Volunteer Program/Resources Manager, Role of

As the new editor of the Training Designs section, Sue Jones shares her perspective on the importance of training in volunteer management. In her first column for e-Volunteerism, she notes that training is not the same as learning, and that leaders of volunteers need to recognize all the opportunities to increase the skills and understanding of every volunteer. In fact, she makes the case that concern for learning is vital to each stage of a volunteer’s experience, from newcomer to veteran. After reading this Training Design, we predict you’ll look at training from a whole new viewpoint and become more intentional in daily training activities. 

How many of you have actually taken the time to create a strategy for your own professional development? Have you considered what you would like to achieve professionally over the next year or the next five? So many of us discuss the need to professionalize volunteer management so that our organizations will value volunteers and the work we do, leading to greater investment in volunteerism and viewing us as internal experts. But for that to occur it must start with each of us. 

According to Sheri Wilensky Burke and Gerald (Jerry) Pannozzo, it's important for each individual to invest in professional development. There are many strategies out there to accomplish this: subscriptions to publications such as this one; memberships in professional associations, attending conferences and workshops; mentoring; and the strategy Burke and Pannozzo describe as peer career coaching. In this feature article, read how these long-time colleagues used peer career coaching to collaborate on a mutual support plan to increase their professional skills and opportunities. After reading, perhaps you can, too. 

This Training Design presents a thought-provoking, high-level exploration about the volunteer management field and its future. According to those who attended the recent presentation of this material by author Katherine H. Campbell, Executive Director for the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration, it is not for the timid!  Come prepared to challenge the status quo and examine the complexities of titles and the nuances of duties. Use this Training Design to provide an opportunity to talk with colleagues about how we define and influence the collective work we do as volunteer professionals.

If your organization still hasn’t fully embraced the Internet to support and involve staff and volunteers, this Training Design is the key to bridging your organization’s digital divide. Jayne Cravens, who directed the Virtual Volunteering Project and helped pioneer the concept of involving volunteers via the Internet, has created a development plan that successfully introduces five crucial Internet tools, helps explain their importance to your organization, and provides tips to help your staff and volunteers finally embrace online technology. This Training Design is also a wonderful resource for those who are somewhat Internet savvy but might need a refresher course on how to use online forums, social networking sites, audio and video programs and automatic alerts. Cravens’ “Personal Online Skill Development Plan” will help shrink the digital divide for everyone.