Training & Volunteer Development:

Prepare for Training & Orientation

Volunteers who are prepared and supported throughout their service experience are more likely to volunteer again. As a volunteer manager, you should always set aside time to orient and train them with the skills they need to be successful. As with any learning or service experience, your volunteer orientation and training will be most effective with careful planning.

In planning any orientation or training, you must consider the question, "What do volunteers need to know to feel comfortable and competent in carrying out their tasks?" The answer to that question should lead you to the design of your training program. Most volunteers attend projects with little to no understanding of the work that is to be done and/or how it’s going to be accomplished. Therefore, orienting and training volunteers is a must.

You will need to consider how you will orient and train the volunteers working on the project. In order for your volunteers to be an effective part of the project, they need to understand the issue that the project addresses and the impact it will make on the community. Volunteer orientation can be conducted prior to the project or included as part of the events on the actual day of service.

Orientation should include:

• A brief overview of the CSO’s mission and services and how volunteer support is contributing to that mission.
• A brief history of the issue, current statistics, current events related to the issue area (e.g., legislation activity), and other civic engagement opportunities linked to this issue (advocacy training, future service projects) are all extremely helpful in educating volunteers. To incorporate service learning into the project, discuss the community issue that is being addressed by the agency and/or the project.
• An outline of the project and what volunteers will be doing during the project, so that everyone knows what to expect and what is expected of them.
• And, if given prior to the project, it should include important project information such as volunteer arrival time, a list of tasks that needs to be completed, how to dress appropriately, and whom to call in case of last-minute emergencies or inclement weather.

Orientation and training for volunteers can occur in several ways.

• If you are pre-registering volunteers, you can post orientation information online to those who have successfully signed-up for the project.
• If you are utilizing an existing group (such as a fraternity or corporate group) to assist, you may offer to attend one of their meetings or speak at a lunch-hour meeting at their office to give participants the information they will need to feel prepared and competent to do accomplish their volunteer tasks.
• If you are registering volunteers on-site, you can solicit the help of your registrars to do a brief on-site orientation prior to starting the event. You can also solicit the help of a CSO representative to thoroughly discuss the mission and purpose of the project.

In addition to orientation, you may need to train volunteers for the work they will be doing. You may recruit volunteers who already have the necessary skills; however, many volunteers will need some instruction. If volunteers are prepared for the project, they will feel more comfortable with the work, the project will run more smoothly, and your team is more likely to achieve its goals for the project. Be sure to take time, location, trainers, and any necessary instructional materials into consideration when planning a volunteer training.

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