When my church decided to computerize its bookstore, the staff quickly grew concerned that most of our bookstore volunteers -- many of whom are older and less computer-savvy than the younger generation -- might be fearful of learning how to operate the store’s computer and its inventory management software, commonly called a point-of-sale (P.O.S.) system.

Their worries posed an important question that all church bookstores face when using volunteers: How do we best train unpaid help on store technology? My advice to them, and to you, is to keep it simple. 

Be intentional as to what you choose to teach your volunteers. For example, most staff won’t ever add items to your inventory or run Microsoft Office in your store, so there’s no need to spend time on this training.

There are a multitude of computer training courses available online or in your local area, but taking these courses will require significant time and won’t necessarily help your volunteers to ring up transactions in your store.

Basic Training

The number of training sessions you provide should be in direct proportion to how many volunteers you have and how frequently they turn over. I suggest holding the sessions when the store will either be closed or have very slow traffic.

Once you begin your training session, start with the basics of ringing up a sale. You should be able to accomplish an initial training session in about 20 minutes. This basic task should cover about 90 percent of what they’ll need to know as they work the store.

If you intend to use a significant number of volunteers over the course of time, you might prefer to initially show them a training video that you’ve created by using a home video camera. For example, you could videotape a volunteer ringing up a sale step-by-step, showing everything from scanning the product to inserting the item in a bag. Allow the volunteer to ask a handful of questions on camera that you would consider to be “frequently asked” by other volunteers, and then tape your brief responses.

Once they’ve watched your video, it’s time to offer hands-on training. Bookstore Manager’s POS software has a training module that will allow your volunteers to practice without actually entering transaction information into your system; they offer online training as well. Check with your POS provider if you're unfamiliar with what training materials they offer.

Most people learn by doing. Pull several products, and have your volunteers practice ringing up various types of transactions using cash, credit cards and checks. Practicing allows them to better retain what they’ve learned and provides a worry-free environment for them to make mistakes without any consequences. Let them ring up 50 or 60 transactions before you attempt to train them on any other aspect in your store.

For a volunteer that might only work the store once or twice a month, it can be difficult for them to remember what to do when the credit card company’s computer system is down or how to handle refund transactions. In such circumstances, it's helpful to have at least one person around during store hours who is trained on the overall operation of your system.

Further Functions

As your staff becomes more proficient ringing up sales, they will have gained confidence and feel more comfortable operating a computer. Once they’ve had a few weeks under their belt, it might be time to explain a few other functions, such as processing a return, looking up products in your inventory database, or handling a credit card that has been denied.

Make sure you caution your staff to not change any of the settings on your computer. This can be especially tempting for younger volunteers who have been brought up using computers on a regular basis. Many times, an attempt to “upgrade” the computer with downloads or other tweaks creates a problem. Since some of your volunteers maight lack a full understanding of your POS functionality, they could accidentally change required settings. While regular data back-ups provide a solution to this type of error, it does require time out of your busy schedule to reinstate the data.

No matter how you structure your volunteer training, make sure your volunteers know that they are a crucial part of the bookstore’s operations. Taking the time to train those who may be hesitant to use new technology will be more than worth the passionate service they will provide to the customers and the reduction of overhead cost they will bring to the bookstore’s ministry.

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As a former Christian retailer, Randy Voorhees founded Bookstore Manager to offer inventory-control and POS solutions exclusively for the Christian retail marketplace. Today, they serve more than 1,500 Christian stores across the United States. For more information on Bookstore Manager’s products, call 800.997.6724 or visit www.BookstoreManager.com/church .