One of the biggest issues facing our elected officials in Washington is health care.
And it is pretty clear that no one has a good answer for this very complex problem.
The cost of providing health care for employees has been a big ticket item for decades.
And while medical cost trends have decreased since 2007, health spending averages still hoover between 6 and 7 percent – with a projected 6.5 percent increase for 2018. Read the Full Article →
I recently had a reader ask about a sick leave policy.
This reader had a church employee who was unexpectedly dealing with a serious health issue that would require a lot of time away from work.
Since the church didn’t have an existing policy they were scrambling to write one to cover the sick leave.
Her story was not unlike a lot of churches – policies and procedures are written on the fly when the need for a policy arises. Read the Full Article →
Any organization that provides health care as an employee benefit 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.
In 2016, the average annual premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance were a staggering $6,435 for single coverage and $18,142 for family coverage.
And, in 2017 it is projected that employer premiums will increase an average of 6% more to insure their employees. Read the Full Article →
I worked on staff at a church for 10 years and what I found interesting is that most people (who don’t work in ministry) have the perception that you sit around all day reading the bible and listening to praise and worship music.
Anyone who has ever worked for a church knows how far that is from the truth.
In fact, I think most church employees would say their responsibilities are even greater because of the limited resources for paid employees and the dependency on volunteer labor.
Read the Full Article →Health care has changed drastically over the last couple of decades.
There was a time when healthcare’s mission was to help people get well after they encountered an illness or injury.
That focus is much different today and has shifted to wellness education and prevention.
I worked in the healthcare industry for years, and as an employee of a large health system, I learned the many benefits of diet and exercise. Read the Full Article →
Most of us have gone to work when we didn’t feel good.
But what do you do when employees call in sick when they aren’t?.
A CareerBuilder survey found that 35% of workers who called in sick were not sick at all.
The reason for this varies, but many employees call in sick because they simply don’t feel like going to work or they have personal business to attend to. Read the Full Article →
One of the most difficult aspects of managing church employees is the inevitable reality that there will come a time when an employee needs to be terminated.
As Christians, we should be even more sensitive to how losing a job can impact an employee and their family.
This is coupled with the political fallout if the employee and their extended family happen to be church members.
Read the Full Article →The end of 2016 is quickly approaching and hopefully by now you have at least started talking about your 2017 budget!
One fixed cost budget line item is the salary budget.
Church leaders often ask how much to budget for salary increases. This can be a difficult decision if you are giving it your best guess.
However, a well thought out compensation strategy, coupled with good budgeting practices, allows for allocated dollars to reward employees for doing a good job. Read the Full Article →
Churches use teams in every area of ministry.
Think about all of the volunteer groups that make church happen!
In addition, internal work teams help to plan and organize.
These teams are how work gets done and contribute to the success of the organization.
Influencing a group of people to work together, in harmony is what leadership is all about. Read the Full Article →
People who work for churches do so because of a calling and deserve the same compensation as someone working in any other type of organization.
Churches that are large enough to have a paid staff should intentionally consider the pay and benefits their employees receive.
Church boards should develop a compensation strategy that lines up with the overall strategy and mission of the organization. Read the Full Article →
