About Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in the Netherlands.
It has a workforce that includes both office employees and staff who are continuously interacting with visitors, such as security teams, hospitality staff, guides, and operational employees.
They still have accounts, access to systems, and receive emails. But they don’t spend their day behind a screen. That makes security awareness more complex. Training needs to fit into real working days, not interrupt them.
To support this, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen works closely with KPN. Through KPN, they are guided by security consultant Gerard van Bakel, who helps translate awareness into something that works in practice.
The challenge: High effort, limited fit
Museum Boijmans van Beuningen had already taken steps toward security awareness, but their previous setup relied on long form, video based content that required significant effort to maintain. Each cycle meant manually selecting themes, building campaigns, and tracking participation. For Head of ICT Bud Scheffer and KPN, this resulted in a highly intensive process of coordinating and guiding awareness activities.
The format was also a less natural fit for the diverse workforce of the museum. Traditional training required focused attention for extended periods, which was difficult for employees on the floor to fit into their schedules.
We wanted to avoid the 'coffee break' effect, where people start a training video, go grab a coffee, and only return to collect the checkmark. With Guardey, we broke that passivity.
Furthermore, the content often felt disconnected from the reality of a museum.
In a museum or healthcare setting, you shouldn't show training videos of people in suits behind a desk. It doesn't match the reality of the people working on the floor.
A different approach through KPN
KPN introduced Guardey with the expectation that the approach would be a better fit for specific customers. In practice, the gamification element proved especially effective and created strong engagement among employees.
Instead of periodic campaigns, Guardey offers a continuous model based on short, weekly challenges that take just a few minutes. For Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, this was an immediate shift. The lower time investment made it easier for operational staff to participate via their mobile devices, while gamification introduced a natural, competitive spark within teams.
From the perspective of KPN, the role of the consultant also evolved.
We’re no longer busy setting up campaigns every time. The focus shifts to the conversation: how do you truly get people involved?
The result: Digital hygiene in practice
With much of the manual setup removed, both Museum Boijmans van Beuningen and KPN have reclaimed time to focus on what matters: communication and culture. The training is now experienced as snappy and accessible.
Bud Scheffer views this change as a fundamental shift in how employees perceive their responsibility. He notes that while employees often check emails on the fly (making it easier to miss red flags on a small mobile screen) frequent micro learning moments keep their guard up.
Awareness is no longer a mandatory checkbox enforced from above, but a shared team effort. By lowering the barrier to entry, the museum has turned security into a habit rather than a hurdle.
Cybersecurity awareness is like washing your hands after using the bathroom; it’s basic digital hygiene that simply needs to be second nature for every employee.
Looking ahead
Museum Boijmans van Beuningen continues to refine how security awareness is embedded across the organization. There is a growing focus on involving managers more actively, integrating awareness into onboarding, and improving participation across different teams.
But the foundation has changed.
Awareness is no longer a heavy, campaign-driven effort. It has become easier to maintain, easier to scale, and better aligned with how people actually work.
Key takeaway
Guardey helped Museum Boijmans van Beuningen and KPN shift from managing awareness campaigns to building continuous engagement. With less time spent on setup, the focus can move to what really matters:
Getting people involved, keeping them engaged, and making security awareness part of everyday work.
Do you want to change your approach to security awareness and build lasting digital hygiene? See what Guardey can do for your organization:
