A key to successful management of volunteers is training. Alfes et al. (2017) note that, “research shows that training facilitates the commitment and/or retention of volunteers” (p.74). A focus on controlling volunteer behavior is not as important as motivation and retention. Lisa mentioned that she sets very high standards for her volunteers in terms of customer service expectations, and that serves to retain volunteers. She’s found that volunteers left alone tend to drift away, but when she has constructive conversations with her volunteers about key concepts in teamwork and customer service excellence, the volunteers become more engaged. For Catholic Charities of Oregon, this could be served in the monthly or quarterly meetings with a focus on concepts such as supporting vulnerable populations. Ryan Dowd is an excellent possible source of material for this. He offers trainings for homeless shelters and libraries on everything from preventing violence to serving those experiencing homelessness and trauma. He can be found at: https://homelesslibrary.com/ There are, of course, many other sources of this type of information. Of course, Catholic Charities of Oregon already has several resources on their volunteer portal.

Training is also about culture, mission and vision. When volunteers have a sense of the overall impact of their work, they are more likely to feel fulfilled by their contribution to that mission. Monthly or quarterly meetings could focus on this. Bidee et al. (2012) note:

Volunteers benefit from environments in which they are offered a good reason for doing their tasks, a finding which highlights the importance of communication in which the personal feelings of the volunteers about these tasks are recognized by the manager. (p.43)