In many organizations, a persistent assumption exists: employees are “not very digitally skilled,” do not understand privacy and security risks, and are easily overwhelmed by new tools or measures. This assumption often remains unspoken, yet strongly influences how security communication is designed. Messages are simplified, softened, or framed defensively, as if employees need to be protected from complexity.
“The real problem is rarely a lack of digital skills. The problem is how we explain things.”
But those who look closely — and especially those who explain well — see something very different. Employees are often far more capable and curious than expected. Not because they are technical experts, but because they make daily decisions involving digital safety. They recognize phishing attempts in messaging apps, secure photos on their phones, use password managers for personal accounts, and intuitively sense when something “doesn’t feel right.”
The difference between disengagement and connection
In many awareness programs, risks are explained using technical language, policy-driven phrasing, or abstract scenarios. As a result, the message becomes complex, formal, and distant. Employees do not recognize themselves in it. They fail to see how it relates to their daily work — and they disengage. Not because they lack ability, but because the explanation does not connect with their world.
Once risks are made concrete, everything changes. Familiar examples — a “colleague” requesting something urgently on a Friday afternoon, or a package that supposedly could not be delivered — immediately trigger recognition. Employees start sharing their own experiences and actively participate.
This is why storytelling works so well. Not because stories are more attractive than policy, but because they connect technical concepts to human behavior. Stories bridge the gap between knowing and doing. And in security awareness, behavior is always more important than knowledge alone.
What happens when employees are taken seriously
When organizations stop underestimating employees, space is created for an equal conversation. People report incidents more quickly because they are no longer afraid of being judged. Security is no longer presented as something only experts understand, but as something employees already partially master — at home and at work.
In that context, employees learn faster and remember more. They feel respected and recognize themselves as part of the solution rather than the problem. Awareness becomes effective not because employees change, but because the approach changes. When explanations are clear, examples are realistic, and experiences are acknowledged, employees prove to be far more digitally skilled than often assumed. Awareness then starts not with technology, but with trust.