Click Rate vs. Report Rate: Which Phishing Metric Matters?

Phishing remains one of the most common and successful cyberattack methods targeting organizations today. Despite continued improvements in email security technologies, attackers are constantly adapting their tactics to bypass technical defenses and exploit one of the most unpredictable elements of cybersecurity: people.

That’s why security awareness training has become a critical part of every organization’s cybersecurity strategy. Many organizations use phishing simulations to educate employees, reinforce safe behaviors, and measure how users respond to realistic phishing attempts. But once training is completed, one question often follows: How do you know if your training is working?

Organizations use phishing simulations to measure employee awareness, but determining whether a phishing campaign was successful depends on more than just the click rate. While the click rate has long been the standard metric, many security teams now consider report rate to be an even more valuable indicator of phishing awareness and organizational readiness.

Rather than focusing solely on mistakes, report rate measures how many users recognize a suspicious email and act by reporting it to the appropriate security team. This shift reflects a broader change in how organizations think about cybersecurity awareness. Success is no longer measured only by avoiding risky behavior; it’s also measured by encouraging proactive security habits.

What Is Click Rate in a Phishing Simulation?

Click rate measures the percentage of employees who interact with a simulated phishing email by clicking a malicious link, opening an attachment, scanning a QR code, or completing another action defined within the phishing simulation.

For many years, click rate has been considered the primary indicator of phishing awareness because it provides an easy way to measure user susceptibility. If fewer employees click on simulated phishing emails over time, organizations can reasonably conclude that awareness training is improving employee decision-making.

Monitoring click rate can help organizations:

• Measure improvement after security awareness training
• Identify departments or user groups that may require additional education
• Compare the effectiveness of different phishing campaigns
• Track long-term trends across the organization
• Demonstrate progress to leadership and compliance stakeholders

A decreasing click rate is certainly a positive sign. It suggests employees become cautious when interacting with emails and are better able to recognize common phishing indicators, such as unexpected requests, suspicious links, urgent language, or unfamiliar senders.

However, click rate only measures one specific behavior: whether someone interacted with the email. It doesn’t reveal what everyone else did after receiving the message.

Why Click Rate Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story

Imagine two organizations completing the same phishing simulation.

In the first organization, only 3% of employees click the simulated phishing email. On paper, the results appear excellent. Leadership sees a low click rate and assumes employees are well prepared to recognize phishing attacks.

But there’s one problem.

No one reports the suspicious email.

Now consider a second organization. Their phishing simulation results show a slightly higher click rate of 6%, but nearly 60% of employees report the email using the organization’s phishing reporting process.

Although the second organization experienced more clicks, it may be better positioned to respond to a real phishing attack.

When employees report suspicious emails, security teams gain valuable visibility into potential threats. A single report allows analysts to investigate the message, determine whether it is malicious, remove similar emails from other inboxes, notify employees, and begin incident response activities before additional users become victims.

Without reporting, security teams may never know if a phishing campaign occurs until credentials have been stolen, or malware has already been deployed. This is why reducing clicks alone is no longer the goal. Organizations also need employees who recognize suspicious activity and actively participate in defending the organization.

What Is Report Rate in a Phishing Simulation and Why Does It Matter?

Report rate measures the percentage of users who correctly identify a suspicious email and report it through their organization’s designated reporting process.

Unlike click rate, which measures risky behavior, report rate measures positive security behavior. It answers an entirely different question: Are employees actively helping to protect the organization?

A high reporting rate demonstrates that users are doing more than simply avoiding suspicious emails. It shows they understand what phishing looks like, know how to report it, and feel confident acting when something appears unusual.

This shift changes the role employees play in cybersecurity. Instead of being viewed as the weakest link, employees become an extension of the security team, serving thousands of additional eyes capable of identifying threats that automated security tools may not catch.

Cybercriminals continue to evolve in their phishing tactics, making malicious emails increasingly difficult to identify. Modern phishing attacks often use company branding, spoofed email addresses, AI-generated content, and personalized information to appear legitimate. Some attackers even research their targets through social media or public websites before crafting highly convincing messages.

While secure email gateways, spam filters, and endpoint protection solutions play an essential role in stopping many phishing attempts, no technology can block every malicious email. Attackers are constantly testing new techniques to bypass automated defenses, making human awareness a critical layer of protection.

When employees report suspicious emails quickly, security teams can investigate potential threats before they spread throughout the organization. A single report can trigger an organization-wide response, allowing security teams to identify similar messages, remove them from other inboxes, notify users of an active phishing campaign, and take steps to reduce the overall impact of an attack.

The faster employees report suspicious emails, the faster organizations can respond. In many cases, that early visibility can mean the difference between a minor security event and a large-scale incident.

Click Rate vs. Report Rate: Why You Need Both

Although report rate has become an increasingly valuable metric, it doesn’t replace click rate. Instead, the two metrics work together to provide a more complete picture of user behavior and the effectiveness of a security awareness program.

Click rate answers one question: How many employees interacted with the phishing email?

Report rate answers another: How many employees recognized the threat and reported it?

Viewed together, these metrics help organizations understand not only who may need additional education, but also whether employees are developing the habits that strengthen the organization’s overall security posture.

For example, an organization that experiences declining click rates while consistently increasing report rates is likely building a stronger culture of security awareness. Employees aren’t just avoiding phishing emails; they’re actively helping identify threats and supporting the security team.

On the other hand, low click rates combined with low reporting rates may indicate that employees are simply deleting suspicious emails without notifying anyone. While avoiding the phishing attempt is positive, failing to report it means security teams lose valuable visibility into potential threats affecting other users.

Building a Security-Conscious Culture

Improving report rates requires more than asking employees to report suspicious emails. Organizations must create an environment where reporting is simple, encouraged, and viewed as a normal part of daily work.

One of the easiest ways to increase participation is by making reporting as convenient as possible. Many organizations implement phishing report buttons directly within their email platform, allowing employees to submit suspicious messages with a single click.

Regular phishing simulations also play an important role. By exposing employees to realistic but safe examples of phishing attacks, organizations give users opportunities to practice identifying suspicious emails and reinforce proper reporting procedures before they encounter a real threat.

Equally important is how organizations respond when employees make mistakes.

Security awareness programs should focus on education rather than punishment. Employees who accidentally click a simulated phishing email should receive immediate feedback and additional training, not embarrassment or disciplinary action. Likewise, employees who correctly report suspicious messages should be recognized and encouraged to continue practicing good security habits.

When users feel comfortable reporting emails even if they later turn out to be legitimate, they are far more likely to speak up when a genuine phishing attempt reaches their inbox.

Using Phishing Simulations to Measure Progress

Effective phishing simulations do far more than identify users who click malicious links. They provide organizations with meaningful insights into employee behavior, helping security teams evaluate the effectiveness of awareness training and identify opportunities for improvement.

Over time, phishing simulation data can reveal trends such as:

• Departments that may require additional security awareness training
• Improvements in phishing recognition over time
• Increases in phishing reporting behavior
• Common phishing technology techniques that continue to fool users
• Areas where reporting processes can be simplified

These insights allow organizations to make informed decisions about future awareness campaigns rather than relying on assumptions or one-time testing.

The goal is not to achieve a perfect score on every phishing simulation. Instead, organizations should focus on continuous improvement by helping employees become more confident, more observant, and more proactive in recognizing potential threats.

Click Rate vs. Report Rate: Measuring Security Awareness Success

Security awareness isn’t about catching employees making mistakes; it’s about preparing them to respond effectively when real threats appear.

Organizations that measure both click rate and report rate gain a far more accurate understanding of their phishing awareness program. By combining phishing simulations with ongoing security awareness training and encouraging employees to report suspicious emails, organizations can reduce risk, improve incident response, and build a stronger security culture.

As phishing attacks continue to grow, organizations that encourage employees to recognize, report, and respond to suspicious emails will be better positioned to detect threats early and reduce the impact of cyberattacks.

Building that culture takes more than technology alone. It requires ongoing education, realistic phishing simulations, and continuous reinforcement of secure behaviors.

Learn how our Phishing Simulator tool, phishing training course, and security awareness training can help your institution. Contact CampusGuard to request a free demo and get started.