Roots Ecovillage
  2. New Member Evaluation

New Member Evaluation

Submitted by Monica Bhatia on
Proposal Status
Accepted

 

New Member Evaluation Guide

As proposed by Monica through 8/21/2019

 

A New Member Evaluation is a way for members to communicate with new members about communal expectations and the new members standing in regards to the membership progress. A New Member Evaluation is purely to ensure the understanding of communal agreements and needs of the community and the new member under review. The purpose is to discover the best attainable solutions for all parties to meet the needs of the community. 

The New Member Evaluation Process

Once a new member is accepted and moves into Roots, they have begun the membership process. A new member initially undergoes a six month trial period during which they maintain partial membership status as outlined in the bylaws. During this trial period, a new member will receive evaluations after 3 months and 6 months of membership. 

3-month evaluation: The first evaluation at three months after the member moved into Roots will be to communicate about how effectively the new member is meeting community expectations as well as how effectively the community is meeting the new members expectations. The purpose of this first evaluation is to allow the new member and the community to adapt to feedback before the 6 month evaluation where a membership decision is made. In instances where the community feels the new member is clearly not meeting expectations and does not show a willingness or capability to adapt to the given feedback, the new member can be given a 30-day notice to vacate Roots at the 3-month evaluation.

5-month evaluation: The second evaluation at five months after the member moved into Roots will follow the same procedure as the three month evaluation with the addition of the goal of making a determination of the new members membership status. At this evaluation, a determination will be made where the new member is either 1) accepted into full-member status with all the rights and responsibilities that entails as outlined in the by-laws, 2) given a 30-day notice to vacate Roots, 3) given a 3-month extension on their trial period wherein a third evaluation will be conducted at 8-months after the member moved into Roots. In the case of a 3-month extension, the 8oo-month evaluation must result in the new member being 1) accepted into full-member status with all the rights and responsibilities that entails as outlined in the by-laws, 2) given a 30-day notice to vacate Roots.

 

The New Member Evaluation Procedure

  1. Assign Roles:

    1. Facilitator

    2. Notetaker

  2. Check in

    1. See how everyone is doing. Be aware of each other’s state in the interactions you have.

    2. Explain to everyone present the purpose and procedures of the new member evaluation process

  3. Agreements

    1. Have all participating parties consent to the agreements

    2. No person under any form of inebriation can attend

  4. New Member Feedback

    1. Ask the new member to give both feedback (positive and/or negative) on their time in the community and interactions with community members

    2. Ask new member to state their current intentions of whether they wish to remain in the community

    3. Ask new member to state what they need from the community in order to have their needs met

  5. Community Response

    1. Ask the community what they think of this feedback. Address each independently seeing if the concerns resonate or not.

    2. Ask the community if there is any other feedback about the new member’s time in the community that has not been brought up.

  6. Member Response

    1. Ask the member in review what they think. Allow time for the member to think and respond. This can open to discussion if necessary, but to be productive, make sure the issues in conversation are the ones brought to the table and address each one.

  7. Community Discussion

    1. Have the new member leave the room where the evaluation is being conducted. 

    2. Have community members review the feedback that was presented in earlier discussion as well as any other concerns or topics that were not presented

    3. Have the members explain the needs they need met and what actions will satisfy those needs.

    4. The community must come to consensus on the continuing status of the new member and the feedback that will be presented from the community as a whole.

  8. Community Feedback

    1. Call the new member back into the room where the evaluation is taking place.

    2. Present the new member with a summary of the community’s feedback and any determination of ongoing status that has been decided.

  9. Member response

    1. Ask the member in review if these needs are in line with theirs, if they think they are reasonable and if they can meet them. Give them time to think and respond.

    2. If not, can a compromise be made.

    3. If not, the conversation is turned back to the community and the member in review may even be asked to leave the room in order for the community to determine the best solution moving forward.

 

Agreements

  1. Everyone is Equal: We agree that all participants in the process are equal.

  2. Respect Opinions: We agree to respect each other’s opinions. We will not discredit others opinions with our responses, but rather state our own opinions.

  3. One at a Time: We agree not to interrupt those who have the turn to speak.

  4. Observations/Feelings/Needs/Requests: We agree to separate our observations, feelings, needs and requests separately.

  5. Respect Time: We agree to abide to the time set out for each part of the meeting and limit our input to allow everyone to participate.

  6. Move up, Move up: We agree, when dominating a conversation to move up into our listening role and when silent in a conversation to move up into our speaking role.

  7. Objective Focused: When discussing a proposal, we agree to limit conversation to finding a solution to one objective, or challenge at a time. This also means limit input to relevant information only.

Take care of each other: We agree to respect the boundaries of ourselves and each other. We will look out for everyone’s best interest to the best of our ability and recognize when others feel vulnerable. We will hold each other accountable to the agreements to ensure the group is respected.