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Contributor Onboarding Guide

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@Ty Fujimura@April 26, 2023 12:00 AM (EDT) → July 25, 2023 12:00 AM (EDT)

Welcome to Cantilever! You received this guide because you are a fantabulous Contributor we want to join our team. We love working with new people and are happy to have you!!

This guide will walk you through the steps you need to take to be ready to work on Cantilever projects. Your time performing all onboarding tasks is regular work time, and you should log your time to Harvest (information about how to do this is below). Going through this guide should take around 4 hours.

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This article is public but only actionable for approved Cantilever Contributors. If you would like to become a Cantilever team member, please apply on our website!

Your primary contact is the person who set up your onboarding project (which led to this article). They are your go-to for any questions you have or issues you may be running into that are not solved with the handbook.

Our default communication methodology is asynchronous. We have tried to write down everything you should need to know to work successfully here, but we make mistakes. Please don’t hesitate to comment in the handbook if you have any questions, or Slack your primary contact.

You will typically interact with our team through Slack and Asana. If you are ever confused about a task, a due date, or anything else in Asana, please speak up and we’ll help!

🚀 What is a Contributor?

A

is Contract staff accountable specifically to deliver on their specific task and project assignments. As a Contributor you will be expected to meet the standards and behaviors we expect of the Core Team, but have flexibility around your work and the ability to ramp up or down at will.

🔑 Key Guidance

If you feel unclear about what you are being asked to do, or uncomfortable with how things are going for any reason, please speak up. We care about your experience and will do whatever we can to make it better.

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Software

You now have a Cantilever email and invites to various tools within that. Please use your Cantilever email for Cantilever business. If you wish to consolidate your accounts with other emails that is also fine, but please try to use the Cantilever email for client-facing comms so it is clear you are with us.

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Notifications

You should configure notifications from our services however it makes sense for your workflow and client mix. Our expectation is that if we comment on a thread you are subscribed to, or at-mention you or assign a task to you, you will see it and respond within one business day.

We recommend that you keep push notifications off for Cantilever services, we don’t want to be making your phone ding all the time!

We recommend that you install the desktop and mobile app versions of Harvest, Asana, Slack, etc rather than relying on the in-browser versions.

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Accountability & Deadlines

At Cantilever if your name is on a task, that means you take final accountability for getting that task complete – and just not your own part, but all parts of it, including reviews and QA which you may need to request from others.

At Cantilever, the deadline represents the day the work needs to be shipped/complete, not the day you need to complete your part. For example, if you are a developer and you have a task due on a Friday, you will likely need to get it “done” by Wednesday so the QA team has time to look at it.

Keep in mind that we take deadlines very seriously, and if you have a deadline we are counting on you to meet it. If you need to extend a deadline please ask at least 24 hours in advance, and please don‘t accept deadlines you don’t think are realistic.

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Primary Contact

As a Contributor you have a Primary Contact who acts as your main supporter at Cantilever. You will also interact with two types of project leader:

  • Strategists; who plan and clarify work for the team
  • Project Managers; who coordinate work being done and make sure our process is running smoothly

You should always be able to check who these people are by looking at the Overview tab of the relevant Asana project:

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When providing feedback and information, if it is a project-specific, please direct it at the PM and strategist on the project. Otherwise, direct it at your Primary Contact.

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Time Tracking

All time you spend working for Cantilever should be entered into Harvest. You will get paid automatically through Gusto twice a month for approved Harvest time.

We can’t wait to hang out with you in our #campfire slack channel and our Cantilever Community events, but unfortunately we can’t pay for your time for those. Please participate in those strictly on a voluntary basis as you feel led.

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Sprints

We use two-week

to structure and coordinate our work. As a consulting team member you will be a part of several regular calls in which the team plans the sprint. If you are working on tasks within a sprint, know that you may choose the work you wish to do. If you don’t want to take on a given task given the stated requirements, there is no obligation.

📚 Must-Reads

These are our core handbook resources. Please read and absorb them before you start.

→ Please especially make sure you read and are cool with the

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(You can skip any tools that are not relevant to your role)

Please peruse the to get to know your teammates.

For Particular Roles…

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Thank you and welcome!!!

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