Staff Evaluations
It's staff evaluation week @ NCC.
I'm spending most of my week doing year-end reviews with our team. I'm reminded on a day like today that I'm so blessed to be working with such an amazing team. Our chemistry is unbelievable. It's almost scary how well we all get along. We love doing life and doing ministry together. I honestly think that who you're doing ministry with ultimately determines how much you enjoy it.
I thought I'd share ten tips on how to hire the right people:
#1 Make sure they have a sense of humor. This is at the top of my list. Laughter is the closest distance between two people. If they can't laugh they can't work at NCC :) I can't imagine too many church staffs that laugh more than the NCC staff. We take two things seriously: God & fun :)
#2 There is an old adage: hire for attitude and train for skill. It's true. Attitude is everything. We look for "extra mile" people who have a servant's heart. Sometimes I'm amazed at how few "issues" we have a team. I don't take that for granted. Everybody has an amazing attitude!
#3 Hire Internally. We always look internally before we look externally. I love hiring NCCers because they have a track record. You can "observe" them in their natural habitat.
#4 Hire Incrementally. I like hiring people part-time or as interns to see how they perform in those capacities. It's a low risk scenario. If they perform well you try to bring them on full-time.
#5 Spirituality. How much do they love Jesus? I love working with people who have a spiritual intensity about them. This one is non-negotiable.
#6 Personality. We do a Myers-Briggs assessment with staff because it helps us understand the way each of us is wired. I think most relational problems are personality conflicts. It's important to understand and appreciate different personality types. A church staff needs a healthy mix of personalities!
#7 Get the right people on the bus. We're always changing portfolios and titles. I think that's healthy. I'm more concerned about getting great people on the bus. Then you worry about where they sit. Don't fill a position if you think you can find someone better to fill it in six months. Wait six months.
#8 Don't ignore red flags. I've learned that little things are big things. I pay attention to details when I'm interviewing someone.
#9 Hire Visionaries. We have a simple modus operandi: let people get a vision from God and go for it. We're a very decentralized church. We try to find self-motivated people who go after God-ordained dreams. Nothing is more frustrating than working with someone with no initiative. They don't do anything without being asked. I want to hire people who have some get-up-and-go. One thing I love about our team is that I don't have to push them. I have to encourage them to take time off :)
#10 Hire people you'd vacation with :) I know every staff chemistry is different but I don't want to do ministry with people I don't want to do life with. I'm a big believer in hiring people you really like! I don't care whether it's family or friends. I want to work with people I want to hang out with outside of work.
One last thought.
Who you are is more important than what you do. I remind our team of this all the time. Hire good people and they'll do a good job. I'm so grateful for what our staff does. But I'm more grateful for who they are.
I'm spending most of my week doing year-end reviews with our team. I'm reminded on a day like today that I'm so blessed to be working with such an amazing team. Our chemistry is unbelievable. It's almost scary how well we all get along. We love doing life and doing ministry together. I honestly think that who you're doing ministry with ultimately determines how much you enjoy it.
I thought I'd share ten tips on how to hire the right people:
#1 Make sure they have a sense of humor. This is at the top of my list. Laughter is the closest distance between two people. If they can't laugh they can't work at NCC :) I can't imagine too many church staffs that laugh more than the NCC staff. We take two things seriously: God & fun :)
#2 There is an old adage: hire for attitude and train for skill. It's true. Attitude is everything. We look for "extra mile" people who have a servant's heart. Sometimes I'm amazed at how few "issues" we have a team. I don't take that for granted. Everybody has an amazing attitude!
#3 Hire Internally. We always look internally before we look externally. I love hiring NCCers because they have a track record. You can "observe" them in their natural habitat.
#4 Hire Incrementally. I like hiring people part-time or as interns to see how they perform in those capacities. It's a low risk scenario. If they perform well you try to bring them on full-time.
#5 Spirituality. How much do they love Jesus? I love working with people who have a spiritual intensity about them. This one is non-negotiable.
#6 Personality. We do a Myers-Briggs assessment with staff because it helps us understand the way each of us is wired. I think most relational problems are personality conflicts. It's important to understand and appreciate different personality types. A church staff needs a healthy mix of personalities!
#7 Get the right people on the bus. We're always changing portfolios and titles. I think that's healthy. I'm more concerned about getting great people on the bus. Then you worry about where they sit. Don't fill a position if you think you can find someone better to fill it in six months. Wait six months.
#8 Don't ignore red flags. I've learned that little things are big things. I pay attention to details when I'm interviewing someone.
#9 Hire Visionaries. We have a simple modus operandi: let people get a vision from God and go for it. We're a very decentralized church. We try to find self-motivated people who go after God-ordained dreams. Nothing is more frustrating than working with someone with no initiative. They don't do anything without being asked. I want to hire people who have some get-up-and-go. One thing I love about our team is that I don't have to push them. I have to encourage them to take time off :)
#10 Hire people you'd vacation with :) I know every staff chemistry is different but I don't want to do ministry with people I don't want to do life with. I'm a big believer in hiring people you really like! I don't care whether it's family or friends. I want to work with people I want to hang out with outside of work.
One last thought.
Who you are is more important than what you do. I remind our team of this all the time. Hire good people and they'll do a good job. I'm so grateful for what our staff does. But I'm more grateful for who they are.
3 Comments:
I am continuously amazed by the staff at NCC! Everything is always ON POINT! :) Thank you for all you do! (BTW- the Tuesday spotlights on the Zonegathering have been a great way to feel like I know our staff better).
great post. we're a new church looking to bring on staff for the first time, so this post was music to my ears. great words of advice.
enjoy your podcast, am encoouraged by your blog, and i'm looking forward to checking out the buzz conference.
michael.
youcanknowgod.com.
Great thoughts.
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