Far too many small nonprofits and churches don’t think human resources is necessary for the health and wellness of their organization. Those organizations are wrong. Nonprofits and churches face the same staffing and compliance hurdles that any other organization faces. To pretend HR does not affect your ministry is akin to assuming playing with a diamondback will not get you sent to the emergency room. But HR is so much more than protecting your organization against bad actors, it is also a key strategy to grow your organization well.
If you want to grow your ministry with excellence, then a small investment in good HR will help put you on the road to success.
Here are some reasons why:
Recruitment and Onboarding
When leading and growing a ministry, there is little time to focus your efforts on sourcing, recruiting, interviewing, and selecting candidates. Leveraging the expertise of an HR specialist to oversee the recruitment and onboarding process is an investment. They will walk alongside you in the journey and ensure the best person is identified to strengthen your team.
Training and Development
Once you have the team in place, there are benefits to keeping them engaged by providing the proper tools during their initial training period and beyond. Ongoing development is key to keep things fresh as learning new skills on the job, attending workshops, or sharing best practices with other organizations.
Employee Mediation
At times, even when having a common goal, staff members may not see eye to eye, or personal situations may leak into the workplace. With the support of a third-party mediator, conflict resolution can be resolved in a respectful, compassionate manner. They will lead the discussion, listen to all parties involved and provide recommendations to move forward.
Employee Recognition
Who doesn’t like hearing “Thank you” or “job well done”? We all do, but we all have various ways and preferences on how to be recognized in the workplace. With the support of an HR specialist, they will be able to provide a plan and options that you can execute throughout the year whether you are celebrating years of service, or a goal achieved.
Employee Retention
Now more than ever, we need to be mindful that employees have options, so as employers we need to be intentional to celebrate our staff. We need to ensure folks feel valued and that they are making a difference in the organization. Partnering with an HR specialist to discuss an employee retention strategy will help you and your overall team to build a solid foundation that will support your efforts to achieve your goals.
If you find you are in immediate need of help with any of the above areas, or you just want to be sure you are on the right track, reach out to HR Connect, the Alliance’s new Human Resource offering. We will help get you on track for a price that you can afford. If you prefer to speak to an HR professional instead, you can do so by calling 888-970-9676 – we are here to help.
