Module 3: Volunteer Training

What?

              Any organization utilizing the service of volunteers must provide the volunteers with an orientation and on-going training to develop a positive organizational culture.  Providing training indicates an investment in volunteers which leads to more engagement and higher retention rates.

 

So What?

              Chapter 10 of The Volunteer Management Handbook is dedicated to training volunteers.  The author advises considering learning styles and generational differences when developing the program (Connors, 2012).  One way to connect with potential volunteers is to treat them as individuals, not just another face in the crowd.  However, planning an orientation or initial training session tailored to individual needs becomes difficult when the relationship is too new to identify individual characteristics within the group.  When considering the three basic styles of learning, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic, the program can be tailored to fit the needs of many individuals at once. Brugmann suggests a manager would be wise to have an understanding in teaching techniques such as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (2016).  Generational differences arise due to major life events in a person’s youth.  A successful volunteer manager will not only understand these differences but embrace and incorporate them into their training sessions providing further individualization.  Providing a well thought out and inviting learning environment, including considerations for scheduling, parking, space, seating, breaks, and evaluations invites a feeling of belonging to the organization.  Brugmann reminds managers to not get caught up in providing too many activities that they forget the basics of the training plan (2016).  By providing clear and concise goals and objectives, the manager can relate the importance of volunteer work to the mission of the organization.  The Volunteer Management Handbook suggests providing an orientation, to deliver a general overview of policies, and training, to deliver methods for accomplishing specific tasks, and continues with a section regarding coaching as a form of ongoing training (Connors, 2012).  By providing training or coaching throughout a volunteer’s tenure with the organization builds upon the relationship and strengthens a positive organizational culture.

 

Now What?

              I am not currently responsible for the volunteer training program in my present role as a zookeeper.  However, I work alongside volunteers every day and these readings have reinforced the idea of continual training or coaching.  By understanding the various learning styles and generational differences of the many volunteers within our organization, I can tailor my coaching to meet the needs of each individual.  Additionally, as I support the volunteer manager(s) in my organization, or in the future when I play a more integral role in the development of the training plan, I can help develop a positive learning environment.  I would certainly suggest to any program to follow the orientation, training, and coaching model.  By splitting these sessions up, it provides a more focused session without overloading the volunteers.  Perhaps a fun suggestion at the end of the orientation would to be suggest volunteers do a self-assessment of their personal Learning Styles and bring the information back to the training sessions to further develop the relationship between volunteer and organization.  This would not only prove insightful for the volunteer but would allow the organization to match the volunteer with a mentor of similar learning styles furthering engagement and inclusivity within the organization.

 

References

Connors, T. D. (Ed.). (2012). The volunteer management handbook: Leadership strategies for success (2nd ed). Wiley.

Brugmann, K. (n.d.). The Art of Training Volunteers. Google Docs. Retrieved June 7, 2021, from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vsv6rdaS6kUbtKi2kLhVNcmb-ZknO7YFwXOJqdY--Zo/edit?usp=drive_web&ouid=110210153644119270930&usp=embed_facebook