# Onboarding new Volunteers # Building Onboarding into your Team We know that one of the main reasons that volunteers stay with XR is that they find a community with us. So how can we ensure that we are as welcoming to as many people, and as many different people, as possible? ### The Job of Welcoming It is an integrator's job to find, contact and induct new volunteers into the team. It is the whole team's job to welcome them. **Make Sure:** 1. a team member steps up to have a 1-1 chat with the new volunteer in their first week! 2. a team member steps up to be the new Volunteer's "Point Person" or "Buddy" for their first few weeks, that single port-of-call if the new volunteer has any questions*; and 3. the team invites the new voluntees to any social gatherings coming up or any activities they may wish to join. - (**This is especially important if you organise in multiple chats, ensuring they know what's happening**) ##### A buddy is vital for helping new members to feel welcome and find their feet! **The buddy's role/responsibility is:** - To make initial contact in the form of a friendly email, introducing yourself, possibly offering to meet for coffee or have a call - To properly welcome them into XR by answering their questions, and allaying any fears they might have about getting more involved - To generally be a friendly voice on the end of a phone and support them in finding their own place in XR **Some ideas for how a buddy can support a new XR volunteer:** - General meetups in a café to chat about their interests in XR, ask how they would like to be involved - Inviting your buddy to a meeting that you are going to; you’ll be the friendly person already there, so they won’t have to go into a room of strangers - Introducing your buddy to other XR people who are in areas that your buddy is interested in (art, media, outreach, performance actions) - If they are ready to become involved, invite your buddy onto your local telegram group **As the Integrator, do think about how the local group will keep track of who is buddying whom.** ### New Volunteer in the Chat! When a new volunteer is added to your chat (Mattermost, Signal, Telegram...) make sure to say Hi and welcome them. Make sure they know the purpose of various chats and where they can ask for help. ### A Volunteer's First Meeting **Do** 1. ensure that the team has included their roles and pronouns in their screen names **or** start off with a round of names and role descriptions; and 2. have a least one person offer to stay behind to check in with the new Volunteer, see how they found their first meeting and if they have any questions. **Don't** 1. use lots of acronyms and XR jargon! Try to have someone there to call people out on their jargon and ask them to define things. # Moving on or Exiting Process #### Rebel Pathway - Exit Process ##### We are all volunteers in XR. This comes with some benefits and also some drawbacks. The benefits are clear and include the ability for us to step up when we have time and step back when our circumstances change, we are able to tailor the time we give to suit our lives, give the things we want to give and hold back as much as we want for ourselves. There are a lot of aspects to our volunteer structure that are inherently regenerative in nature, after all we are all crew, we are a family. On the flip side this does mean that sometimes we will offer to do things that it turns out we don’t have the time for, or we step up to be a part of a project but our other responsibilities require us to step back. There are often conflicting responsibilities when it comes to volunteering our time and this can mean that the teams we build may suffer from a lot of churn or some months where the team simply doesn't have the capacity to meet its goals. We never want to blame our individual volunteers for this. It is not our fault when our situations change. However, we want to make sure that when we do have to change our commitment to XR that we can do so in a way that limits the impact on our teams. Below are two suggested processes to guide Rebels in stepping back smoothly: Change of Focus Often we step into a team or role in XR to work on a specific project or for a fixed term and as this comes to a close we may want to change what we are working on or move to another project, we don’t want to leave the role suddenly but we do want to transition our attentions to elsewhere. Let your Coordinators know you plan to change focus. It is useful to give as much warning as possible if you plan to move from your team, this allows them to redistribute tasks in your absence. But also make a date for yourself, it is all too common for there to be that one last thing to clear up and it could take months for a clean separation! Don’t be afraid to leave some things unfinished. Find your new home! If you don’t already know what you are interested in diving into next then check out the Volunteer Website. You may have used this as you were joining XR but it is also a great way to see where help is needed in different parts of the movement. Find your Replacement if necessary. If your team or project is continuing without you you may need to find someone to replace you. This may mean holding an election for your role or onboarding a new Rebel. Don’t be daunted by finding someone new - we can help! 5 Steps to finding a New Rebel: Write up a short role/project description Ask your integrator or IC to post it on the Volunteer Website Once you get a hit reach out to them for a chat, send them the Rebel Starter Pack and give them a run down of the project. Introduce the new Rebel to your team, let them shadow you for a week or two slowly picking up more of the role. Make sure you step back at the date you had planned, stay in contact with your replacement if they need help but make sure they know that the role is now theirs and they should fly! Compile your Loose Ends. Take an hour or so to track down the loose ends that you will leave to your team (or if it is several teams, for each team). This will not only help your team in picking up where you left off but it will also give you a sense of rounding off so that you don’t have to worry while your mind is needed elsewhere. Consider: Making note of conversations you were having Linking to any documents you were working on Copying over your to do list and any unfinished APs Adding a couple of sentences on what your goal for the next few weeks was going to be Template Loose Ends Doc Say goodbye to your team. Plan a small social or activity for your team to round off your time with them. We recommend Kumospace to bring larger teams together in a natural mingling way, or an intimate Zoom drinks party. Or you can host an activity, maybe play a game or a gratitude sharing space. Stay in contact. XR works due to our interconnectivity. In your new role you won’t only bring yourself but you’ll also bring your experience and knowledge of your previous teams. Use it! Make connections, start collaborations and most of all have fun! A Swift Retreat Sometimes the need to step back comes quickly and unexpectedly due to family responsibilities, mental health, job applications or many other things. Here is a roadmap for a swift exit which doesn’t leave your team in the lurch. Let your Coordinators know that you need to step back. Ideally give them a date (end of the week, after the next meeting etc…) but if you need to go instantly that is also okay. The important thing is that your team knows to not expect you to continue holding the things you had. Compile your loose ends. Take an hour or so to track down the loose ends that you will leave to your team (or if it is several teams, for each team). This will not only help your team in picking up where you left off but it will also give you a sense of rounding off so that you don’t have to worry while your mind is needed elsewhere. Consider: Making note of conversations you were having Linking to any documents you were working on Copying over your to do list and any unfinished APs Adding a couple of sentences on what your goal for the next few weeks was going to be Template Loose Ends Doc Set up auto replies. On your Mattermost or your XR email address set up an auto reply saying that you have stepped back and who to contact instead. This will allow any contacts to connect with your team once you’ve gone. Consider writing a short message in a document that you can copy into your texts or emails if someone contacts you from XR but you cannot set up a generic auto reply for that account. For Example: “Hi Rebel, I’m sorry but I have had to step back from my XR work for the time being. If your question is about X please forward it to rebel1@example.com and if it is about Y then connect to rebel2@example.com. Love & Rage, Rebellina” Take a breath. You have now done everything to help your team continue the work without you, thank you! Take a moment to yourself to reflect on the amazing things you have done with XR and don’t be surprised if a few Rebels reach out in the coming days to say thank you! Come back when you are ready or good luck in the next adventure! # Supporting your new Volunteers #### Helping Volunteers stick! The National Council for Voluntary Organisations produced a national survey on the volunteer experience- Time Well Spent 2023, Rei Kanemura. It is interesting to see why volunteers stay and why they step back. #### Access needs Find out about your new volunteer's access needs and any other ways they may need to be kept safe. These may include any disclosed disability that might affect their participation in our community (such as the use of assistive technologies to read emails and the web) as well as participation in events (such as physical access needs, mental-health issues and dietary or other invisible needs). Gathering this information must always take account of someone's right not to disclose anything, as well as their need for proper support if they do disclose something. You can find advice on ensuring that you support volunteers with access needs [in the Access and Inclusion section of the toolkit](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/shelves/09-access-and-inclusion). #### Keeping each other safe Any organisation needs to keep its members safe, and we need to make sure that we know if anyone in our community might be classed as vulnerable. If you find any concerns related to a volunteer (whether about their needs or about their potential impact on other volunteers), you may need to draw up a support plan so that volunteers can be protected from anyone who might harm them, either deliberately or accidentally. You should draw up a support plan in consultation with the volunteer who is its focus, and assure them that we want them to take part and are aiming to provide them with the support they need to do this safely. #### Where else can volunteers get support? Please signpost your New volunteers to the pages **[Care and Respect](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/books/our-culture/page/care-and-respect)** and **[Inclusivity](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/books/our-culture/page/inclusivity)** in the **Intro to XR**. Please check your New volunteers have read these and understand the behaviour they are expected to follow. # Welcome and Onboarding steps ### You have an applicant! What next?
You can **download the flowchart** as a pdf with 'clickable links'.
Or skip to below the Visual Flowchart to **[view an accessible text version](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/link/1771#bkmrk-text-version-of-flow)** of the flowchart. You can also **register to attend a workshop**, which provides complimentary guidance and support on how to follow all the steps in this flowchart. #### Visual Flowchart
[![Welcome & Onboarding Your New Volunteer ~ Flowchart [no links].jpg](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/uploads/images/gallery/2025-01/scaled-1680-/flowchart-for-integrators-new-applicant.jpg)](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/uploads/images/gallery/2025-01/flowchart-for-integrators-new-applicant.jpg) #### Text version of the flowchart ##### 1. Acknowledge - Send a message ASAP - preferably within 24hrs - Tell the applicant when and how you will be in touch ##### 2. Security check (for sensitive roles) - Are they vouched for by someone known? ##### 3. Call - A friendly phone call is best - you get a better idea of the person - Ask them about themselves - start to build trust - Explain the role - Can they make your meetings? - What are their skills? - Do they have access needs and can they be accommodated? - For sensitive roles, request social media names for background checks ##### 4. Decide - Are they a good fit for your role? (or another role with your team?) - Update contact history on Volunteer Website and Reach Volunteering - Skip to **[YES](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/link/1771#bkmrk-yes) OR [NO](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/link/1771#bkmrk-no)** #### **YES** ##### 5. Let them know and send some simple info - Confirm they agree with the [Principles and Values](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/books/intro-to-xr/page/our-principles-and-values) of XR - Intro to XR talk and / or [Intro to XR](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/books/intro-to-xr) on the Rebel Toolkit - Invite them to join the XRUK mailing list if they haven't already - Invite them to meet the team (day, time, Zoom link) ##### 6. Meet - [Welcome them warmly](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/link/1767#bkmrk-the-job-of-welcoming) and thank them as they join the meeting - Deep check-ins: explain who you all are, your roles and some info about your life outside of XR - Invite them to introduce themselves - Explain [hand signals](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/link/1521#bkmrk-hand-signals) - [Avoid jargon / acronyms](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/books/intro-to-xr/page/glossary). Encourage them to ask for clarifications ##### 7. Debrief - Stay on to answer questions (or arrange a later time) - Reassure them that it will take time but that there’s plenty of support - Do they still want to join the team? If **Yes** continue with the steps, or go to [**No**](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/link/1771#bkmrk-no) ##### 8. Data security - If they’ll have access to personal data, talk about keeping it safe and ask them to ask them to watch the [6 minute video](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/books/intro-to-technical-and-data-services/page/gdpr-and-personal-data#bkmrk-what-is-gdpr%3F) and then test for understanding and then sign the Volunteer Agreement
##### 9. Welcome pack - Send them your team’s Welcome Pack and arrange to go through it - Can a team member be a [buddy / point of contact](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/link/1767#bkmrk-%2Aa-buddy-is-vital-fo)? ##### 10. Add to team comms channels - Check they know how to use them - If not, sign-post them to the [Tech Support sessions](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/books/directory-of-talks-and-training/page/tech-support-sessions-and-training) - [Welcome them](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/link/1767#bkmrk-new-volunteer-in-the) into the chat ##### 11. Starter task - Something simple to complete before you next meet - If taking on an EC / IC role, begin shadowing ##### 12. Ongoing care - Create a debrief schedule based on their needs - If interested, invite them to a parent circle meeting ##### Congratulations - you have a new team member! --- #### **NO** ##### Let them know - Arrange a time to phone; inform them gently - Reassure them that they’re valued and there’s a place for them in XR - Ask if they’d like feedback and if they say yes, be kind and honest
##### Signpost to other options to find another role - A Get Involved session - The Get Involved page on the website or, if needed, - Email Recruitment Support [volunteer@extinctionrebellion.uk](mailto:volunteer@extinctionrebellion.uk) # New Volunteer's Training How to create a drop-down: [here](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/link/1598#bkmrk-drop-down-expanding-) TEXT ### GETTING STARTED ##### Intro to XR online talk Join this talk if you're new and want to find out about Extinction Rebellion (XR). Click here to register Duration - 90 minutes + 30 minutes optional Q&A [Intro to XR book on the Rebel Toolkit](https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/books/intro-to-xr) #### Get Involved online session A warm welcome and all your questions answered. Click here to register Duration - 60 minutes + 30 minutes for questions Approximate duration - 30 minutes + ##### Heading for Extinction video - 50 minutes (can be watched later) ##### Tech Support and Training Open Zoom link (no need to register - just turn up!) Every Thursday 18:30 - 19:30 Useful videos about XR's Communication Tools on this playlist Join the Hub and Say Hello on Mattermost First, message us at volunteer@extinctionrebellion.uk asking for your invite to join the Hub then follow the instructions in the email you get back. Then post your first message in the Explorers chat Explorers Accepting your Invite to the Hub - video (7 minutes) What is Mattermost - video (5 minutes) Mattermost - Download and sign in to the app- video (4 minutes) Mattermost explanation - Rebel Toolkit ### HOSTED TRAININGS Zoom meetings with trainers can be done at your own pace, dependent on the dates that trainers are available. ##### How XR Works & Who Makes the Decisions ? Learn about the Self-Organising System (SOS), which empowers by distributing decision-making power to everyone, through roles and teams. This basic training is particularly helpful for people interested in joining XRUK working groups but very interesting if you are new to XR. Zoom meeting with the SOS team Duration - 75 minutes For the next Basic SOS training please Click here to register The SOS team also has a pre-registration signup for their future training: Click here to register your interest ##### Prepare for Action (NVDA) workshops Email the team to request training: [pfa@extinctionrebellion.uk](mailto:pfa@extinctionrebellion.uk) Duration - 1.5 hours. ### INDEPENDENT LEARNING These modules can be done at your own pace and in any order. Confused about the Rebel Toolkit and the Rebellion Academy? To understand the differences, please Click here Please note: You don't need to be on the Hub to access the Rebellion Academy. You can create an account directly on the Rebellion Academy to access the courses. ##### Regenerative Culture The theory behind XR's regenerative culture 2022: Regenerative Culture - Rebellion Academy Approximate duration - 60 minutes ##### Introduction to XR Introduction to XR - Rebellion Academy Approximate duration - 60 minutes ##### Our Strategy Our Strategy - Rebel Toolkit Approximate duration - 40 minutes ##### Our Structure Our Structure - Rebellion Academy Approximate duration - 30 minutes Similar content to the Interactive 'How XR Works & Who Makes the Decisions' session ##### Group Roles Working Group Roles - Rebellion Academy Approximate duration - 60 minutes ##### Internal Coordinator Role (optional, highly recommended if you want to be involved in stewarding a team) Coordinating a Team - Rebellion Academy Approximate duration - 60 minutes ##### Heading for Extinction Heading for Extinction - video Approximate duration - 60 minutes ##### Know Your Rights Know Your Rights (KYR) - Rebellion Academy ##### Citizens' Assemblies Citizens' Assemblies 2024 - Rebellion Academy Approximate duration - two sections of 60 minutes each ##### How We Work Together XRUK Ways of Working - Rebel Toolkit Approximate duration - 60 minutes ##### Get Involved Now with a Digital Action! You can make a difference from wherever you are. Check out the Digital Rebellion website ##### Find a Local Group, Region or Nation Local Group map Sign up for news ##### And Finally A big thanks from the Explore team for getting involved. These resources reflect XR's devotion to ecological and climate justice and it's been our pleasure to help you get a good grounding in XR. XR runs on the generosity of donations, so please consider supporting our work further by donating today or becoming a regular donor. Any contribution will be greatly appreciated. CLICK HERE to donate to XRUK