Monday, September 24, 2018
Hey Fletch … As a Senior Pastor of a new and growing church, I have a staff member leaving. The role is the 10 hour a week, director of the worship services. Can you review the transition plan? I have laid out five steps: 1) Collect and review resumes/references of those interested, 2) Interview 2-3 people, 3) Make a final decision, 4) The new person begins and learns from the person leaving, and 5) Have the new person begin to run a Sunday.
DRF—Your challenge in a new church is finding and hiring people of high caliber. You want the best and your 5 point plan is a good start. You are also in a time crunch, as you need the new person to be in place within 8 weeks.
The first thing that I would suggest is that you have a backup plan. Your timeline is so tight. Perhaps have a person who can run the worship services for a few months. Give yourself breathing room to search for a great person and fit.
You do not want to get desperate and do what many do, “hire someone who isn’t a great fit because the hole is so big.” If you hire a poor fit, then you will be dealing with the ramifications of that decision. And, you may be looking for a replacement fairly soon!
Here is a good article on XPastor, A Preferred Hiring Path. That article addresses many of the issues in how to hire new staff. Your situation will be different, but the article illustrates important aspects of getting to know the candidate.
With your backup plan in place, you can follow good steps to hiring a person for this vital role.
