Volunteers are usually good about attending initial training sessions. Once orientation is complete and the volunteer is placed, luring them back to training can be a challenge. Here are some tips for bringing volunteers back when it is follow-up training.

"When everything settles down, . . ." "When everything is on an even keel, . . ." How many ways are there to say that we want life to stop racing forward so fast? Adults seek stasis or and normality in life that is rarely there. And change, well, do not even bring it up.

The fact is that despite the loathing adults have for change it is a fact of life. Here are some tips to make the changes in your program more palatable.

• Begin with the background. Make sure there is ample information about the reason for the change. You need facts, figures, history, and other changes that led up to this one. Help the volunteers or staff put the change in the perspective of the history of the organization; seeing it as a developmental step rather than "change."
  
  
• Be clear about what people need to do. Volunteers and staff need to know specifically what is needed from them to implement the change. This is not the time to be vague and mysterious. Spell it out. If they have to alter behavior and do multiple things to accommodate the new change, present it in that manner. Make a list and number it so folks can see the change in the proper order.
  
  
• Address the results of the change. Any change has consequences - positive and negative. Be clear about what is anticipated and how the organization plans to address those issues.
  
  
• Get personal. It is essential to tell people how change will impact them on a personal level. A huge museum was altering the entry for staff and volunteers. The entrance was to be moved nearly two blocks from its previous location. The volunteer manager took volunteers in groups through an exercise where they left the building and mapped out how parking might change and what options were available. Volunteers scoped out places to get coffee or lunch that were new and closer to the new entrance. In this simple "field trip" away from the building the volunteers got a handle on how the change would impact their work and allowed time for them to plan to cope with it.

Ever go to a training session and find that you are missing overhead marking pens, masking tape, or 3X5 cards? A training checklist is a permanent way to avoid such mishaps. The checklist should account for everything;

• name plates
• tents
• evaluation forms
• Include the names of different types of markers, rather than just saying "markers."
• If you take books, handbooks, games or the like they should also be listed.
  

If someone helps prepare your workshop material, the checklist can be used by him or her to ensure that everything is in the box that you need to conduct the workshop. This is especially important if you train away from your office in remote locations.

Studies show that learners can lose course content unless review mechanisms are used. Some review mechanisms are useful during the session, but you can also do things following training. One effective way to review learning is with a follow-up newsletter.

The newsletter contains articles, tests, games, puzzles, bright graphics, all of which are aimed at reminding the volunteer of the learning objectives and content of the training session. An orientation follow-up newsletter can be created once for use whenever training is held. It is only up-dated when training is up-dated or changed.

Close to 200 colleges and universities offer academic programs on nonprofit and volunteer sector management. They are usually master's degree programs, but not always. American Humanics sponsors undergraduate programs, as well. If you are looking to push out the professional development window, consider taking a course at one of these colleges. A full list resides at http://pirate.shu.edu/~mirabero. Thank Roseanne Mirabella, of Seton Hall University for keeping up with this list.