Want to Make Security Training Easier? Embrace Micro-Learning

Can your team recall what you discussed during your last mandatory cybersecurity training session? We doubt it, and not because you did a bad job (we’re sure you did an excellent job on that PowerPoint, champ). It’s just that small business security training is far from engaging by default, and it’s seen as more of a requirement than anything else. If you want to shift this “annual compliance” perspective, you’ll have to make some changes, and fast.

Instead of annual compliance, consider how you can use the concept of “micro-learning” to build up your team into security pseudo-professionals.

Use Constant Reinforcement to Eliminate the Forgetting Curve

Chances are, if your team isn’t using information immediately, they aren’t finding it useful enough to remember.

A phenomenon called the “forgetting curve” explains how the brain discards unhelpful knowledge to make room for more useful information. If your employees only learn about security once or twice per year, their brain is not going to see that information as helpful. Rather than doom your employees to forgetting these important practices, try sending out smaller tips throughout the month that continuously jog their memories and keep security at the top of their minds.

You just might find that the “forgetting curve” will turn into the “remembering curve.”

Respect Your Team’s Time and Attention Span

Too many businesses offer annual security training that takes multiple days to complete, and that does their employees a disservice.

Rather than drill this important information into their heads, this prolonged deep dive actually does the opposite; it bores employees and makes them think about how they might better use their time (like doing their actual jobs). Micro-learning shrinks the time commitment significantly and makes it easier for employees to find time for training. They might fire up a three-minute video with their morning coffee, for example, and the risk of zoning out is much lower because the ask isn’t nearly as ambitious.

Since micro-learning decreases the time commitment, employees are more likely to see it as something flexible that they can do at their own pace around their current responsibilities, not something they are forced to do in addition to their actual work.

Master One Security Habit at a Time

Skills take time to develop, and doing too much too fast is a recipe for disaster and your ability to learn anything.

Naturally, when you try to teach security skills like password security, phishing awareness, physical security, and data privacy all at once, employees have a hard time retaining that information. This is because they’ll experience cognitive overload: there’s just too much noise to really hear anything. If you want your team to master security skills, try focusing on one at a time.

This kind of skill layering might take longer, but it will lead to more well-rounded and knowledgeable staff in the end.

With the right approach, you can effectively shift the mindset around security at your business to one of vigilance rather than compliance. The distinction is powerful here; compliance is about staying out of trouble, but vigilance is more active about preventing that trouble in the first place. As for how to use the micro-learning model to improve your security training… we’ve got you covered.

Learn more today by calling Network Integration Specialists, Inc. at (804) 264-9339.