Welcome & Onboarding Handbook (integration)
This is an Onboarding Tool for Integrators 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 to your team or LG.
- Introduction
- Preparing for new volunteers
- Recruiting new volunteers
- Advertise your roles on the Volunteer Website
- Templates for Volunteer Website Role Adverts
- Manage your Applications
- Resources for Local Group Recruitment
- Welcoming new volunteers
- Building Onboarding into your Team
- Supporting your new Volunteers
- Inducting your new volunteers: Roadmap
- Integrator Resources
Introduction
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
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 volunteerss 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 and typically this will be the team's integrator.
This does not mean it is the integrator'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 volunteerss 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:-
- we felt appreciated
- we felt part of a community
- we thought XR was effective
And we really felt part of XR when:-
- we got to know people
- we worked together on something
- we got to know XR
- we gained a role in our team
So, drawing from this, the kinds of things which encourage people to keep coming back include:-
- a friendly, non-cliquey environment where group members avoid XR jargon, take the time to explain things, check understanding and listen to the views and experiences of the new person
- a named 'buddy' who will look after the new person, answer questions and help them settle in
- asking if the new person has anything they need to take part or feel comfortable and trying to meet their needs wherever possible (see also Supporting your New Volunteer and How do we genuinely welcome everyone?)
- a tangible project the whole group can work together on
- a role, or maybe some simple task to start with, for the new person
- connections to people, projects or training you know the new person will find interesting
- evidence of the impact of the things you are doing (e.g. getting your local council to declare a climate and ecological emergency, getting good press coverage, having a successful event where you bring in more people etc)
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.
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:
- Inclusivity-disability Resources Pack
- Neurodiverse and disabled rebels inclusion pages of the toolkit.
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’).
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:-
- inviting new members to join the team or LG roles;
- onboarding / inducting / orienting new members into the team/LG roles;
- keeping a list of team members up-to-date;
- requesting your group admin adds new members to the Hub, as required;
- checking in with team members about their fit with roles, projects and the team generally;
- suggesting improvements to who fills roles if necessary;
- if a transformative conflict process does not resolve an issue and if it is in the team’s best interests, asking someone to leave the team (rare circumstances); and
- for groups with a Volunteer Website account, managing the group account on the website, posting roles & dealing with role applications.
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 new volunteers
Advertise your roles on the Volunteer Website
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:
- Go to volunteer.extinctionrebellion.uk/integrator
- Watch the short (7 min) video which explains how the site works.
- Scroll down and click 'Create group account'.
- 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).
- The application comes to the Pathways team for approval.
- Once the application is approved, you will receive an email with a link to click on to complete the registration.
- You are up and running and ready to post roles!
- 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
- 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
- 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!
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
-
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.
- 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.
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.
To insert links specific to your team:
- Find your group on the Organism
- Select the option 'Mandate' top right
- Select and copy the URL [address at the top of the web page]
- Paste over the word LINK in the template
- 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:
- Proposing roles and projects the team needs to fulfil its purpose and accountabilities.
- Supporting the work of role-holders and sub-circles, and reviewing their work at regular intervals.
- Inviting people with relevant skills and abilities to join the team as required.
- Maintaining an awareness of what is happening in the wider organism, and communicating regularly with the team’s External Coordinator.
For more information on the mandates for Recruitment Support, Pathways and the Internal Coordinator, please select the links below:
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:
- Representing the mandate of the team within meetings of the broader circle, and asking another member of the team to attend when not available.
- Taking issues that can’t be resolved in the team to the broader circle.
- Exchanging information with other teams.
For more information on the mandates for Recruitment Support, Pathways and the External Coordinator, please select the links below:
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>
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:
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- 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' nicely! 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.
- 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 roles 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.)
- 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.
We know this 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 or doesn’t feel right, it is fine to end the call early and say "we will get in touch again when something that will suit better comes up", and advise them to go and investigate roles at their Local Group, or even to set one up. Be gentle and end the call positively - not everyone can do every role after all.
Here is a suggested roadmap to help when you start making calls:
-
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.
-
Dial.
-
If no answer, either leave a voicemail or send a text/Telegram/WhatsApp message.
-
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.
- If 'no', arrange a time to call them back.
- If they can chat, ask a few basic questions and arrange another time to speak to them for a longer chat - preferably on Zoom:
- How much time can they volunteer?
- Do they have any access requirements we need to be aware of?
- Do they have any questions?
- Can they Zoom so you can have a longer chat about the role (as well as get to know them better)?
NB: Always arrange the next time to speak/meet during each call so they have the date in their calendar. Saves time and makes them feel 'held'.
- 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?”
- 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”.
- 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?”
-
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?”
-
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?” -
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. -
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.
-
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.
-
If you're happy then lay out what will happen next (but minimise barriers to entry).
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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.
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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.
- Some suggested content:
- Thanks for signing up
- Intro to XR link - if brand new to XR.
- How best to keep in touch
- What will happen next or what you need back from them (e.g. a phone number and a good time to call if you've not already spoken.)
- After each contact, until the volunteer is part of your team, complete the 'Contact history' section (at the bottom of the volunteer's application). It takes seconds to do and means you will have a note of who contacted them, when and what was said. This is particularly invaluable if anyone else from the team needs to take over and see what has been done.
- If you haven't spoken to them and you hear nothing back from your initial email, after a week send a second email. If still nothing, let it lie.
Resources for Local Group Recruitment
Survey Boards are a great outreach tool for creating a visual presence on the street to engage passersby in conversation and then move them to sign up.
Contact XRUK Outreach
Outreach Broadcast on Telegram. No chat and will have useful broadcasts about upcoming training and outreach opportunities for UK-wide actions and new resources e.g. flyers/stickers etc.
Outreach Reception on Mattermost
OUTREACH MATERIAL ORDER FORM
If your Local Group needs flyers and stickers for your actions and outreach - XRUK Outreach can post them to you!
We have 'Unite to Survive', 'Rebel for Truth' and 'Here Comes Everyone' flyers. Plus rolls of stickers!
Available now for your local group! Order in good time ahead of any actions to allow for our volunteer to post them to you. Donate what you can to cover printing costs.
🎉 OUTREACH TRAINING 🎉
XRUK Outreach has developed two new workshops to upgrade our Outreach to the next level. Sign up for the following sessions to learn more! Both are NEW and are recommended for all outreach crew. Session dates will be broadcast on the Movement Broadcast
Doing Evidence-Based Outreach
This interactive workshop gives an overview of research into how activists can speak with a cross-section of the British public about climate change and biodiversity loss.
- What messages resonate best with different UK demographics?
- How can we practically incorporate these insights into our outreach conversations?
HOPE [Hope and Optimism for Successful Outreach]
Inspiring people into action is a key part of successful Outreach. This training will cover the following topics to give you the tools to inspire a new wave of activists.
- Doom and despair used by those in power to disempower us
- The history of successful campaigns as a tool for inspiration and skills to communicate this in outreach conversations.
Complete this form to register for these workshops
Welcoming 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:-
- a team member steps up to have a 1-1 chat with the new volunteer in their first week!
- 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
- 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
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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
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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
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Introducing your buddy to other XR people who are in areas that your buddy is interested in (art, media, outreach, performance actions)
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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:-
- 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
- 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
- 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.
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.
Inducting your new volunteers: Roadmap
1) Contact your new Volunteer (UK, Regional and National groups)
These are the people who have applied for your advertised role on the volunteer website or people you find on the database who seem a good fit for your team.
- Call them (emails don’t work well as a first contact) and schedule a time to talk if they are busy. See this page for some tips about calling applicants.
- Make time for their grief and questions, ask about their experiences, tell them about your group and how you hope they might help you.
2) Send them some initial information
Not too much! It is easy to overwhelm people at this stage. This is all your volunteer needs at the outset:-
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Your Team's mandate.
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An invite to your next group meeting.
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This Roadmap (optional) - it can help volunteers to see what to expect, and where they are in the induction process and to request the next steps proactively.
3) First Group Meeting
- Introduce them to other team members; give them contacts.
- Ensure they know the hand signals and the process.
- Read the Regenerative Reminder at the start of the meeting.
- Make sure to give space for questions.
- Have a post-meeting debrief- ask them how they felt their first meeting went and give space for any questions they have.
4) Induction / orientation
This will be tailored to your team and staggered according to your volunteer. It is best to let them absorb one thing before moving on to the next.
- More information about your group (optional) (keep it simple - preferably not a long reading list with lots of links!).
- Send details of the general Welcome to XR Zoom call (the Rebellion Academy introductory training covers similar ground, though without the personal connections and support).
- Ask them to look through How We Work Together (this is a long read though)
- If they are going to have access to other members' data [phone number, email address etc] it is important that they understand and sign the Volunteer Agreement
- Ask your team's Hub Group Admin to email them an invite to the XRUK Hub and add them to your Team on the Hub.
- Send them the Using the Hub - the basics page on the Rebel Toolkit. Encourage them to attend the Tech Support Drop-ins if they get stuck or signpost them to the Rebellion Academy training.
- Consider pointing new recruits towards the Foundation Programme, which will give them a really thorough grounding of skills, and a good understanding of how XRUK works.
The programme comprises of Zoom trainings; selected reading and e-learning; and support, help and guidance from the course directors.
Send your new team members this link to apply
5) Direct them towards concrete tasks
Super important for volunteer retention! People are more likely to stick around when they feel valued and affirmed.
- Have a list of simple tasks that a new volunteer can take on easily e.g:
- Leafleting
- Paint the Streets: flyposting, chalk painting, stickering.....
- Supporting us on social media
- Talking to friends about the climate and ecological emergency and inviting them to a Welcome to XR session
- Secretary-type stuff: taking notes, sending around action points etc
- Emails: keeping on top of your inbox (they will need help to start)
- Share Action Points - if you’ve got too many things on your plate, ask them for help!
6) Check in, check progress
Try to have a weekly call with your new volunteers.
- Try to answer their questions and, if you can’t, let them know who can.
- Try to gauge their understanding of XR and find out if there is anything they would like to learn about in more depth. If so, direct them to Rebellion Academy or specific talks / trainings.
7) Invite them to a parent circle meeting (optional)
- This will help a new Volunteer see the XR structure from a different perspective and how information moves across the system.
- You do not have to be in the Circle meeting with them but, by this point, they should be well acquainted with the team External Coordinator so there will be a known face.
8) Final debrief / allocation of role
After about a month, most new Volunteers will feel like they have an understanding of XR and how things are structured. You have now shared your skills and contacts - this marks the end of your guidance!
Have a meeting to debrief;
- how was their experience, where do they want to go from here?
- Will you continue to share the mandate?
- Is there a way to split the mandate?
- Is there a gap within the team they would like to fill?
- Do they have a project idea of their own they would like to pursue within XR?
You should have built a good level of trust with a new Volunteer before asking them to take on roles that involve handling other people's data (e.g. mailing lists, an account on the volunteer website). Please make sure anyone taking on such a role has signed the Volunteer Agreement and understands the basic principles of data protection.
Every volunteer journey will have a slightly different conclusion; please take some time to reflect on your experience.
Integrator Resources
Integrator (Onboarder) training:
- Here's the link to the slides used in the Integrator Training sessions for Local Groups and Integrator Training sessions for Working Groups
Resources for new rebels:
- Intro to XR
- Foundation Programme Sign-up
- For info and questions about the Foundation Programme contact Foundation Programme Email
- For new rebels who cannot or don't want to join actions in person: Digital Rebellion
Resources for Integrators:
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Link to the Integrator Handbook of which this page is a part
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To create your own automatic welcome email see slide 8 of the Integrator Training (linked above) use this template
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Link to the UK Organism (see how we're organised as a Self-Organising System)
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Action Network Training: Training Request From and guidance in the Action Network for XR book
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For any questions about Action Network contact the Action Network Data Team
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For any social media questions: M&M Get Started
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Find your local group: Local Group Map
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Or to keep your Local Group's details up to date on the map: Update the Local Group Map (Click the 'Add or Update' button on the bottom left)
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Outside of the UK? XRGlobal map
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GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation): page on the Rebel Toolkit
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For Integrators of regional or national working groups, watch this 7-minute video on how to use the Volunteer Website.
Case Studies:
- XR Midlands, flowchart and process: Midlands Case Study
- Haringey Spreadsheet - please copy and use as you wish: Haringey Case Study
- Oxford case study - how this local group runs and organises their integration: Oxford Case Study
- Connecting through sharing Life Stories: Sharing Life Stories
Integrator Support:
- We run regular live training on Zoom. Check the Welcome/Onboarding (Integrator) Support Channel on Mattermost or email us at pathways+int@extinctionrebellion.uk for dates or check the Events page on the XRUK website
- Integrator (onboarder) training on the Rebellion Academy
Peer support:
- Join the Integrator Support Channel on Mattermost for integrators (onboarders) to share resources and support.
Contact the Pathways team:
- Message us directly on Mattermost: Pathways Reception
- For support on using the Volunteer Website, please email us at: volunteer@extinctionrebellion.uk
- For anything else you can get us at pathways+int@extinctionrebellion.uk