Church Personnel Management

Managing a church staff requires an understanding of what it takes to manage, motivate, develop and reward employees. Performance management is how objectives are met and investing in the professional development of employees ensures attracting and retaining the best and brightest. This section offers articles on the human resource aspect of church management including job descriptions, performance appraisals and tips for managing church employees.

Letting a Pastor Go – 6 Things to Consider

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I was recently speaking to someone who was telling me a very sad story about how their church had to let a pastor go.  The church was experiencing some financial challenges that resulted in a decision to reduce expenses by terminating a pastor. My acquaintance shared with me that the pastor was notified of his [...]

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2013 Average Salary Pay Increase Projections

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  The last couple of years have been financially challenging  for many churches and the recession has affected donations and in some cases forced budget cuts. This has resulted in salary freezes or minimal pay increases for church employees. Most employers understand the importance of providing a competitive employee benefit package and salary expenses are the [...]

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8 Tips for Being a Great Manager!

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Anyone who has ever been in a management position, understands the challenges that come with managing employees. Managers have the responsibility of helping employees develop job skills and holding employees accountable for completing job responsibilities. Being in a management position requires an aptitude for dealing with the many diverse aspects of interacting with employees and [...]

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Appraising Church Leadership

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  Appraising church leadership is just as important as appraising church employees and accountability for achieving objectives is what drives performance. Church leadership should be evaluated the same way employees are and given measurable targets to achieve.  Goals are only as effective as the person who is responsible for achieving them and completing church performance goals [...]

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7 Ways to Reduce Health Care Costs for Your Organization

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  Any organization that provides health care coverage for its employees has felt the sting of rising health care costs. Depending on the size of the organization and the census of employees, those annual increases can be very high.  Employers are interested in finding ways to reduce health care costs because many have seen the [...]

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Performance Appraisal Rater Errors

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Since we are all human, it is common for us to make “errors” when assessing employee behavior and writing performance appraisal documents.  These errors are reflective of our unconscious biases toward the employee.  These biases can give an employee an unfair advantage or disadvantage over others in their peer group. The book, Human Resource Strategy by [...]

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Example Performance Appraisal

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Effective church management uses the performance appraisal process to help manage employee performance and achievement of ministry goals. It is important to have well trained church managers and a structured process to document church employee performance and give performance appraisals. A well done performance appraisal process can be a positive experience and help the employee [...]

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Hiring Process for Church Employees

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Managing church employees is every bit as challenging as managing people in any other setting.  A church is only as strong as the people who do the work and weak employees can affect the customer experience and the ability to meet objectives.  Having a strong church staff requires: “Get the right people on the bus, [...]

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6 Benefits of a Clergy Sabbatical Leave Program

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It is common for churches to offer sabbaticals for clergy to provide a time for refreshing, recharging and continuing education.  Church leaders have great responsibilities and the many challenges that come with working in the ministry can take its toll on clergy.  Many churches have discovered that providing a time to retreat from the day-to-day [...]

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Preparing to Interview a Job Candidate

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Managing the human resource function of a church is every bit as challenging as managing people in any other business setting.  A church is only as strong as the people it employs, and weak employees can affect the ability of the church to flourish and meet objectives.  As Jim Collins states in Good to Great: [...]

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