When it comes to training their staff members and volunteers, animal shelters aren’t putting it in writing — or reaching their team members, either.
A recent Maddie’s InstituteSM survey of executive directors, employees and volunteers from companion-animal care organizations across the country found that only half
of executive directors from organizations
with paid employees had written guidelines for new staff training.
Worse, only around 20 percent of volunteer-only
organizations
reported having written
training
guidelines for new
volunteers.
What’s
more, half of the employees did not
agree
that their
organization’s
new
staff
training
was
designed and executed with clear and
consistent learning objectives.
Getting the most out of your employees and volunteers, and thus saving more animals, means taking the time to write out your staff training procedures, discussing them with your staff, and setting expectations for both staff and management for the first 90 days.
Need help in developing your organization’s training program? Check out these resources:
Developing training programs for staff
How to train animal welfare volunteers
You can see more training and development tips here, and view or download a PDF of the entire survey report here.