breaks down the real problems with traditional security training, offers practical strategies to improve its effectiveness, and shows how a proactive IT partner can reduce your risk by embedding security into everyday workflows.

The Problem: Training Without Traction

Security awareness training often fails for a few key reasons:

• Lack of relevance: Generic modules don’t reflect real-world threats employees face.
• Lack of accountability: No follow-up or consequence if training isn’t taken seriously.
• Lack of reinforcement: Training is often a one-time event rather than an ongoing effort.

In a report by Proofpoint, 55% of surveyed organizations experienced a phishing attack in 2023 despite having training in place. Why? Because the training didn’t change behavior.

For businesses in growth mode, the stakes are even higher. New hires are joining fast. Processes are evolving. Security habits get overlooked. Without a clear strategy for making cybersecurity part of daily operations, the weakest link stays weak.

1. Make Training Relevant to Actual Risks

What It Is

Training should reflect the actual scenarios your team is likely to face. This includes simulated phishing emails, social engineering examples, and file-sharing best practices that mirror your real environment.

Why It Matters

When training feels theoretical or unrelated, employees disengage. Relevance increases retention. People pay more attention when they see the threat is real and applies to them.

How To Implement

• Customize phishing simulations based on departments
• Include examples from your industry or recent threat reports
• Work with your IT partner to map risk scenarios to actual job functions

Business Impact

Training that reflects reality helps reduce click rates on phishing emails, improves early threat reporting, and builds a culture of awareness.

2. Reinforce Training Continuously

What It Is

Instead of annual or quarterly training, break it down into bite-sized content delivered regularly.

Why It Matters

One-time training is easy to forget. Microlearning, short, focused lessons, keeps security top of mind without interrupting work.

How To Implement

• Weekly email tips
• Monthly security challenges
• Quarterly simulated attacks with feedback sessions

Business Impact

This reduces long-term training fatigue while strengthening habits. Repetition builds muscle memory that employees can fall back on during real incidents.

3. Use Metrics That Matter

What It Is

Track not just completion rates but actual behavioral change: how often phishing is reported, whether password hygiene improves, and whether repeat offenders get fewer.

Why It Matters

Many businesses only track if training was "done," not whether it worked. Metrics should show progress, not just participation.

How To Implement

• Report metrics per team, not just company-wide
• Benchmark against industry standards
• Partner with IT to translate security metrics into business terms (e.g. cost avoided per breach prevented)

Business Impact

This allows you to tie security improvements to financial outcomes and risk reduction, making cybersecurity a measurable asset.

4. Encourage Leadership Participation

What It Is

Have executives and team leads model good security behavior.

Why It Matters

When leadership skips training or treats it as a chore, employees will too. If leaders engage with it, others follow.

How To Implement

• Make it part of onboarding for all levels
• Feature leadership in security training campaigns
• Share personal anecdotes or near-miss stories

Business Impact

Leadership engagement increases buy-in across the organization. Security culture flows top-down.

5. Tie Security Awareness to Business Goals

What It Is

Connect training outcomes to overall business objectives, like customer trust, regulatory compliance, and operational resilience.

Why It Matters

People care more when they understand the "why." Security isn’t just an IT thing, it’s a business enabler.

How To Implement

• Include security goals in performance reviews
• Show how improved awareness reduces downtime or legal exposure
• Use case studies where training prevented a breach

Business Impact

Framing training as a business necessity, not just an IT requirement, helps teams prioritize and internalize it.

Conclusion

Security awareness training is only as effective as the effort your team puts into it. And they won’t put in the effort unless it’s clearly relevant, consistently reinforced, and tied to business outcomes they care about.

Businesses in a growth phase can't afford to ignore this. The cost of a preventable breach, in dollars, downtime, and reputation—is far greater than the cost of getting training right.

At Notics.io, we take a behavioral-first approach to security. We help businesses build cybersecurity into their workflows, team culture, and long-term growth strategy—not just into an LMS system.

As threats evolve, so should your training. The businesses that treat cybersecurity as a shared responsibility, not just an IT function, will be the ones that stay resilient.

If your team still sees security training as a checkbox, it might be time to rethink your approach. Let’s start by asking: Is your current training actually changing behavior, or just checking a box?