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Inducting your new rebels: Roadmap

1) Contact your new Volunteer

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
  • Make time for their grief and questions, ask about their experience, 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 Rebel needs at the outset:-

  1. The Rebel Starter Pack.

  2. Volunteer Agreement - ask them to sign digitally and send you a screen shot of the confirmation.

  3. Your Team's mandate.

  4. An invite to your next working group meeting.

  5. This Roadmap (optional) - it can help Rebels to see what to expect, where they are in the induction process and to request next steps proactively.

3) First Working 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.
4) Induction / orientation

Tailored to your team and staggered according to your Rebel. It is best to let them absorb one thing before moving onto 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 or the Rebellion Academy introductory training if they prefer (these cover similar ground).
  • Ask them to look through the Rebel Next Steps Pack.
  • Once they have signed the Volunteer Agreement, ask your team's Tech Champion/Group Admin to email them an invite to the XR UK Communications Hub and add them to your Team on the Hub. Send them the Using the Comms Hub book on the Rebel Toolkit. Encourage them to take Ned’s trainings if they get stuck or signpost them to the Rebellion Academy trainings.
  • Offer the UK Buddy programme, to help them forge wider connections.
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 rebel can take on easily e.g:
    • Secretary tasks: taking notes, sending around APs etc
    • Emails: keeping on top of your inbox (guidance needed 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 Rebels.

  • 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 circle meeting (optional)
  • This will help a new Rebel 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 Rebels 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 Zoom 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?

Every rebel journey will have a slightly different conclusion; please take some time to reflect on your experience.

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