New Coordinator Resources and Continuing Education for Volunteers | Track It Forward

New Coordinator Resources and Continuing Education for Volunteers

Written by Jordan Galerkin

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Recap for April 4th - April 10th

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Facebook community this past week!

Resources for New Volunteer Coordinators

So you just became a new volunteer coordinator…now what?! Hopefully by this point you have received some training and had the chance to introduce yourself to your new volunteers, but there are some more steps you can take to really hit the ground running! Our coordinator community has some ideas, and you can check out our article on Volunteer Management Best Practices as well!

Facebook post stating: Hi all! Just started my first ever role as a volunteer coordinator today coming from an administration background.
It’s the first ever time a person has been employed under this title! I feel very welcomed but also very overwhelmed as I’m getting over covid.. great timing.
I plan to introduce myself to the volunteers via email/text over the coming days and plan catch ups however is convenient for them.
Any other tips for a new starter would be great. Thinking back to your first experiences doing this role.. what helped you or would have been helpful. I’m guessing things will gradually fall into place as I start to build up an understanding of how things work.

Comments from the group

  • “Volunteer management group from NY has an online volunteer management certificate program. Hugely helpful!

  • “When I started my role almost a year ago I came from an admin background and was setting up a brand new programme - first in my job! I would see if there are helpful organisations around where you’re based who can offer training or local volunteering knowledge.”

  • Article: Volunteer Management Best Practices

Add your own thoughts here!

Volunteer Continuing Education Requirements

Some organizations may require continuing education for their volunteers. In some instances, particularly within medical and health care fields, these requirements may be government-mandated. So, how can you make sure volunteers keep up with these requirements without losing them? Our coordinator community has some helpful ideas on the subject.

Facebook post stating: Has anyone lost volunteers over continuing education requirements? I just had a volunteer inform me that she will not do any continuing education anymore. I explained why we do them and that they're mandatory and she is angry that its required.  I think moving forward I will make a point to talk about Medicare requirements such as C.E. and things during orientation. I've only been at my job for 7 months and didn't train her. 
I feel sad that she's decided to stop doing the c.e.'s because that means she's effectively resigning as a volunteer and she's been with us for over a year now. Has anyone else experienced this?

Comments from the group

  • “I like to be upfront so there’s no surprises because it is a commitment with the CEs and requirements. I have lost people as well due to the education piece or have had people not take it seriously. Our company uses itrain and the onboarding courses are a solid 25 or so topics then there’s separate requirements outside of the itrain module. You’re not alone!”

  • “We experienced some resistance when online training became a mandatory compliance piece. Ultimately we were able to retain most volunteers by offering additional support. From then on though we were very clear in our ongoing compliance requirements for new volunteers so it didn’t come as a surprise each year.”

  • There needs to be some clarity upfront and not at orientation. I would start there and maybe [design] a page just for volunteering. I would also consider more targeted recruitment for retention- so like nursing students, nurses, death doulas, etc. Those are the groups that will be serious because they have to do CE’s to maintain licensure so it’s a win-win.

See all of the comments here!