Onboarding new members of your team can be tough. From new processes to follow to adjusting to dynamics within the company, it can be just as hard for an organisation to adapt to a new team member as it is for that team member to adjust to the organisation.

It’s a period where onboarding becomes genuinely essential. Onboarding processes help your new team member acclimate to your organisation, get to grips with your procedures and raise knowledge levels around mission-critical topics.

Whilst onboarding varies from organisation to organisation, there’s one thing that no organisation can do without - cybersecurity training.

Training employees in cybersecurity is essential for any business that handles customers’ confidential information. Not only does proper cybersecurity training help protect sensitive customer data, it also helps new employees understand their role in protecting the organisation's sensitive information and systems.

By providing cybersecurity training during the onboarding process, organisations can ensure that all employees have the necessary knowledge and skills to protect themselves as well as the organisation from cyber threats.

Additionally, early training can help foster a culture of security within the organisation, where employees are vigilant and proactive in protecting against cyber threats.

As you can see, deploying cybersecurity training from day one can have serious benefits, but how do you go about it? Join us as we take a look.

Assign a course as part of your welcome pack.

Incorporating an entry-level cybersecurity module into your onboarding documentation is a valuable step towards ensuring your organisation is well-protected against common threats an employee will face.

This module should provide information on the most common cybersecurity threats, such as phishing, malware, and ransomware. Additionally, it should include best practices to protect data, such as avoiding clicking on suspicious links, using strong passwords alongside two-factor authentication, and regularly updating software.

It is also important to educate employees on the importance of protecting their data as well as the organisation's data, and to ensure that any data shared externally is done so securely. By taking these steps, your organisation can ensure it is well-protected against cyber threats.

Take the time to explain why cybersecurity training is important

The first step in any successful cybersecurity awareness training programme is ensuring that every single person in your business understands why they are a crucial part of the security of the company.

Start by highlighting the risks associated with not having a good understanding of cybersecurity, such as data breaches and the potential damage they can cause. Then, explain the benefits of cybersecurity training, such as improved security and protection of sensitive data.

Finally, demonstrate the value of the training by setting clear expectations about what the training will cover and the skills the employees will learn. Encourage employees to ask questions and support them during the training process. By taking these steps, you can ensure that your employees are well-informed and engaged in their cybersecurity training.

Creating an environment of excitement and enthusiasm for cybersecurity training can be challenging, but it is certainly achievable. Here are a few tips to make your employees more engaged and enthusiastic about cybersecurity training:

- Focus on the importance of cybersecurity training: Make sure your employees understand the importance of cybersecurity training and the many ways it can help protect their personal information, your business's data, and job security. Explain the value of cybersecurity training, and highlight the measures your organisation is taking to ensure its safety.

- Make the training fun and engaging: With so many online training materials and courses available, it's easy to make cybersecurity training more interactive and engaging. Incorporate quizzes, videos, and other interactive elements to keep your employees engaged and interested in the material.

- Offer incentives and rewards: Incentives and rewards can be a great way to encourage your employees to engage in cybersecurity training. Offer rewards for completing courses or for taking on additional training.

- Get creative: Consider offering different types of training activities that encourage creative thinking. Team building exercises and games can be a fun way to engage employees in cybersecurity training.

By focusing on the importance of cybersecurity training while making the training interactive and fun, offering incentives and rewards, and getting creative, you can easily excite your employees about cybersecurity training. With these tips, you can ensure that your employees are well-informed and up-to-date on the latest security best practices.

Set employee cybersecurity expectations

Setting employee cybersecurity expectations is an important part of keeping your team on board with training and your organisation safe. The good news is that onboarding is the perfect opportunity to set those expectations.

Although your stated expectations will vary, we recommend the following:

- You are expected to complete any and all training courses you are assigned.
-You are expected to report any suspicious activity, phishing emails or suspected malware.
-You will never be punished for making a mistake which leads to a breach.

The last point is crucial to build a positive cybersecurity culture. People are people, and although regular training regularly reduces the potential of mistakes, when they do occur, employees need to know that you won’t punish them for those errors.

By destigmatising cybersecurity mistakes, you encourage employees to come forward and reduce the impact of a breach by catching it early and securing your systems.

How Bob’s Business makes onboarding easy

Full access to a diverse training catalogue

No matter what your new employee’s role is, our course catalogue has something to suit. Whether that’s GDPR training, anti-bullying, fire safety, phishing awareness or any other topic you might require, there’s no stone left unturned. Whether it's our NCSC-certified GDPR and cybersecurity awareness training or any of our other uniquely engaging and effective courses, our training packages offer full access to our catalogue at an affordable price.

Included LMS for all your onboarding needs

Bob’s Culture and Bob’s Compliance includes access to your own customisable organisational Learning Management System (LMS), branded to match your organisation.

It’s where your team will access their courses, but that’s not the only feature, because your LMS is the ultimate onboarding tool for your team. With features including custom course uploads, user group functionality and more, you’ll be amazed at how easy our LMS makes onboarding.

Policy document tracking and attestation

With Bob's Culture and Bob’s Compliance, we make it simple to ensure complete compliance with your organisation’s policies. Simply upload your policy documents and assign them to your team.

Built-in attestation tracking functionality means that you can see who has - and hasn't - accepted your organisational policies too, to make onboarding a cinch.