Refresher training for volunteers is important

Photo: Pixabay

Refresher training for volunteers is important.

Refresher training is an often forgotten part of keeping volunteers happy and productive.

That was driven home to me when I was on a call the other day with a client. They were asking how to do something in the volunteer management software, Better Impact. I’ve been fully trained in Better Impact, but my training was almost two years ago and there were so many areas I couldn’t help them with because, not using it all the time, I simply didn’t remember how parts of it worked.

Remembering details of a software program, of course, is a minor issue. Imagine this, you volunteer at a shelter for those without homes. Amongst other things, you are trained on how to administer Naloxone, the anti-overdose medication. Three months down the road, you are faced, for the first time, with a situation where the medication is required. How much do you think you’d remember?

Too often, we feel guilty about asking volunteers to take more training – especially training they’ve done before. They give enough of their time as it is, we think. I understand, most of the training we have volunteers take isn’t life-or-death. A lot of it, though, is serious enough that it needs to be top of mind for volunteers.

Also, volunteers want to do a good job. They want to feel like they are an effective and efficient part of the organization. To have that feeling, they need to be comfortable with all aspects of their role, even those they don’t do that often. That means refresher training.

So what does refresher training include? Here’s what I recommend.

Understand your audience’s needs

The first stage of any training plan is understanding who your audience is and what level of training is required. Consider what knowledge volunteers already have on the topic. How long ago did they have their last training session on this topic? Are there common mistakes they are making that you need to factor in? Are there portions of their roles that they rarely need to perform, but are important when they are needed, like the Naloxone? Is there any training that they are actually asking for?

Review your existing content

Once you’ve decided what areas need refresher training, take stock of your existing content to understand if there are elements that you can repurpose or reuse in your refresher training, or gaps that need to be filled. While your refresher training should cover all the basics, it can also be used to challenge volunteers (which has the added advantage of making the training more interesting), so be willing to add more advanced skills to the mix.

Create new content

Think of new content for your refresher training that adds to your key messages. Again, new information on top of the necessary basics will make volunteers see more value in the training, and you’ll have fewer volunteers complain about taking it.

Decide on your delivery method

The best fit will depend on a few factors, including number of volunteers to be trained, organizational setup and your training budget (if you have one). Face to face training is a great option if the volunteers perform most of their role on site or if there are hands-on elements required as part of the training. A bonus to this type is that it allows for open discussion, which builds community amongst the volunteers.

The downside, of course, is the inconvenience for volunteers and the cost to you, especially if you’re hosting refresher training sessions on a regular basis. Online sessions, such as over Zoom or other video conferencing platforms, solve those problems, but aren’t appropriate for any hands-on learning.

A third option is video training, or e-learning. This works really well for quick reminders or if you have a lot of people who need the training but aren’t all able to come together at the same time. The disadvantages are that it doesn’t work for hands-on learning, for building community, or for information that changes often.

There isn’t one right way. Use whichever method best suits the specific training you are focused on at the time.

Schedule your course

Once your content is ready, all you need to do is get it on the schedule. Refresher training works best if it is held on a regular basis but with various days and times to allow for different people’s schedules. For example, you could have the training every month, January being in the morning on a Saturday, February in the early afternoon on a Tuesday, and March being in the evening on a Thursday. That way everyone gets an opportunity to attend.

Don’t talk yourself out of refresher training

It can be life-or-death. Even if it’s not, though, doing it makes sense. The better trained volunteers are, the greater the impact on your mission, and the more satisfied volunteers will feel about their role. Let me know if you need help.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.