Team Leader Handbook
As a Team Leader you are responsible for reading this Handbook
As a Team Leader you are responsible for reading this Handbook
In addition to the things volunteers can expect (as detailed in the Volunteer Handbook), Team Leaders and Deputy Team Leaders can also expect:
You will have already seen, in the Volunteers Handbook, the list of what Greenbelt expects from our volunteers.
Below are a few extras, just for Team Leaders:
It’s really important to avoid ‘employment’-related terminology in your correspondence with volunteers (words like ‘job’, ‘promotion’ and ‘contract’). We need team members to retain a voluntary relationship with Greenbelt and not stray into territory which could be complicated by employment legislation.
The package for volunteers (wristbands, food vouchers etc) is offered to support volunteers in their role. Please make sure you avoid references to ‘payment’, ‘reward’ and ‘in return for x number of hours volunteered’.
Team Leaders and deputies will receive information via email from the office, particularly in the run-up to the festival. Some information needs to be passed on to your team. Please make sure you keep your team updated with all they need to know, in a timely manner.
We have put together a timeline for when it would be good to make contact with your team, as a minimum. We know some teams will be in touch more than this.
Timelines
Processing Applications
Request references | Within 2 weeks of application being received, once TLs are able to begin processing applications |
Application accepted | Within two weeks of references coming in/application coming in if new references not needed |
Communication with your team
Make personal contact with team member to let them know when to expect more information | When accepting application |
Team specific information sent | Beginning of July, or as soon as application accepted, if after this |
Online meeting for team | End of July onwards – some teams may need more than one, depending on number in team |
Final team information/reminders | By 11th August, or as soon as application accepted, if after this |
Make personal contact with team member to let them know when to expect more information
When: on accepting application
Things to include:
Team specific information sent to team
When: Beginning of July, or as soon as application accepted, if after this
Things to include:
Online meeting for team
When: End of July onwards – some teams may need more than one, depending on number in team
An opportunity to:
Final team information/reminders sent
When: By 11th August, or as soon as application accepted, if after this
Much of this email will be a reminder of above, but may also include:
Meetings throughout the year are great for building friendships and creating strong teams. Please make sure you keep your Greenbelt staff contact in the loop about any meetings that you plan for your teams. (This doesn’t include any social get-togethers you might arrange!)
You may find it helpful in building your team, to have one or two Zoom/Teams meetings before the festival. This may be particularly helpful for anyone who is new to the team, so they are able to recognise a few faces when they arrive on site.
By the time you read this, your teams will be full, or at least getting that way. Once your team is full, and if you have any more volunteers than you can make use of, please let the Greenbelt office know. If you are struggling to get enough volunteers please also let the office know so we can push adverts on social media and the GB website.
You have probably already organised the structure of your team. If you haven’t, can any of your more experienced volunteers take on some extra responsibility? Do you need some group or shift leaders? We don’t want to over-work our team leaders and deputies, so spreading some roles may help with this.
If someone isn’t suitable for your team please pass the details on to Caroline, with an explanation as to why you think they’re not best placed with you. We may be able to find another team for them.
Most volunteers are asked to provide references every three years. There are a couple of teams that are an exception to this, and we will take references each year for these teams.
If any roles within your teams require professional qualifications, please check these are up to date and valid at the time of the festival. Please let the GB office have details of these so they can be recorded for future reference.
Certain volunteers will require a DBS check. This includes certain members of the Children’s Team, Youth Team and Safeguarding.
If you are unsure if any of your team need a DBS check please contact the office.
Greenbelt takes safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk at the festival very seriously. The Greenbelt Safeguarding team train and guide staff and volunteers in all areas of safeguarding and will advise on the implications of Greenbelt’s safeguarding policy for your team. All information relating to DBS checks is dealt with in confidence and in line with Greenbelt’s safeguarding policy and adheres to the guidelines provided by the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Your deputy should be someone who could take over if you are unable to fulfil their role, due to illness, for example.
Keep your deputy up to date with planning for your team and pass on details of relevant training and briefings.
If, or when, the time comes for you to step down as Team Leader, it would be really helpful for the office to have detailed handover notes. Any contact details of volunteers and details on how the team operates belong to the festival and should be handed over should you finish. New Team Leaders are appointed by the GB Office.
It is vital to ensure the quality of service and the ongoing development of the festival. So, we always need to think to the future. Please be on the lookout for volunteers on your team who may have skills or capacity to take on more demanding roles or extra responsibility – in your team, or somewhere else in the festival and pass their details to the GB Office.
Please provide clear information to your team members so that they know what to expect.
Here are a few things your volunteers will need to know:
If there are any issues that arise during the festival, please speak to Caroline.
It is important that we are made aware of volunteers who decide not to complete the weekend for whatever reason, or any that need extra support.
Don’t forget that we have our Volunteer Support team who are happy to chat. One of the team can usually be found in the Volunteer Lounge. They will be wearing purple hi-vis.
Our Volunteer Training Team will, again, be providing a compulsory training for all volunteers, including team leaders, pre-festival. The training team will be directly in contact with the team leaders to arrange the training of their team. They will then be going around the festival, talking with team leaders, deputies etc to identify training needs. Please keep an eye out for them.
CORE TRAINING IS COMPULSORY FOR ALL VOLUNTEERS, SO PLEASE ENSURE YOUR TEAM ATTENDS.
To be confirmed – Earlybirds.
Monday
8.45am – Site Decor only – Barn
3pm – Pre-festival Stewards only – Volunteers Lounge
Tuesday – Volunteers Lounge
2pm
4pm
Wednesday – The Village Hall
1pm
3pm
5pm
6pm
7pm
Thursday
9am – Village Hall
10am – Childrens Team only – Childrens area
10am – Village Hall
11am – Village Hall
12.30pm – Village Hall
3pm – Village Hall
3pm – Tank Team only -The Tank
5pm – Village Hall
Friday – Stewards Briefing Tent
9am
11am
Access to the site during build week is granted only to volunteers who need to be there for their role. Early access should be authorised by your Greenbelt staff member, in advance of the festival. This applies to those needing access to the campsite as well as the Festival Village. Hi-Vis and closed-toe footwear, not open-toed sandals, must be worn at all times in the Festival Village during Build Week, and also once the festival has finished.
If a volunteer does not have their own personal hi-vis, they can collect one from the Volunteer Reception, when they arrive.
Please discourage team members from going into the Festival Village during Build Week, unless they need to do so for their role. They will no longer need to go into the Festival Village to access the Volunteer Lounge or training, so there should be a lot less people wandering around.
Before arranging for any parcels to be delivered to the festival site – from Monday onwards – please speak to the Greenbelt Office.
Please ensure none of your team members try to distribute any flyers, posters etc. We try to discourage anyone from doing this, to help prevent littering and damaging the site.
There are a small number of volunteers who are unable to pack up their tent/caravan in time for the 12-noon deadline on Monday morning, as they are still on duty, or have been on duty overnight. For these volunteers we will provide a way of marking their tent so that we know that they have permission to be a little later leaving. We will ask you for a list of team members this will apply to, and the reasons, nearer to the festival. The tags will be ready to collect from Volunteer Information from Sunday morning.
Please remind your team to hand any GB hi-vis and all lanyards back in, either to the Volunteer Lounge or to a steward as you leave the site. We will re-use these next year.
Let your volunteers know how important their individual contribution to the festival has been. It’s great for volunteers to receive a personal ‘thank you’ for their hard work when they get home from the festival. We print Thank You cards, and address labels for them, for you to add a personal message. These will be in your Team Leader packs and if you hand these in at the Volunteers Lounge by 6pm Sunday we’ll post them for you. If you don’t have time to write them over the weekend, you can hand them in, we’ll put stamps on them and return them to you to write and post later.
After the festival, all volunteers are sent an online feedback survey. This is really important as it allows us to see what we have got right and what we need to improve on.
We ask that you also collect any feedback from your team when you do your reviews in the autumn.
Your staff member/line manager will be reviewing the festival in more detail with you some time in the autumn. Your comments will form part of the overall review of the festival.
We hold Team Leader day each spring. It is essential that all Team Leaders attend, as this is the time for us to pass on important information to Team Leaders, to receive training on important aspects of the festival, to meet Team Leaders working in other areas of the festival, tackle some current issues relating to managing volunteers, share ideas and catch up on what’s new for the year ahead. If the Team Leader is unable to attend, it is vital that the Deputy Team Leader attends.
Team Leader Day 2025 will take place on Saturday 8th March. Please put this in your diary now.
Greenbelt meets reasonable expenses incurred by Team Leaders for attending necessary meetings, administering and communicating with teams. All expenses must be agreed by your Staff Member/Line Manager in line with the budget set for your team.
Travel to the festival cannot be reimbursed.
Expenses must be claimed within three months of the expenditure, or by 30th September, whichever is earlier.
When submitting expense claims, please give full details – for example of meetings attended, stating title of the group, date and venue. Please provide original copies of all receipts for expenditure, as Greenbelt is able to claim back VAT.
We have an online expense form. To obtain the link, please contact volunteers@greenbelt.org.uk
Travel
If you are planning a meeting please speak to your Staff Member/Line Manager to discuss travel expenses. Wherever possible meetings should be arranged to limit the amount of travel needed. Zoom/Google Meet/Team should be used if possible.
Telephone
Greenbelt does not cover telephone expenses.
Expenses and giving
Sometimes volunteers wish to help Greenbelt financially by not claiming their expenses. Thank you to anyone considering this. From a practical point of view, it works better for Greenbelt if volunteers wishing to support the festival financially still claim their expenses and either become Angels or donate money back to us by using the website at – www.greenbelt. org.uk/support – and Gift Aid the donation if you are able to. This helps us in our budgeting and may have tax advantages.
Please notify the office if you know that a member of your team has passed away during the year. A letter will be sent to the volunteer’s family.
Because of existing funding agreements we have with our Partners, Associates and other sponsors, please do not agree to any sponsorship deals with individuals or organisations without our knowledge, as you may undermine our current agreements.
If your team has an online forum, please don’t use the name ‘Greenbelt’ in relation to it and be aware of the potential privacy issues of discussing Greenbelt matters in a ‘public’ space online.
Volunteers are expected to comply with the guidelines set out in the Volunteer’s Handbook. From a Team Leader point of view, you should ensure a volunteer is fit to carry out their duties and is alcohol-free when on duty. If you are unsure, please contact your staff member/line manager.
If you find illegal drug use this needs to be reported to control, and from there it will be reported to the Police.
With the introduction of the GDPR regulations it is as important as ever to be extremely careful with people’s data and respect their privacy.
We are using the basis of Legitimate Interest for how we communicate with volunteers in respect of the festival or event for which they are Volunteering and during the following year to see if they would like to volunteer again.
You can view our full privacy policy here – www.greenbelt.org.uk/privacy
As you work with your team’s information and contact them in relation to volunteering please if possible just work in Sheep to manage your team.
Where you need to download information, to make up rotas for example, please only use the minimum info needed. Don’t store phone numbers, emails or addresses if it is not necessary for what you are doing.
You are required to follow these guidelines in your use of volunteer data:
Onsite a bin will be provided at Front Desk for you to leave any paperwork you have created at the festival for secure shredding.
If you have any questions about the ways you are using your team’s data in light of these new regulations please talk to Derek or email him – derek@greenbelt.org.uk
This map is ONLY for festivalmakers. Please do not share it publicly. A pretty version of this map (for the general public) will be available in our Essential Information.
Derek Hill – Managing Director
Paul Northup – Creative Director
Jess Jones – Head of Operations
Caroline Warrey – Volunteer Manager
Saga Arpino – Site Decor Producer
Joanna Booth – Programme Administrator
Hannah Burns – Stakeholder & Commercial Co-ordinator
Daisy Ghira – Digital Comms Officer
Amy Poole – Partnerships and Content Coordinator
Lois Tucker – Gifts and Community Engagement Officer
It is important that anyone coming into the Village during the build and break phases of the festival wears hi-vis and closed-toe shoes.
Many teams are now using Whatsapp to communicate with their teams. If you don’t already, please consider doing so, as our feedback from the 2023 festival showed this really helped all volunteers. There are some things you need to be careful with when using Whatsapp:
Note: Any WhatsApp user you share an invite link with can join the group. Only use this feature with trusted individuals. It’s possible for someone to forward the link to other people, who could then join the group without additional approval from the group admin.
Instead of a Whatsapp Group, you may find a it preferable to set up a broadcast list. This will restrict messages to just the administrator(s) of the list.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Tap More Options > New broadcast.
Recipients receive a message from your broadcast list as an individual message from you in their Chats tab. Their reply will also appear as a normal message and won’t be sent to other contacts in the broadcast list.
Note: