Before you can gain buy-in from management you need to understand what motivates them. Securing their reputation and protecting their bottom line will usually draw their interest. As a middle rank, you have an important job to do. You gather valuable information from customers, suppliers, and colleagues to determine the opportunities and/or needs of the company. Furthermore, it's clear that a well-delivered security awareness training solution is a must-have.
Share the Facts
This is an excellent time to share your research and help leadership realize that investing in security awareness training is a priority for every business. For example, a recent report from the Ponemon Institute states that the average 10,000 employee company spends $3.7 million a year dealing with phishing attacks and that companies who engage in security awareness training programs typically see an average improvement of 64% with employees' security behaviors.
Provide Best Practices
Now that you have gained the attention and focus of the leadership team, educate management on what some of your competitors are doing to prevent a security incident. Research how your competitors protect their reputation and their bottom line. Chances are they take their security very seriously and invest in the education of their employees. Compare different service providers and see which security training solution is the most comprehensive. Determine which company can offer you the best reporting and analytics, the most up-to-date engaging content, and the best training deployment support.
Get into the Details
You've compared your company's actions to your competitors and reviewed different security awareness providers. It's time to get specific and it also doesn't hurt to get a little personal. Start by making a connection to their own life. For example, think of what a lifestyle is like for a CEO. Often you will find that they travel frequently. As a result, they own various mobile devices and will be checking emails and accessing confidential documents from a variety of places. Use this knowledge to make a connection with them on the need to provide appropriate security awareness training to every single employee. They realize that most of us are always online and often juggling combining personal and work-related tasks.
Then get into the details of the plan. What is the plan? Discuss who should be involved and how the security awareness campaign will be communicated and deployed. Determine how often employees be required to take the training courses and what is a reasonable amount of time to take them away from their everyday work responsibilities for security-related educational purposes. Explain how progress will be measured so that you can see the return on investment for the company. Management will not be ready to invest until you have a thorough and solid plan in place.
Bring in an Expert
Often, it pays to bring in a respected cybersecurity professional. Work with a cybersecurity firm that brings experienced and credentialed cybersecurity professionals on the scoping call to answer detailed and technical questions that often arise. When looking at training, engage with a company that is willing to offer customized options and allow you to speak directly with their deployment team.
Just like getting "buy-in" on any investment proposal, those who come prepared have the most success. To learn more about TechGuard's security awareness training, contact us today.