The Importance of In-service Training

In-service training often does not feel it has much ROI (Return On Investment). There is a lot of staff time and work that goes in to planning an in-service training and then the number of volunteers who attend can be low.

Here is why I think they are important:

1. In-services build community among volunteers who might not see each other because they work on different shifts.
2. Everyone gets a larger view of the ministry no matter what their volunteer job description.
3. Volunteers don’t feel alone in their struggles and victories.
4. It deepens their understanding of how to utilize the fundamentals taught in basic volunteer training since they have begun seeing clients.
5. It shows the importance of continued learning to help them connect better with the clients they see.
6. You cannot teach all topics in depth during basic training. You need in-service training to delve deeper into topics such as adoption, post-abortion stress, evangelism, etc.
7. It is a vehicle for Center staff to be able to observe and evaluate volunteer skill levels in a non-threatening manner.
8. It is an opportunity to connect with speakers from other organizations and to utilize volunteers to help plan and execute the in-services.
9. If you plan ahead you can make sure all volunteers are able to hear the guest speak or the main topic online after the training is over.

Here are some tips that might be helpful in encouraging attendance:

1. Invite volunteers to be on a small planning committee for in-service training.
2. Plan well in advance and ask volunteers to put the dates on their calendars
3. Remind volunteers of the upcoming in-service early and often.
4. Ask volunteers what topics they would find helpful
5. Make attending a designated number of in-services each year part of the volunteer commitment and emphasize this in pre-training interviews and make it prominent on volunteer applications.
6. Engage volunteers to help and they will be more invested in the training
   • They can help with:
     • Planning & pre-training communication
     • Scheduling the guest speakers
     • Making copies of any handouts
     • Planning for and acquiring refreshments
     • Recording the speaker
     • Editing the recording
     • Creating your private You Tube channel

But what about the volunteers who don’t attend the in-service trainings?

1. There should always be a process that enables volunteers who did not attend to have access to at least the guest speakers or the main topic of the in-service.
   • Watch a recorded version of the main topic presentation
     • Create your own private You Tube Channel where all your recorded speakers can be saved
   • After viewing the speaker, ask volunteers to fill out a quiz or reflection questions and hand it in to their supervising staff person
2. Due to Covid-19 you might have to take in-service trainings to a virtual platform such as Zoom or Google Meet.
   • Record the meeting and make it required viewing for anyone who did not attend the virtual training.

Days and Times

When I was the volunteer coordinator at the hospice where I recently worked, I scheduled two in-service trainings in one week. This was to hopefully give volunteers two options for their schedules. One was scheduled on Saturday morning from 9:00 to 12:00 and the other on an evening during the week from 6:00 to 8:00. You would need to only record one of the sessions.

Planning Worksheets

I have designed an In-service Planning Worksheet and an In-service Checklist that might help you or your planning committee to plan for upcoming in-service trainings. I imagine that most in-service trainings would last about 2 hours and I have divided the times in the planning worksheet around that time frame. You can write in the actual time slots on the worksheet based upon the time(s) you choose.

You can click here if you would like a copy of the worksheet and checklist. They are in Microsoft Word format so you can alter them to fit your needs.

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash