Employee exits are common in all types of work settings, including churches. Yet personnel shifts can be awkward and inconvenient. This is especially true when the departing employee plays a key role with church management and communications. If a resignation or termination impacts a church directory administrator or editor, you’ll want to pay close attention to the tips below.
Some people consider the local church more like a family than a business. But using best practices from the corporate and tech worlds can smooth out the path. Proven tips for exiting a church staff member or leader help make the experience less emotional and uncomfortable.
Big-Picture Tips for Church Personnel Changes
You may have exited many a church employee before. But have you ever overlooked something and later regretted it? Have you made notes to yourself to ensure that the next exit — and there will be another one — proceeds better? If so, then you can benefit from a handy staff transition checklist.
When an employee says goodbye, you might not initially think about these things, for example:
- Were any home-office items or devices on loan to the staff member?
- Are any church-related accounts—including the online church directory—solely in the departing employee’s name?
- Does the employee have a mailbox and key? Access to a church post office box?
- Is the terminated employee the point person for disabling false alarms for the security company or fire department?
- How was the person supposed to be involved in upcoming tasks, special events, planning sessions, denominational and community happenings, etc.? Will he or she return for any of those?
These are just a few loose ends you’ll need to tie up to properly exit each departing staff member. With a checklist, you won’t accidentally overlook key steps. It also spares you from having to reinvent the wheel each time, worrying about what you need to account for and retrieve. Plus, a clear transition process smooths the arrival and integration of each new employee, whether that’s a pastor, a worship leader, or a youth ministry assistant.
Focused Tips for Personnel Who Manage Church Directories
When the employee who oversees your online directory leaves the church ministry, special steps are required to ensure a pain-free transition. Directories contain identifying information and sensitive material you must respect and protect.
In today’s high-tech world, churches must prioritize congregants’ privacy and safeguard their personal data. Plus, it’s vital to preserve access to the church photo directory. Church leadership and members must be able to continue to communicate so the church’s ministry and mission of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ presses forward.
For example, if your ministry’s Instant Church Directory account is in the name of an employee who’s leaving, be proactive. Conduct a handoff before the person departs, to prevent service disruptions or the need to start a new account. (We’ve seen that happen!) Because of encryption regulations, access can be denied if you don’t expedite the transfer.
If any accounts are in the person’s own name, linked to their personal credit card, ask them to make the necessary calls and transfers before leaving. As online privacy tightens, it’s getting more difficult to hand off accounts without the holder present. If the employee is already gone, you might need to provide a letter from the lead pastor for verification.
To avoid headaches when a staff member or leader with directory access leaves, plan and act preemptively. For example, schedule a staff meeting every six months with church leadership and staff. Review everyone’s accounts, including their directory credentials. Make sure you have details about any church-related accounts in people’s names, the credit card linked to each one, the login info, and so on.
Why Professional Practices Matter for Churches
Remember: Having procedures and protocols in place doesn’t diminish the spiritual aspect of a congregation. Yes, churches are unique employers, with a focus on ministry, worship, education, and Christian outreach. But they are employers, nonetheless.
So don’t hesitate to follow smart church management practices. With HR standards in place, a church can adhere to employment and church law while treating all people fairly. By covering the bases, leadership also avoids risks and mitigates losses.
Church staff members’ policies are key for hiring and onboarding, performance and salary reviews, and departures and exits. Whether an employee resigns, is fired, retires, or accepts a position at a new church, your leadership team can follow the steps that other professional organizations recommend. (This is also true if layoffs occur.)
Read on to learn more about exiting church personnel. See how a step-by-step list simplifies your job and strengthens your church management.
Steps for Exiting Church Personnel
Depending on the size of your church staff, you might follow business theories such as 4M (Man, Machine, Method, Material). Such philosophies use maps or diagrams to represent employment interactions. In the digital age, workers use a wide range of tools to perform a wide range of tasks. Employees also maintain many files, systems, accounts and knowledge. That’s why tracking them all is vital to effectively exit a staff member—or even a volunteer—from your ministry.
With each resignation or staff termination, you’ll need to review several steps together. First, you might want to give the departing employee a checklist to complete. Include reminders such as documenting passwords, returning keys and credit cards, informing contacts, forwarding mail and email, etc.
A church employee who’s leaving or transferring likely will have already thought through some of these steps. But a checklist offers valuable reminders to smooth the departure. It also leads to a positive, healthy church environment.
8 Areas to Assess When a Church Employee Leaves
To help you customize a list for your congregation, we’ve compiled several exit considerations. Use these suggestions to smooth the departure for any staff member.
- Devices and tools. What computers, laptops, phones and other materials belonging to the church need to be returned—and then reissued to someone else? Does the employee have access to a church vehicle? a church credit card?
- Account access. To which password-protected accounts does the employee have access? Examples include email programs, social media accounts, bank and credit-card accounts, computer servers, videoconferencing and meetings tools (such as Slack or Microsoft Teams), third-party services such as church management programs, directory software, art and media software accounts, and more. Collect all passwords and credentials. Then give the new employee his or her own.
- Keys and building access. Collect (and, if necessary, change) keys, sensor fobs, and passcodes for entry to all church facilities (including school buildings).
- Contact information and contacts. When exiting a church employee, you’ll need to update email and mailing addresses. Before leaving, employees might want to inform their contacts about the upcoming change. Ask for the names and information of contacts that a new employee will need. Also ask the departing individual to leave a forwarding address, if desired, for email and print communications.
- Payroll and benefits. Have your church’s office manager or HR specialist update payroll systems and distribute the final paycheck. Also update health insurance records, retirement plans and other benefit programs. If applicable, issue COBRA information and severance pay.
- Signage. After employees leave, remove their names from the church directory staffing pages. On the website and signs, replace their name with that of the new hire. Don’t forget to update bulletins, newsletter mastheads, church letterhead and business cards.
- Processes and ticklers. Before a church staff member leaves, ask them to review their ministry duties and work processes — from weekly, monthly and yearly perspectives. Together, think ahead by reviewing the employee’s schedule and the church calendar. What roles and functions will you need to hand off to someone else? What “ticklers” or reminders will need to become someone else’s job responsibilities? What aspects of a job description might need to be adjusted?
- Training tips. Before staffers leave your church, ask if they’ll participate in training the new hire. Even if those individuals don’t meet to work on the transition together, build a training plan for the new employee. During an exit interview, ask what the departing employee would have liked to know or learn early on. Also, ask what they think the new staff member needs to know upfront to be successful.
Exiting a church staff member is easier and less stressful with an orderly process. Personnel changes also bring important opportunities: Your church family can strengthen key practices and assess its stewardship of resources. For example, while onboarding a new employee, you can fine-tune policies about using church credit cards, keys, and church and personal email addresses.
Making improvements now ensures that future transitions proceed even more smoothly. After all, church procedures and policies are about more than just today. They’re about the organization thriving for years to come, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Download our FREE Exit Checklist
Our checklist incorporates many items you’ll want to review. This document is a great starting point for properly exiting staff members. Use the checklist as is or edit it to include other items appropriate for your setting.
What tips can you add for exiting a church leader or staff member? What do you wish you had done or known in the past? If you’re a new trainee or employee, what knowledge or tips would have helped you? Please share suggestions in the comments below!