Hiring Staff
Rick Howerton writes: One of the most important things a senior pastor does is hire a staff member. Once a person is on the team, it’s difficult and painful to let them go, especially since the senior pastor was the one who made the hire. When a senior pastor makes a bad hire it reflects that… read more
After firing an associate six months following hire, a minister reflects on what he could have done differently. There’s not a great deal of interchange between secular and faith-based nonprofits, though they have much in common with respect to organizational difficulties. Christianity Today provides us with the human resource meditation of the week, in a… read more
Hiring church staff is easier than it sounds. Eric Geiger points out two common mistakes that many churches make when hiring staff… According to Geiger, you will be tempted when hiring church staff to only choose the best candidate (which can sometimes be a mistake); and you’ll be tempted to hire from the inside… read more
How many women do you have on your church staff? Justin Lathrop thinks you should consider hiring more! In fact, according to a recent article in the Harvard business review, women scored consistently higher than men in 12 of 16 leadership competencies. So why don’t you have more women on our church staff? Justin writes:… read more
Church staff bad hires can cost your church valuable time and money. Here’s how to minimize your risk of a bad church staff hire. Todd Rhoades writes: According to a recent edition of the Harvard Business review, estimates are that about 80% of employee turnover is do to bad hiring decisions. This is for businesses… read more
Patrick at Mission Glue writes: I advocate looking at the interview process as a series of conversations with key people you believe will help you gain clarity of the applicant. The goal is to hire a person that has character, is competent for the role, and has chemistry with you and your team Here are… read more
Dr. David Fletcher writes: One “wrong fit” on your staff can cost a bundle. My estimate is that a hiring mistake will cost between $288,000 and $455,000. Let’s add it up: The search will cost at least $3,000 if you do it yourself. If you use a search firm, it will cost at least $15,000.… read more
TJ Addington writes: One of the top leadership tasks is to hire well. Every hire impacts the entire organization in a ripple fashion. Hire well and the organization becomes healthier and more effective. Hire poorly and the organization suffers. I am a fan of the concept, “hire slow, fire fast.” Being slow on the hire… read more
Scott Cochrane writes: It’s happened. A prized member of your church leadership team has told you that they are leaving the staff. Whatever the reason for the departure, the reality is you now face the daunting task of finding someone to fill this key role. What is the best thing you can do now? Nothing.… read more
Feeling under pressure? Overworked? Are you and your team working hard but can’t seem to keep up, let alone get ahead? You are not alone. This is a very common church staff scenario. What you do about it can be a game changer. In more than twenty years of creating new positions and hiring staff,… read more
Dan Reiland writes: I’ve made my mistakes over the years, and a few were costly. But I’ve learned and developed the art of hiring. No one bats 100% but the following hiring maxims will make your life easier and your staff more enjoyable and productive. Never hire anyone you would avoid on your day off.… read more
How do you go about finding the PERFECT assistant for your ministry? Maybe you are a pastor that just got the green light to hire someone part-time or you’re replacing an admin you’ve had for years. Either way, I believe these seven principles will help you find the right person for your ministry. 1. Hire… read more
#1 – You have to talk yourself into hiring them!!! If you have to convince yourself it’s most likely going to turn out really bad! #2 – You are more obsessed with filling a position than you are finding the right person. Take your time…putting the wrong person in a position will cost you more… read more
In the last week alone I’ve had two churches ask me if I knew any good prospects for a youth pastor position. I’ve had another five ask me in the last month or two. Each of these conversations always led to the question:“Jonathan, what would you look for in a youth pastor?” That’s a great… read more
A colleague in a similar position at another church recently sent me a policy that explicitly forbids hiring family members, except in a few very narrow circumstances. As someone who has been blessed to hire both of my sons in positions at Fairhaven, I obviously have no problem with hiring family. Both of my sons… read more
So you’ve just made what you believe is a great hire. The new Staff Member is talented, experienced, and they fit the culture of your church. They’re really going to help you get where you believe God wants you to go. They’re hired! What’s next? Churches are notorious for racing to the finish line of… read more
Every time I have hired someone or have been hired myself, there was risk involved. Some argue that proven track records eliminate the risk, but in reality a great history only minimizes the risk. For example, we have seen great assistant coaches hired to be head coaches with dismal results. And sometimes when the coach… read more
There is nothing that will determine the success or failure of a new church plant like bringing on more staff. What do you need to think about? Here are some things I’ve learned. Right off the bat – I’d say you probably don’t need as much staff as you think – and don’t follow conventional… read more
Q: I am on the personnel committee of my church.We expect to fill two staff positions soon, and wonder what our policy should be about accepting applications from members of the congregation. A: When hiring staff, congregation leaders often ask this question. Hiring members has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that members are… read more
When hiring church staff, pinpoint with laser focus what you need to have done. Write it down to clarify it. Prune it to be realistic. Then, you begin the work of finding the right person for the job. It may be there is someone on your team who can be released from their current duties… read more