HORNBACH | Security awareness isn't a one-off action

YippiejajaYippieYippieYeah! A call that’s instantly recognisable as HORNBACH. This DIY and project superstore currently operates fifteen branches in the Netherlands, employs more than 3,500 people, and was named Best DIY Store in the Netherlands for the fifteenth time in 2020. As a retailer, HORNBACH processes large amounts of personal customer data — and naturally, protecting that information is a top priority. Activating the human firewall is a key part of that mission.

We spoke with Stephen Smits (Director) and Ron de Leeuw (Data Protection Officer) about HORNBACH’s security awareness campaign.

What motivated you to focus on security awareness?

When asked why HORNBACH launched a security awareness campaign, the answer comes quickly: handling sensitive personal data responsibly is vital to the company.

“As a DIY store, we deal with a lot of customers’ personal information, and of course, we want to be extremely careful with it.”

How was the campaign designed?

“After the GDPR came into effect in 2018, we decided to broaden the campaign beyond GDPR and privacy alone.”

That’s why HORNBACH chose to use the Awaretrain training platform as the foundation for its internal awareness campaign. The company implemented a comprehensive training programme rolled out across all branches. It consists of various e-learning modules offered within the Awaretrain platform. Each branch has a designated person responsible for monitoring progress and results.

How did the rollout of the online training go?

The Awaretrain platform allows organisations to create their own training programmes and set the training intervals.

“We noticed that the initial number of training modules was quite a lot for our staff. So we decided to adjust the interval and spread the training sessions out, which suits our organisation much better. Now, employees complete an initial training followed by an annual refresher course with new modules. That way, security awareness isn’t just a one-off effort. Thanks to the flexibility of the Awaretrain platform, we can make all adjustments ourselves, with support available if needed. In this case, we only needed a sounding board.”

How did you decide to work with Awaretrain?

“Awaretrain’s training platform offers a great deal of flexibility. The modules themselves are unique, highly educational and very accessible, which makes the training suitable for everyone.”

Have you noticed any changes in behaviour?

Changing employee behaviour takes patience. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. But persistence pays off.

“At HORNBACH, we’ve seen an increase in questions and reports about privacy and information security issues. That’s a great development!”

And that’s exactly what you want as an organisation: to create alert, engaged employees and a culture where people feel comfortable asking questions and reporting incidents without barriers.

What are your future plans for security awareness?

“To keep our overall knowledge level growing, we’ll continue using Awaretrain’s short training modules. On top of that, we want to introduce tailored posters and videos to highlight issues specific to HORNBACH.”

It’s clear that security awareness has become a recurring and embedded part of HORNBACH’s operations.

Want to learn more about running an awareness campaign in your organisation?

Take a look at our platform page to see how we can support you — or get in touch for a no-obligation chat.