Whether they are joining as a new trustee / church council member, volunteer or supporter, most organisations want to welcome new people well, but it does not always happen. Here are some ideas on ways that might help smaller organisations to do it better.
This is particularly written with unpaid people in mind, although much of it could equally apply to someone who is joining the team on a salary.
1. Assume no knowledge. Even if the person who you are welcoming has been around the organisation for a long time it does not necessarily mean they know everything and, indeed, there is a fair chance that there is much in their new role they are uncertain about. In any event, retelling your story and restating your vision are never bad things to do!
2. Remember to explain the little things. It is often the details of any new role that can cause the most anxiety. For example, do new members of the church council know how you normally address the chair person or when meetings actually start (and finish!)?. To give an example that has the capacity to cause acute embarrassment to a newbie. I have been part of two church councils recently, both with advertised start times. For one, the culture was that everyone was seated 10 minutes before the scheduled time for the meeting to begin, for the other, that scheduled time was roughly when the first member appeared in the room!
3. Make it personal. Consider asking someone who has more experience in the role to ‘mentor’ the newbie. Every new person will have a particular and preferred learning style and so matching the skills of your mentor and mentee will be important if you going to make this works really well.
4. Say thank you straight away. Too often we only remember to thank people whern they leave a role, but how about a card, chocolates or flowers on their first day or at their first meeting? This can be a lovely way of saying thank you for taking the job on in the first place.
Of course, each organisation and each newbie will be different and I would be happy to talk about your particular needs.