Critical Human Resource Issues in Growing Churches with Tiffany Henning
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Thanks for joining us on this week’s unSeminary podcast. Today we’re talking with Tiffany Henning from HR Ministry Solutions.
HR Ministry Solutions is a religious non-profit founded in 2016 which helps with the resources side of running a church. We’re talking with Tiffany today about how to resource your church staff well.
- More than just compliance. // Many churches come to Tiffany for help because they have a compliance issue. While dealing with the nitty gritty of compliance is certainly important, Tiffany wants to help churches look at the why behind the compliance and ultimately strengthen culture, communication and coaching in the organization. Whether a church is struggling with determining wages that should be paid to the staff, providing tax statements correctly, or needing an audit, HR Ministry Solutions comes alongside churches to help make tackling human resources less intimidating.
- Start with a solid foundation. // Churches need to be intentional about thinking through things such as benefits, vacation time, policies, overtime, and so on. A staff handbook lays the foundation for compliance which will protect both the employees and the organization. If a church isn’t sure where to begin in this area, Tiffany will provide a questionnaire for them to go through which addresses all the questions needed to create the staff handbook. And if there are any sections where a church feels stuck, she’ll walk through those areas with them to figure out best practices.
- Staff culture books. // A new trend that goes alongside with a staff handbook is a staff culture book. These are shorter, fun booklets that almost have the feel of PowerPoint slides and pull out more specific things the staff wants to know such as: core values, dress code, vacation time, office environment, and more. It helps new staff, in particular, learn the nonnegotiables of the culture more quickly and starts them off on the right foot.
- Engage the next generation. // All churches should be looking into how to engage the next generation of workers. What was important twenty years ago isn’t the same now. What will attract 20-somethings to your organization and make them want to work there? This is where culture will play a huge role.
- Coaching, conflict resolution, and communication. // In churches we can have a hard time having difficult conversations. A best practice is being in constant communication (weekly, monthly, quarterly) with the people underneath you so if an issue has to be addressed, it doesn’t pop up once a year during the annual review. A good program that allows you to do quick, weekly check-ins with your team is 15Five. Hold monthly check-ins one-on-one to see how a team member is doing with their SMART goals. Regular communication prevents staff from feeling disconnected and unheard. Be intentional about when and how you’re communicating and how you’re rolling announcements out.
- Address any conflicts immediately. // We don’t like conflict, but the reality is if you’re a high level leader and aren’t seeing conflict, you probably need to be in the trenches more. The new generation of worker is all about communication, and so transparency and authenticity are very important to them. Look to see what is really going on in the staff and identify any conflicts that may be happening. Meet with both sides of the conflict together to get a good look at each side and come up with resolutions to solve it.
- Develop a solid foundation. // If you’re trying to get your church into a healthier spot, consider an HR audit. Here the HR Ministry Solution team comes in and spends two to four hours examining the various systems in place to find where a church may have gaps that need addressing. Afterwards HR Ministry Solutions prioritizes any issues that should be taken care of right away versus those that can wait, and they provide resources to help with compliance issues as well.
- Free tool kit for development. // HR Ministries offers a free church hiring tool kit that provides everything the church needs to consider when bringing on a new employee. In addition to recommending questions to ask in interviews, it also gives examples of offer letters, various checklists for onboarding, and more.
You can learn more about HR Ministry Solutions and contact Tiffany at hrministrysolutions.com. You can also find free webinars on the website.
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Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Portable Church Industries
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