Implementing a robust security awareness training program for your organization is an essential step toward promoting a strong cybersecurity-minded culture.
You’ve identified that your organization lacks the resources to design training in-house, so you’ve opted to find a vendor. But how do you select a partner that can effectively educate your staff and improve security awareness?
When selecting a vendor for security awareness training, focus on these key factors to ensure the program effectively enhances your employees’ cybersecurity knowledge and reinforces best practices:
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Vendor Expertise and Reputation
- Industry Experience: Look for vendors with a proven track record in security awareness training. Training should also be relevant to your industry and the risks/requirements that apply (e.g., higher education, healthcare, government, etc.).
- Certifications and Recognition: Check for affiliations with respected cybersecurity organizations (e.g., CISSP, CCSP, and OSCP-certified staff).
- Customer References: Request case studies or references from similar-sized organizations or industries.
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Content Quality and Relevance
- Up-to-date Material: Ensure the content is updated regularly and reflects current and evolving risks and threats, and relevant compliance requirements.
- Comprehensive Topics: Choose training that covers essential topics like phishing, social engineering, password security, data privacy, and compliance. Illustrating real-world scenarios and guidance users can apply in their daily lives helps drive value.
- Customizability: Vendors that can tailor training to your company’s specific risks, industry, and policies add extra value and ensure training aligns with organizational standards.
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Delivery Methods
- Flexible Formats: Choose training that caters to a virtual environment, can be administered on-demand, and offers SCORM-compliant delivery, so courses can be easily deployed within your Learning Management System (LMS).
- Engaging Content: Training that features interactive elements, gamification, and real-world scenarios helps to improve employee engagement and knowledge retention.
- Mobile Accessibility: Training should be available for users on the go and accessible on smartphones and tablets for convenience.
- Accessibility: Ensuring training is designed and delivered in a way that allows people with disabilities to fully access and participate in the learning experience.
- Varied Mediums: The provider should deliver training in multiple methods to help reach all learners. For example, ongoing e-learning courses can be supplemented with additional videos, handouts, infographics, etc. A training vendor that can provide a whole package or program of training materials will provide additional value.
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Reporting and Analytics
- Employee Progress Tracking: Training platforms should include insight into user participation, completion rates, and quiz performance. A flexible reporting structure that allows organizations to assign department managers the responsibility of holding their employees accountable for training is critical.
- Risk Assessment: Analysis of overall organizational vulnerabilities based on training outcomes. Measurable metrics such as reduced phishing click rates and reporting.
- Actionable Insights: Recommendations for follow-up training or policy updates.
- User Feedback: The vendor should be open to user feedback on the training courses and utilize the provided information to improve courses over time, and implement additional modules, etc.
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Regulatory Compliance Support
- Alignment with Standards: Ensure the training addresses relevant regulations that impact your organization, which often includes PCI DSS, HIPAA, GLBA, or others.
- Audit Readiness: Provide evidence of training completion and employee acknowledgments for compliance audits.
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Vendor Support and Services
- Dedicated Support Team: Customer support should be involved with initial implementation and planning to ensure the training is launched effectively with staff and achieves maximum buy-in. Following the initial roll-up, the support team should be readily available to assist with customization, ongoing engagement, and troubleshooting when needed.
- Onboarding Assistance: A smooth implementation process, involving employee enrollment and training setup, should be included.
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Scalability
- Scalable Solutions: Training should be adaptable for growing teams and support organizations with hundreds or thousands of employees across multiple locations.
- Tiered Training: Course training should support diverse training levels based on employee roles (e.g., IT staff, executives, etc.), where applicable.
- Continuous Updates: Regular content refreshes and new modules to address emerging threats should be incorporated into the training courses.
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Integration with Existing Systems
- LMS Compatibility: Course content should include the ability to integrate with your learning management system for centralized management.
- SSO Support: Simplified employee access through single sign-on functionality should be available. Integration with Active Directory and user provisioning can also help manage ongoing training assignments.
- Automation Features: Automatic enrollment, reminders, and on-demand reporting are features that help streamline processes.
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Cost and Value
- Transparent Pricing: Vendors should provide a clear breakdown of costs with no hidden fees.
- Demo Requests: Customers should have the option to preview the course material(s) before committing.
- Return on Investment: The goal of training is to equip your staff with the knowledge to follow best practices, meet compliance requirements, and promote a cybersecurity-focused culture within your organization. Organizations understandably expect clear evidence of measurable improvements in employee awareness and a reduction in security incidents.
CampusGuard offers security awareness and compliance training that is designed by certified experts and updated annually to reflect the latest threats and compliance requirements.
We collaborate with your team to deliver more than just compliance—creating a tailored, impactful, and effective security awareness training program aligned with your organization’s goals.
Request a demo and learn more about our available Online Training packages.
