The term baseline measurement sounds like a carefully defined starting point. A serious first step toward a well-designed awareness program. And to be clear: the intention is right. You want to understand what employees already know, where the risks lie, and how to tailor the program to the organization. Many frameworks emphasize this idea: measuring is knowing. But that is not how employees experience it.
“The distance does not arise because employees don’t care, but because the baseline has no meaning for them.”
For employees, the baseline is not a strategic foundation. It is a long questionnaire that feels like homework, detached from daily reality. Motivation fades halfway through—not because they don’t want to contribute, but because it feels too abstract, too long, or irrelevant. And while filling it out, they already know what comes next: mandatory e-learning. It does not feel like a logical start, but like the first obstacle in a predetermined course.
Why baseline measurements rarely measure what you really want
Organizations often overestimate what a baseline can deliver. The idea is simple: employees answer honestly and reveal their level of knowledge. But awareness only works when people feel relevance and can place the topic in their own context. A generic questionnaire fails to do that.
As a result, employees answer with what they think is expected. They guess, choose socially desirable responses, or rush through just to get it over with. Scenarios feel abstract, written from a security professional’s perspective rather than their own daily work.
Trust erodes even further when the baseline leads to no customization. Instead of tailored content, a standard training appears—identical for everyone. The promise of personalization collapses.
The real starting point: listening, observing, connecting
The insights that truly matter rarely come from surveys. They emerge from conversations, observations, and real stories. From moments where employees share doubt, near-incidents, or experiences that almost went wrong.
Awareness does not start with a form, but with meaning. When employees recognize themselves in examples and language, the dynamic changes. They feel involved rather than judged.
A baseline can play a role, but only if it is compact, relevant, and clearly linked to follow-up actions. Not as justification for a fixed program, but as part of a rhythm of listening, testing, explaining, and reflecting.
Behavior change is not measured in a single moment. It is measured in movement. And that movement starts with a different question than “What do you know now?” It starts with: “Why does this matter to you?”