A guide to volunteer training

A well-trained, capable volunteer has the ability and opportunity to thrive in their charitable role, as opposed to a recruit who may lack confidence, not feel a part of the team, and experiences a sense of overwhelm due to a lack of adequate training. However, training volunteers is not just about making the role easier for themselves – it also helps you to manage risk effectively and minimise the chances of a claim being made against your charity.

Read our article below for help and guidance on how to train volunteers.

Why train volunteers?

Volunteer training is vital for equipping your volunteer with the knowledge and resources they need to have a positive and successful experience representing your charity. The correct training and guidance will make sure your volunteer feels confident, ensure they are compliant, and help them to gain an understanding of the role they are entrusted with. NCVO, a membership organisation for charities, community groups and voluntary organisations, shares how positive volunteer training experiences are more likely to increase the chances of a volunteer dedicating time to volunteering opportunities in the future.

What training should volunteers receive?

Before onboarding your newly recruited volunteers, you must choose the teaching methods and training programmes you want to offer. Simpler learning tasks and shadowing works well for smaller organisations, whilst a formal classroom setting is usually advisable for larger groups. The training budget is a large consideration as the training materials you require must fit within the wider organisation’s budget.

You are likely to have volunteers originating from all backgrounds, so it is important that your volunteer induction process is as straightforward and supportive as possible:

• Define expectations: Before you begin training, create a volunteer training plan and decide on the expected learning outcomes. It is important that both the trainer and the trainees have goals – for example, what advice volunteers can and cannot give to service users. To ensure your volunteers stay on track to meet expectations, read our article sharing tips on how to keep volunteers motivated.
• Introduction to your charity/organisation: Create an information pack detailing the charity's mission statement, history, volunteer role description and any necessary contact information. Carry out a tour around your building (if you have a permanent office space) or, if they are volunteering as a one-off for an event, show the designated area. Introduce your new volunteers to key people at the charity, including trustees to fellow volunteers – if feasible, set up individual meetings for new volunteers to develop a better idea of what each person's role is at your organ-isation.
• Discussion surrounding policies: Spend time talking through policies such as service user confidentiality, IT restrictions and, most importantly, health and safety. It is likely your volunteer will be unfamiliar with accident reporting, designated first aiders or emergency routines, so ensure they are trained on the current processes.
• Education through additional resources: Provide your new volunteers with any additional reading resources or courses which could help to develop their knowledge. Fundraising platform, Classy, recommends using a variety of training methods to cater to diverse learning styles, ranging from hands-on training and interactive workshops to written materials and video tutorials.

Who should provide volunteer training?

Deciding who runs the training programme depends largely on your situation, for example: the number of volunteers requiring training, the resources you have available, and how much training they need.

For smaller charities, the employee or volunteer who manages the recruitment process tends to manage volunteer training. Alternatively, another ideal person to provide training is the person who arranges the charity’s insurance, as they will understand what the biggest risks facing your charity are, and what volunteers can do in their day-to-day volunteering activities to avoid them. If your organisation has limited time available, consider hiring a professional training provider – although volunteers do typically have the best understanding of your charity, so it is usually more effective to train new recruits internally.

Protecting against volunteer risks

Once training has commenced, your charity will be able to benefit from having well-trained, confident volunteers representing your cause. Even with a well-run training programme, your charity still has the potential to face a range of volunteer risks, which is where certain insurance cover is available to protect your charity:

• Professional indemnity insurance can cover against volunteers providing poor or in-correct advice to service users. For example, an instance such as this could occur dur-ing a counselling appointment with a vulnerable individual who has sought the guid-ance of your charity.
• Public liability insurance can cover your charity against injury caused to a third party (such as a service user) as a result of a volunteer's negligence. Without cover in place, the legal fees alone could cost your charity thousands of pounds.
• Fidelity insurance can protect your charity against loss of money or goods as a result of volunteer dishonesty. Unfortunately, fraud against charities and not-for-profits re-mains a common occurrence, with fabricated invoices, fraudulent expenses and dona-tion theft occurring at organisations of all sizes. Fidelity insurance pays any losses your organisation incurs as a result of such dishonesty or fraud.
• Employers’ liability can cover against allegations of injury or illness suffered by staff during their employment. If your charity has employees on a full time, part time or vol-unteer basis, this cover is essential.

To discover what insurance is available to protect charities and non-profit organisations, read our guide, here.

Please note: This article provides guidance for information purposes only. It should not be relied upon wholly when making or taking important business decisions – always seek the services of an appropriately qualified professional. The views expressed by websites referenced to are limited to those of the websites, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Markel Direct.