Recruitment and Onboarding

Guidance for UK teams on how to recruit via the XRUK Volunteer Website and Reach Volunteering. You will also find resources you need to welcome new and existing Rebels to your team.

Start Here

This is a 'Welcome and Onboarding' Tool for Integrators or Internal Coordinators from any Working Group (WG) or Local Group (LG). In this handbook, you should find the resources you need to welcome new and existing Rebels/volunteers to your team or LG.

If the Rebel/volunteer is brand new, be sure to direct them to the INTRO TO XR here on the Toolkit. Even if they have some experience and knowledge, you can still signpost them to this introduction. If they are the sort of person who likes a bit more training, you can ask them to join the XR FOUNDATION PROGRAMME. The most important thing to remember is to be welcoming and patient.

This handbook has been put together by the UK Pathways Team.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact us on Mattermost via the Welcome/Onboarding (Integrator) Support channel.

Preparing for new volunteers

Preparing for new volunteers

Why do we need new volunteers?

For a movement that aims to mobilise 3.5% of the population, that seems like a daft question! However, it can be useful to think about why we need new people beyond just the obvious.

New volunteers are the lifeblood of every team

We know we need numbers to win. We may think about it less, but we also need the energy, skills, ideas, community connections, diversity and fresh perspective new volunteers bring us. Last but not least, we need our stretched coordinators to be able to occasionally take a break!

Sometimes it can seem like bringing new volunteers into our groups just creates work. Maybe the team is very busy and has experienced inducting a volunteer who quickly left again. At times like these, it is tempting to think "oh, we'll just do it all ourselves".

However, if we close ourselves in this way, it can easily lead to a downward spiral. Without a continual flow of new people, the team ends up consisting of experienced but very stretched people with no time to show others how to do things. Then, when one of those experienced people needs to step back, things can really go wrong. A healthy group has a mix of people of all levels of experience, with a steady flow of newbies learning, moving on to more complex work, showing others how to do things and relieving the more experienced coordinators of work.

Setting the tone

Before you even start recruiting or doing outreach, think about how you will look after the people when they arrive. New people will need extra care and attention at the start (typically for around a month). It is best that coordinating this work falls to someone who is not frazzled from doing a ton of other things. However most teams don't have integrators and this work then falls to the Internal Coordinator, and we all know that ICs often are doing a ton of other things! This is why we now recommend that you share your IC role between two people wherever possible.

This does not mean it is the integrator or IC's job alone to make new people feel welcome! This is a job for everyone in the team.

Of course, no one can guarantee that your volunteers will stick with you, but there are some things you can do to make it more likely. We had a People's Assembly and asked why people stayed. These answers came up the most:-

And we really felt part of XR when:-

So, drawing from this, the kinds of things which encourage people to keep coming back include:-

If you can provide these things, then you will have gone a long way to making a supportive and welcoming environment for the new vounteers who arrive in your group.

Ways of Working

We also recommend that you read the Ways of Working guide for how we relate to each other in all teams across the UK.

Preparing for new volunteers

How do we genuinely welcome everyone?

To genuinely welcome everyone we must be inclusive

For guidance on Inclusivity in XR, start here.

More useful resources:

You can contact Disabled Rebels Network via Facebook, or you can email them at wellbeing+drn@exinctionrebellion.uk

Rare exceptions

There are a few rare cases where you might not be able to include someone, i.e. if their needs are beyond what you can reasonably meet, or if they risk causing harm to other people (see ‘Supporting your new volunteers’).

Preparing for new volunteers

What does an Integrator do?

It can be slightly overwhelming joining XR - so much to learn, so many new faces, all that XR jargon and even a new structure to work around.

And this is on top of the anger, frustration or desperation we feel because we face the global catastrophe of climate change, a result of systemic injustice and racial inequality, the effects of which are already being felt all over the world. It can be a lot to process.

And sometimes we forget to welcome new volunteers into XR, simply because we are often so involved in a project which is taking all our time and attention.

For this reason, we should have an Integrator in each of our teams and Local Groups (LGs) - to welcome new volunteers and to make sure that existing Rebels are finding their way on their journey through XR.

Check out the Rebellion Academy Module: Working Group roles, for some videos about being an Integrator.

Standard Integrator mandate

Purpose: to make sure that team/LG members are flourishing and productive and that the team/LG has members to fill its roles and support its workload.

Mandate:-

Different teams break this down differently (for example, you might have one person handling recruitment and a different one for onboarding) but someone will need to be responsible for each of the tasks listed above. Work out who will do what ahead of time so that everyone is clear what to expect.

Not got a team Integrator?

Then this is the first role to recruit for! You may think this person would need to know your team inside out in order to welcome others; but really the most important thing is for them to be friendly, empathetic and willing to learn as they go along. Sometimes, it even helps for the integrator to be relatively new so that they can use their own experience to help others. There are lots of resources on this toolkit to help them.

NB: If you haven't got an Integrator then it is the Internal Coordinator's job to do this work!

Cautionary note: if you are using the volunteer website to recruit, it is important you get to know a new Integrator before giving them login details to your group account since this is a position of great trust and involves handling sensitive personal data.

Recruiting via the XRUK Volunteer Website

Recruiting via the XRUK Volunteer Website

Advertise your roles on the Volunteer Website

XR-Header-v4-(with-text)-small.jpg

volunteer.extinctionrebellion.uk

This website works just like a jobs board and aims to help volunteers find roles and groups to find volunteers. Any XR UK group can apply for an account and recruit this way - you just need an official email address. In practice, the site is mainly used by UK-wide, national and regional groups which are less likely to find their people on the streets or at an in-person meeting.

On this website we've used the term 'volunteer' throughout rather than 'rebel' as it is better understood by people completely new to XR.

Start by looking at role descriptions on the Volunteer Website for ideas on how to best promote your roles.

Setting up a team account

To get started, you will need to get a group account. Please check with your team, or with us at volunteer@extinctionrebellion.uk, if you are not sure whether or not you have an account. Most teams now do have an account already. If you are sure you don't, follow these steps:

  1. Go to volunteer.extinctionrebellion.uk/integrator
  2. Watch the short (7 min) video which explains how the site works.
  3. Scroll down and click 'Create group account'.
  4. Use your XR group's email to set up an account - this needs to be an email that is checked regularly (please note we can't take personal email addresses).
  5. The application comes to the Pathways team for approval.
  6. Once the application is approved, you will receive an email with a link to click on to complete the registration.
  7. You are up and running and ready to post roles!
  8. LOGGING IN! When you open the Volunteer website, to log in to your Integrator account, scroll to the bottom of the website to the black section and select Integrator Home.

Writing an appealing role

  1. De-jargon! Try to look through the eyes of someone who knows nothing about XR. You can explain the ‘correct’ terms for things later if needed but for now communication is key e.g.:

☹ Internal Coordinator, External Coordinator, Integrator, regen, rebel

😊 Team Guide, Team Representative, Team Builder, wellbeing, volunteer

  1. Make it accessible Volunteers rarely have both good skills and lots of time. Asking for lots of time excludes certain groups of people and makes us less diverse as a movement. Can you break down the role? e.g. Internal Coordinators often get asked to do everything!

☹ Internal Coordinator (hours: full-time)

😊
Team Guide (hours: 5-9 per week)
Recruiter (hours: <1 per week)
Newbie Support Person (hours: 1-2 per week)
Wellbeing Champion (hours: 1-2 per week)
Secretary (hours: 1-2 per week)
Admin helper (hours: 1-2 per week)
Facilitator (hours: 1 per week)
Team tech support (hours: 1-2 per week )

For internal coordinator roles in particular we suggest that you advertise "shadowing" or "trainee" roles so that there is always someone in training. It helps to make the role more fun and give continuity - it is often difficult for a new coordinator to pick up the reins from scratch once a coordinator has moved on. We should pass on our knowledge!

  1. Be clear what you want someone to do, especially in the job title. The more specific you are, the more likely you are to get what you are looking for. However, if you just need more team members and plan to find out what they want to do later that's fine too! If you do this, try to have a few tasks your newbie can help with right away.

  1. Include key words in your description. On the site, volunteers can search for roles that contain particular words. Ask yourself which words people are most likely to search for if they want a role like yours and then include them in your ad - ideally in the role title.

  1. Consider the type of role: do you need a permanent member of the team or could the work be done as a time-limited project? The second of these is likely to attract more people, especially those who are skill-rich but time-poor.

  1. Create an eye-catching role ad using HTML
    We are hoping that a future update will make creating nice layouts on the Volunteer Website easier. But for now you can use the above advice to help you make your adverts eye-catching. (click on the green heading above).

    You can also find some simple tips by clicking the little circular 'i' information button when filling in your role description. BUT if all this foxes you please don't be put off! Short ads are perfectly fine without any fancy formatting. Please do just check how your role looks on the live site, though, to fix any issues such as hard-to-read blocks of text before you finish editing. Just give us a shout (email address below) if you have problems.

  1. Consider trying out several different titles for your role. You can even experiment by posting the role more than once and see which gets the best engagement.

Data Protection

It is very important to be aware that you are handling people's personal data and to treat it with the greatest respect. The data on the site is protected by website security and should not be copied elsewhere unless necessary, in which case it should be deleted as soon as possible. All integrators must read, understand and sign our Volunteer Agreement which contains our Data Protection Policy. (We ask new volunteers to sign this, after all!)

Site support is available by emailing volunteer@extinctionrebellion.uk

The Volunteer Website has been set up by the UK Pathways team and is maintained by the UK Pathways and UK Digital teams.

Recruiting via the XRUK Volunteer Website

Templates for Volunteer Website Role Adverts

To format your role ads on the Volunteer Website, you need to use something called HTML. Without HTML, your role description will appear as one long block of text, which is hard to read and digest. To help with this, you can copy and paste one of the templates below into your ads. Then, you just have insert links specific to your team and add any extra text you need to make your ad look marvellous!

You will need to replace everthing in caps with your group info and links. Remember to delete the square brackets. You can view how the ad will appear above each of the HTML templates.

  1. Find your group on the Organism
  2. Select the option 'Mandate' top right
  3. Select and copy the URL [address at the top of the web page]
  4. Paste over the word LINK in the template
  5. Find your parent circle on the Organism and repeat steps 2, 3 & 4

We've already added the links to the mandates for Internal Coordinator, External Coordinator, Integrator and Facilitator in the templates below. If you don't have a mandate for the role you need filling, discuss the tasks the role holder will need to do with your group and add these to the task list under 'Some of the [ROLE NAME] tasks include:'

More Info

For basic instructions on how to use HTML, you can copy and paste from the Basic Syntax list

How the Internal Coordinator ad will look using the template below:

The role can be shared between two people, reducing the time commitment necessary.

Recruitment Support is a friendly and dynamic team.

The key role of the Internal Coordinator (IC) is to ensure the team is healthy and achieving its mandate.

Some of the IC tasks include:

For more information on the mandates for Recruitment Support, Pathways and the Internal Coordinator, please select the links below:

Recruitment Support mandate

Pathways mandate

Internal Coordinator mandate NB click on the plus sign next to Internal Coordinator.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Internal Coordinator - Template

<strong>The role can be shared between two people, reducing the time commitment necessary.</strong></p>

<p><b><font color="green">The [YOUR TEAM NAME] is a [FRIENDLY/ORGANISED/DYNAMIC ETC] team.</font></b></p>

<p>The key role of the Internal Coordinator (IC) is to ensure the team is healthy and achieving its mandate.</p>

Some of the IC tasks include:

<p>
<ul>
<li> Proposing roles and projects the team needs to fulfil its purpose and accountabilities.</li>
<li> Supporting the work of role-holders and sub-circles, and reviewing their work at regular intervals.</li>
<li> Inviting people with relevant skills and abilities to join the team as required.</li>
<li> Maintaining an awareness of what is happening in the wider organism, and communicating regularly with the team’s External Coordinator.</li>
</ul>
</p>

<p>For more information on the mandates for [YOUR TEAM NAME], our parent circle [YOUR PARENT CIRCLE NAME] and the Internal Coordinator, please select the links below:<br></p>

<p><a href="LINK" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">YOUR TEAM NAME mandate</a></p>                                                                                          
<p><a href="LINK" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">YOUR PARENT CIRCLE NAME mandate</a></p>

<p><a href="https://organism.extinctionrebellion.uk/?id=1310&tab=roles" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Internal Coordinator mandate</a> NB click on the plus sign next to Internal Coordinator.

<p><strong>We look forward to hearing from you.</strong></p>
How the External Coordinator ad will look using the template below:

The role can be shared between two people, reducing the time commitment necessary.

Recruitment Support is a friendly and dynamic team.

The key role of the External Coordinator (EC) is to ensure the team is represented in the broader circle, and aware of that circle’s work and priorities.

Some of the EC tasks include:

For more information on the mandates for Recruitment Support, Pathways and the External Coordinator, please select the links below:

Recruitment Support mandate

Pathways mandate

External Coordinator mandate NB click on the plus sign next to External Coordinator.

We look forward to hearing from you.

External Coordinator - Template

<strong>The role can be shared between two people, reducing the time commitment necessary.</strong></p>

<p><b><font color="green">The [YOUR TEAM NAME] is a [FRIENDLY/ORGANISED/DYNAMIC ETC] team.</font></b></p>

<p>The key role of the External Coordinator (EC) is to ensure the team is represented in the broader circle, and aware of that circle’s work and priorities.</p>

Some of the EC tasks include:

<p>
<ul>
<li> Representing the mandate of the team within meetings of the broader circle, and asking another member of the team to attend when not available.</li>
<li> Taking issues that can’t be resolved in the team to the broader circle.</li>
<li> Exchanging information with other teams.</li>
</ul>
</p>

<p>For more information on the mandates for [YOUR TEAM NAME], our parent circle [YOUR PARENT CIRCLE NAME] and the Internal Coordinator, please select the links below:<br></p>

<p><a href="LINK" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">YOUR TEAM NAME mandate</a></p>                                                                                          
<p><a href="LINK" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">YOUR PARENT CIRCLE NAME mandate</a></p>

<p><a href="https://organism.extinctionrebellion.uk/?id=1310&tab=roles" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Internal Coordinator mandate</a> NB click on the plus sign next to External Coordinator.

<p><strong>We look forward to hearing from you.</strong></p>
Recruiting via the XRUK Volunteer Website

Manage your Applications

Managing your applications

Keeping up with your account shouldn't be too much of a chore! The website is easy to use and you just need to remember a couple of key things to make things run smoothly and bring new people into your team:

  1. Make sure you regularly check the email address you used to set up the account. If you get any applications, a notification will be sent to this email address.

  1. Volunteers will receive an automatic email from the system after they apply:
Your volunteer role application with XR UK

Hello [first name] / friend,
This is to confirm that you have applied for the role XXXXXX @ XXXXX team with Extinction Rebellion UK. Thank you so much!
We have notified the organiser who posted the role and they should contact you soon. We are all volunteers here though, juggling work, family and other life stuff so please bear with us. It is always worth checking your spam folder if you don't hear back after a few days.
If you haven't heard back after ten days please reply to this email and we will try to get you connected with them or find another role to suit you.
People like you make XR function - thank you for volunteering!

Love and courage
The Volunteer Website Team
volunteer@extinctionrebellion.uk

  1. Contact your applicants as soon as possible! This is super important; no one wants to offer their time for free and then hear nothing. This might be the first contact they have had with XR and can determine whether they become an enthusiastic contributor to the movement or someone who goes away and complains about us to their friends! After 24 hours they’ll start to ‘cool’ which makes onboarding harder. A warm human voice is always better than written communication, so calling them is always the best option! You can find some key tips for this conversation below.

  1. Don't be scared to say 'no'. Not everyone is suitable for every role; it has to work out for both the volunteer and the team. Of course you can still say 'no' kindly! If after chatting to your applicant you don't think they are suitable for your role maybe you can suggest some other ways they can get involved in XR (see our Get Involved page on the UK website for ideas). You may not get a new team member but you can still help to grow the movement and leave the person feeling valued.

  1. Make sure you delete or hide any roles you've filled or don't need anymore. This stops the site clogging up with unavailable roles and saves you time contacting people who might apply for them.

    (NB role ads time-out after two months and then are hidden automatically. If you want to re-advertise the role you can un-hide it and it will reappear on the site.)

  1. Urgent roles: if your role is genuinely urgent, please email admin support at volunteer@extinctionrebellion.uk - we have the ability to bring these roles to the top of the list and give them a yellow highlight so more people see them.

Calling applicants

So someone has applied, now you need to get in touch! This should always be by phone rather than email - not only do emails often get missed or go to junk but a friendly first call can go a long way to making someone feel welcome and valued.

It's important to recognise that this might be the first time they have an opportunity to express how they feel about the climate and nature emergency. Allow time for them to unpack their feelings if they need to.

It can be a little nerve-wracking at first: how do you work out if this person is right for your role in just a short call? But don't worry - really it's just talking to good people with integrity. You can’t mess it up if you're open, enthusiastic and honest. Remember, “I don’t know” is a perfectly good answer - just determine if you think they’re a good person and a good fit to the best of your knowledge.

If the person isn’t right for your role or another role in your group, signpost them to other options. The Get Involved talk and Get Involved page on the XRUK website or if needed, ask them to email volunteer@extinctionrebellion.uk and the Recruitment Team will pick them up. It's fine to also ask "Is it OK to get in touch again when something in our team that suits better comes up?". If they're interested in local activities, advise them to investigate roles with their Local Group, or if they're really keen and don't have an LG near them, sign-post them to the info on the Rebel Toolkit for setting up a LG. Be gentle and end the call positively - not everyone can do every role.

Here is a suggested roadmap to help when you start making calls:

  1. Read your volunteer's profile and application message (if applicable). Get a little excited about speaking to an amazing person who may be able to help.

  2. Dial.

  3. If no answer, either leave a voicemail or send a text/Telegram/WhatsApp message.

  4. If they answer, give a clear enthusiastic intro:

“Hi XXX, it’s XXX here with Extinction Rebellion, XXX team. I’m calling because you [put your hand up for volunteering with us/applied for our XXX role]. Is now a good time to chat?” Let them answer.

  1. If 'no', arrange a time to call them back.

  2. If they can chat, ask a few basic questions and arrange another time to speak to them for a longer chat - preferably on Zoom:
  1. When you have your longer (Zoom) call with them, ask some open questions to get them talking. You want to gain their full attention and start collecting clues about them and if they’d be good for your role/s. Let them talk and hope they don’t ramble on too much or start telling you exactly where XR are going wrong and asking to meet the management. (Listen carefully to behaviour / vocabulary.)

Example questions

“What led you to getting in touch with XR?”

“What do you know about organising with XR?”

  1. Once they are right there with you in the conversation build some rapport - maybe share a similar anecdote and relate to their experiences. Ask questions you can relate to but keep it heading in the right direction.

Example questions

“So are you in a Local Group?” Listening. “Wow yeah mine too; they’re amazing and the Council has now declared a Climate Emergency”

“Do you have mates (volunteering) in XR too?” Listening. “Great - how's their experience, are they finding it rewarding?” Listening.

“Did you see that the EU have now declared a Climate Emergency?”

THEN ASK “So have you joined a Rebellion or Action yet?” Listening. “Wow yeah I was at XXXX action and met the most incredible people” OR “Well don’t worry we have plenty of roles that don’t require you to [Go to London for 2 weeks / Get in trouble with the Law] - like the one I’m calling about”.

  1. Now find out about their background and skills. Use open or closed (yes/no) questions depending on how keen they are and how long you have to chat to them etc.

Example questions

CLOSED: “So I saw you had Accounting skills, which we’d love to bring to our XXXX team. Is that true?”
OPEN: “So I saw you had Accounting skills, which we’d love to bring to our XXXX team; can you tell me about that?”

CLOSED: “So have you ever managed social media accounts?”
OPEN: “So what’s your experience with Twitter, Facebook, Insta and such?”

CLOSED: “Have you done much copywriting?”
OPEN: “Are you someone who’s good with words and writing?”

  1. You can use alternative questioning if you have a few roles that you want to narrow down, e.g. “Would you say you’re more of a tech person or an arts person?”

  2. Once you get a rough idea of what they are about and their strengths and specific skills, ALWAYS ASK: “How confident are you with using apps & technology to communicate?”
    THEN ask “And how much time do you expect to have to commit to tackling the climate emergency most weeks?”

  3. If all has gone well and you think they are a match for your role, then you can give an overview of the team and what sort of thing they would be doing in the role.
    "You’d be doing XXXX and working with a great team on XXXX project/action/topic. How does that sound?” Let them think.

  4. DISCUSS TIME COMMITMENT. It is important that the volunteer understands the time required for the role, plus any training eg in technical aspects. If they drop out quickly because they find the time commitment is too much this is clearly not the best use of our time or theirs. While sounding upbeat and interested (and not like you are trying to get rid of them!) clearly state the estimate of hours needed and ask if this is something they feel confident they can offer. That said, it can be hard to gauge and we have to go with our gut here often.

  5. If they need specific technical skills, DIG DEEPER on those now. If you have reservations about their availability, fit with your team or anything else, follow your instincts.

  6. If you're happy then lay out what will happen next (but minimise barriers to entry).

  7. Handle any last questions they have but feel free to say they're best off speaking to the person you're passing them on to.

  8. Wrap up. “Great that's fantastic and I can't wait to introduce you to the team.” Thank them for stepping up to volunteer.

AND THAT'S THE CALL!

Getting in touch if they haven't left a phone number

If they haven't left a phone number or you've had your initial call, then send an email.

Recruiting via Reach Volunteering

Onboarding new volunteers

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:

Some ideas for how a buddy can support a new XR volunteer:

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.
Onboarding new volunteers

Supporting your new Volunteers

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.

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 and Inclusivity in the Intro to XR

Please check your New volunteers have read these and understand the behaviour they are expected to follow.

Onboarding new volunteers

Inducting your new volunteer - flowchart

Flowchart ~ For Integrators ~ New Applicant (7).jpg

Integrator Resources

Integrator (Onboarder) training:

Resources for new rebels:

Resources for Integrators:

Case Studies:

Integrator Support:

Peer support:

Contact the Pathways team: