WELCOME PROCEDURE

This document details the standard With One Voice welcome procedure, to ensure your members and guests feel welcome, valued and supported in your community.

Last updated: (23 January 2024)

First impressions last!

When someone enters your choir, they arrive with all the baggage of their workplace or family life, all their social anxiety and feelings of inadequacy, and with all the uncertainty of what lies ahead.

Our role is to create a framework that immediately makes people feel: WELCOME, VALUED and SUPPORTED for their journey ahead.

There are many amazing ways that our choirs acheive this, and we value all the efforts everyone puts in. The following items are imperative to achieve our goals, and minimise your workload going forwards.

SET UP

Prior to members arriving, you should have your registration table set up near the entrance to your rehearsal space. Ideally it should be somewhere where everyone passes through on their way in to rehearsal.

Your table should be dressed with your With One Voice table runner, and have all the necessary paperwork on display (Welcome Letter, Registration Form, Code Of Conduct, Personal Care Assistant Policy, etc)

GREETING

The first thing anyone should see when entering into your choir space is a big smiling face! Try and arrive with plenty of time so you’re not scrambling to get things done as the first people arrive. That welcoming smile can be the make-or-break of someone’s journey, so make it a friendly, calm, sincere one!

Name tags are highly recommended, as they can help alleviate barriers to social connection, particularly to new members trying to find their way.

Pair guests with experienced members in their voice part who can help guide them through the process of rehearsals, and answer any questions they may have.  

ATTENDANCE

Please use the supplied EXCEL Spreadsheets (or a weekly / monthly printout) to take attendance as people arrive to your choir. This is imperative for insurance reasons, as well as effective reporting requirements.

Your attendance sheets contain columns for both Membership and Payment status – use this moment to check in with members about their membership status, and point them in the direction of proper membership information if required.

FOLLOW UP

Ensure you follow up with guests after their first rehearsal. Check in and ask them about their experience. Make sure they know they are welcome back, and that their contributions to the choir are valued and adequate – many people have a great fear that they are not good enough.

Make sure they are handed a Welcome Letter, and a (new) Membership Form so they are properly informed about how things work, and encourage them (without pressure) to return next week.

Generally if we can get these things happening, you will save yourself a lot of time chasing up memberships and payments, and have a good conversion and retention rate amongst your members.

Happy singing!