One of the things I will be trying to spend some time on in our upcoming meetings with our coaching network is the issue of staffing. (WOW…it begins a week from tomorrow!) In fact, a lot of the leadership questions I get have to do with staffing…so, let me lay out five type’s of staff members, some good, some not so good…
#1 - The “Love To Do” Staff Member
This is the person you want around you! They have a positive attitude and are so pleasant to be around. This is the person who pulls up in the parking lot and actually thanks God before getting out of their car for the privilege of working there instead of thinking the church is blessed because they work there.
AND…they love their job! In fact, if they weren’t doing what they did on staff they would do it as a volunteer! They love the church and it’s vision and are willing to do everything they can!
#2 - The “Can Do” Staff Member
The one thing that has to be addressed on a staff is competency level. Because, while you may have someone who loves what they do…they just might not be able to do it. (And…in my opinion, the church should hold a higher standard here than the business community; after all, there is a lot more at stake.)
Can the person doing the job do the job? OR…has their skill set and ability been maxed out? It’s a tough call…but one that must be made in order to protect the church and the staff member.
AND…let me say that the first option should always be to move the staff member to another job…because if they are a “Love To Do” staff member then they will thrive!
#3 - The “Should Do” Staff Member
This is the person on staff that gets to the office 3 minutes late and leaves 5 minutes early. They are gone a really long time for lunch…but no one ever really knows why. They spend a lot of time on their facebook pages (that are completely not ministry related) and often talk to their friends and waste time.
Sure, they get their job done—barely…but their hearts are not into it. They do what they “should do,” nothing more, nothing less!
AND they have to go! You can’t afford this kind of dead weight in your church! God’s kingdom is WAY too important to keep these kind of people around. They are not doing what they are doing because of passion but rather a paycheck. NOT GOOD!
#4 - The “Won’t Do” Staff Member
This is the staff member, when asked to do something, responds with, “that’s not my job.”
I know this is strong…but it has been made clear here at NewSpring Church from day one that EVERYTHING is our job…and if a staff member ever uses that they are asked to clean out their office!
If you ever have a staff member that isn’t willing to do whatever it takes for the good of the church—they aren’t bought into the vision.
If a staff member ever becomes more departmental (this is MY AREA) than organizational (this is MY CHURCH) then they are dangerously close to establishing ministry silo’s that need to be destroyed!One of the things I LOVE about our staff at NewSpring Church is…nothing is beneath anyone. Everyone is willing to do what it takes to get the job done…whether that means helping set out chairs, picking up trash in the parking lot on the way in…or even straightening up the restroom when noticing it is dirty!
When a staff is willing to do whatever…that attitude spreads to the volunteers…which will IMPACT a church in a huge way!