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 →
I don’t know if you listen to Andy Stanley’s leadership podcasts or not but if you don’t it is a great resource for church leaders.
Anyone who has ever listened to Andy knows that he is a great communicator and addresses many of the challenges church leaders face every day.
One of his recent podcasts titled, Trust vs Suspicion is a great teaching on how to steer a church employee culture toward trusting that others are doing the right thing and encouraging employees to demonstrate behaviors that warrant trustworthiness. Read the Full Article →
Congratulations! Your church is growing and now it is time to hire some help.
It’s easy to say “let’s hire someone” but there are many things that need to be done behind the scenes to make sure you are ready for your new employee.
You want your new hire to start off on the right foot so take some time to think through the details to help ensure a smooth transition. Read the Full Article →
Providing generous benefits for church employees is part of a strategy that is used to attract and retain key employees.
Benefits vary greatly by organization and can be as simple as health insurance for church employees to as complex as flexible work schedules or on-campus day care.
Benefit packages come in many shapes and sizes, depending on the industry and the size of the organization. Read the Full Article →
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, the wrong people off the bus, the right people in the right seats and then figure out where to drive.” Jim Collins – Good to Great
Getting the right people on the bus involves a great recruitment strategy that includes screening, interviewing, orientation and training. Read the Full Article →
Creating an influential youth program involves strategy, planning and support from the church.
And, requires a gifted and passionate youth director to get it done.
Youth directors have a unique role and often carry a heavy burden.
Kids confide in them about many of life’s issues and challenges.
This constant weight can discourage youth leaders – if they do not have the support they need. Read the Full Article →
Most working adults can give at least one example of a time when getting things accomplished at work was slowed by bureaucracy and red tape.
Multilevel decision making processes slow productivity and can be a source of frustration for workers who are simply trying to do their job.
A church’s internal structure is intended to clarify lines of authority and to support work process flow – while eliminating duplicate systems – not to slow things down. Read the Full Article →
Most managers would agree that managing under-performing employees is the least favorite part of their job.
We’ve all had them, the employee who just never seems to get things done within the time-frames that we give them.
Everyone is busy and chasing down an under-performing employee is not a good use of anyone’s time.
Managing employees who don’t meet required deadlines can be frustrating, exhausting and simply not fun! Read the Full Article →
Since we are all human, it is common for managers 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, defines rater errors as being reflective of our imperfect judgment of others. Read the Full Article →
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.
An effective performance appraisal process can be a positive experience and help the employee see how what he or she does contributes to organizational goals. Read the Full Article →
