PUGET SOUND CHAPTER: Ramped and Ready! Preparing Your Volunteers for Success
SUMMARY: The Puget Sound Chapter developed and implemented a comprehensive onboarding program for chapter volunteers using the free resource, Good Classroom. This initiative standardized the onboarding process and automated several tasks, addressing previous inefficiencies and reducing the administrative burden on the chapter. As a result, volunteer engagement and satisfaction increased, and the onboarding experience became more streamlined and effective, ensuring volunteers were better prepared and integrated into their roles.
YEAR: 2024
METRO DC CHAPTER: Board Member Technology Onboarding
SUMMARY: One of the Metro DC Chapter’s 2020 goals was to establish a formal onboarding process for incoming board members. Through this effort, the chapter created a self-paced and comprehensive technology onboarding section of toolkits. The toolkits are also used as a repository of technology information that can be referenced throughout the year. The toolkits cover securing a board account, setting up a Google account, setting up a Slack account, getting to know Wild Apricot, and accessing other technology tools (such as Zoom, Google Meet, Google Forms, Google Analytics, Doodle Poll, etc.). Twenty board members were onboarding using the self-paced structure and 80 percent of board members strongly agreed and 20 percent agreed that “the course has helped prepare me for the board service.”
YEAR: 2021
ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER: New Board Member Orientation Experience
SUMMARY: The chapter designed and developed a total of 26 microlearning modules to onboard new board members. The topics were determined by interviewing current and incoming board members. The modules were grouped into four sections to be completed in sequential order by incoming board members. However, navigation was left open so any board member could easily access a specific topic if they needed a refresher on ATD and/or chapter knowledge. The onboarding delivered through microlearning will help the chapter reduce meeting times by 50 percent and the cost of year-end meetings by 75 percent, while increasing the effectiveness of arriving at strategic conclusions by 90 percent and board member onboarding engagement and socialization by 95 percent.
Orange County - Interactive Demo and Screenshot
YEAR: 2021
BATON ROUGE CHAPTER: Board Buddies
SUMMARY: The 2020 executive board had an equal mix of new board members and returning board members. The president paired board members and allowed the board buddies to connect, ask questions, and have an extra support system. The partnership between board members developed an additional level of support for new board members and helped create a cohesive executive board.
YEAR: 2020
DETROIT CHAPTER: Respect and Professionalism Policy and Protocol
SUMMARY: To serve as a guide for communications, behavior, and interactions among the board, the chapter developed a respect and professionalism policy and a virtual meetings protocol. The chapter’s work established a written policy that defines and describes respectful behavior expected of all board members and volunteers; described examples of disrespectful and unacceptable behavior; explained expectations of board members during board meetings, when conducting board business, and when handling written communications for board and chapter business; stated the ground rules and the protocol applicable to virtual board meetings; and provided a structured format for achieving efficiency and effectiveness in chapter leadership/operations. The documentation resulted in a more respectful atmosphere during board meetings, prevented a loss of 20 percent of board members due to other board members’ behaviors, and increased participation of the board by 30 percent.
Detroit - Acknowledgment Form
YEAR: 2020
CENTRAL NEW YORK CHAPTER: Leadership Team Onboarding—On Your Own
SUMMARY: In need of strong onboarding for new chapter leaders, Central New York developed an asynchronous PowerPoint approach to be reviewed by new leaders on their own time. The deck requires about 20 to 30 minutes for review and includes slide notes to guide the learner through an overview of the chapter’s mission, history, membership base, key programs and related activities, and roles. The approach was supplemented with one-on-one meetings with the managing director to discuss each board member’s role, responsibilities, and expectations. As a result, the chapter achieved 100 percent participation and created a stronger leadership team.
Central New York - SOS Submission Form
Central New York - Onboarding PowerPoint
Central New York - Informational Document
Central New York - Onboarding Email
YEAR: 2018
METRO DC CHAPTER: New Director Orientation
SUMMARY: To address the challenge of having to onboard new board members in a relatively short time, the chapter developed a formal board orientation. The program helped ensure that all board directors received consistent messaging about the chapter culture, norms, expectations, and that they could sufficiently navigate within the chapter's critical software applications.
YEAR: 2014
CENTRAL IOWA CHAPTER: Team Building
SUMMARY: This Central Iowa event was an opportunity for the entire board to learn about each other on a personal basis, meet the new board members, have fun, and learn a little more about the operational side of the board to jump start and energize all to get a head start with the 2011 year.
YEAR: 2011
