How do you welcome new members?

Welcoming new members can feel like a school orientation with a lot first-day jitters.

Consider adopting traditions or a small list of things you’d like to do when each new member joins your pool. This practice is best when an “on-boarding” role is assigned to a co-founder or a pooler. Pando will be here to help introduce new poolers, set up the initial suggested meeting agenda and provide assistance in generating topic ideas.

Overall, keep it simple.

Pando provides a lot of content to absorb and also is a part of their welcome team. Your “welcome routine” can look something like this and be taken on by your onboarding member:

1. Once you see they are signed onto Treehouse, our Pando-run communication platform, or your communication platform, send a warm welcome note and ask them to introduce themselves in the group chat. Your pool also might have a specific intro channel on Treehouse; this is also a good spot for them to send an intro message.
2. Reach out to new poolers and make sure they are added to any non-Pando-run communication tools.
3. Show up to the first pool meeting and begin the meeting with an introduction and welcome. Make sure to emphasize to existing members that this meeting should be attended.
4. Feel free to help encourage some break-out 1:1’s for the new candidate and pool mates.

It might seem unneeded but making sure you have a small checklist like the one above guarantees new members will feel warm and open to their new Pando community. After their first meeting, getting them involved in 1:1’s or the group chat will help foster more comradery over time.

Key Takeaway:

• Create a small list of traditions for welcoming new members.
• Assign an on-boarding role to a founder/pooler to help this practice.
• Make your checklist and welcome new members.