Good volunteer management includes ensuring volunteers are trained to fulfill their roles effectively. Training means different things to different people and there are many ways that people learn. Volunteers may need less formal training than paid staff as they may be doing very specific roles for limited periods. However, it is important that they are given opportunities to get feedback on how they are doing in the role.
Without being too formal, supervision and support sessions can provide these opportunities. Volunteers can think about their work and how they contribute to the organisation’s objectives. Volunteers like to know about any changes coming that are likely to impact on them. If you are responsible for supporting volunteers you will need to think about the amount of time volunteers have available, their own preferred way of learning and what resources you have available: for example, capacity, time, location, materials, budget for external courses.
This simple template helps you decide if and what kind of training your volunteers need.
