Training is an incredibly important part of any organization. I have had the opportunity to create and implement many training programs, both in person and online. The two of which I am most proud of include the American Red Cross New Volunteer Orientation and the WSU Computer Labs e-Training.

The American Red Cross New Volunteer Orientation

Upon starting my position at the Red Cross, I was given a copy of the New Volunteer Orientation (NVO) that had been used for many years. After teaching NVO a few times and getting a feel for what it covered and what was lacking, I took it upon myself to completely recreate the course. I found that the current course had some great elements, but wasn’t specifically targeted to the needs of our volunteers. It also wasn’t able to be customized to the current volunteer needs of our Chapter.

I was able to create a branded and targeted PowerPoint that covered all of the areas our volunteers were asking about, and also had a slide for each volunteer position we had available. Prior to an orientation course, I would assess our current volunteer needs and only display the slides for our “in demand” positions in order to best fill our current needs. After finalizing this new program, it was quickly implemented across the state.

WSU Computer Labs e-Training

Training over 50 student employees that are spread across 10 locations can be incredibly challenging. We have a great deal of information the students need to know and also need to be able to easily reference. Additionally, the information is constantly changing and needs to be able to be updated quickly and easily.

Previously, the WSU Labs had a 53-page Employee Manual that each student was required to read once per semester. A printed copy of the manual was located in each lab so employees could reference the information if needed.

The cons to this method were:

• The manual looked overwhelming and students didn’t want to read it
• It was too large and unorganized to easily reference material when needed
• It was difficult to verify that students actually read the information each semester
• It was challenging to keep up to date
  • Because it was printed, it was only updated once a year (at most) so often times it had outdated information

My Solution –

I chose to utilize our University’s Learning Management System (LMS), Canvas,  that the students were already familiar with to completely recreate our training program. Through Canvas, I divided each topic into its own module. Each module has a PowerPoint and/or Video that concisely covers all of the important information in an easy to follow and easy to reference format.

Additionally, as I provide new in-person training opportunities for my team members, I live stream it to YouTube so all of my scheduled employees can participate. Afterwords, I  upload the final video to the Canvas modules for new employees to have the opportunity to watch and complete a brief online assessment.

Benefits:

• The information is easy to reference
• I can now track how much time students spend reviewing the information
• I have implemented one quiz per module to quickly assess the student’s understanding of important information
• Each module can be instantly updated as changes occur
• All employees have the same access and opportunity for training