Church staff evaluations often get a bad name. Most people get the mental picture of being told how bad they are doing and being surprised at where the management thinks they are failing. So, evaluations can be viewed as negative and avoided by church leadership due to the uncomfortable view.
However, evaluations are very crucial to the health of a productive church. To outsiders, it may seem like the church doesn’t have measurable goals or performance standards that staff need to meet. They only see what the stage produces. They don’t notice whether staff meet deadlines, cause unneeded strife among the other staff, or if they are actually putting in the work. But, evaluating performance and other metrics are vital to having a productive, unified team.
Here are several helpful principles to help with the process of church staff evaluations.
It is good to also get feedback from the staff as a whole that is anonymous. The best practice would be a sliding scale instead of asking questions. This is because it might be easy to “spot” who wrote what. This type of survey is also to evaluate how the church is treating staff. Many times, evaluations are one-sided. It is the pastor, executive pastor, or board telling a staff member what they need or expect without the staff member getting to voice what they need or expect. The church executive team needs to also be evaluated. This is difficult since there is no one usually over the highest governing body. An anonymous survey may help with any blind spots or disconnects between staff and pastor, executive pastor, or board.
Since the church staff evaluations need to be a dialogue instead of a monologue, have each staff member fill out a questionnaire before the meeting. Have them evaluate themselves based on the agreed-upon goals at the beginning of the year. Also, this is a good time for them to share things that may be demotivating them. The questionnaire should be “wholistic” in the approach by having sections of questions that ask them about their spiritual life, marriage life, finances, emotional health, and work life. All of this doesn’t need to be discussed when meeting, but this will give the person doing the interview a chance to see any “red flags.” If they answer that they never do date nights with their spouse, then it should send a red flag on the health of the marriage. This gives specific insight to the person interviewing to have some healthy conversations.
Before the meeting, the one holding the interview needs to send an email on the talking points from their questionnaire and what they would like to discuss. It should probably be the night before the meeting and make it clear for them not to respond via email. These are for in person conversations and the key is to avoid as many surprises as possible. Surprises will put them on the defensive and possibly hurt the chance to have a healthy conversation. This will take courage from the person holding the interview, though.
This is a golden opportunity for the one interviewing to help the staff member grow or see blind spots. The church staff evaluations can also be a chance to help them solve some problems they may be facing and have been scared to share. For instance, if they are struggling in their marriage, the church can pay for them to see a counselor that is not connected to the church. If a staff member knows that the pastor and executive team cares about them beyond just what they can produce, they will be more trusting to share where they are hurting. A leader needs to ask, “How can I set up this evaluation to help them and set them up to be successful?”
Again, this shouldn’t be used as a passive-aggressive way to bring up topics that have been avoided all year. This can be called “dumping” on staff. The worst feeling is to find out that management thinks that the staff member is failing in a particular area for a lengthy time and the they find out at the end of year evaluation. There should be policies with check-ups or check-ins so there are no surprise conversations during church staff evaluations.
To avoid surprises, here are some tips to address disengaged employees.
Staff will “own” the goals they can help create. If the pastor or executive team works with agreed-upon goals at the beginning of the year, have quarterly check-ins with them, and give consistent feedback, then the end of the year evaluation will go much smoother. The staff member will know exactly what their evaluations are about. When this is mixed with check-ins, the staff member feels empowered.
As stated in principle number six, the staff member needs quarterly check-ins on their goals, progress, and obstacles. This will help both sides be more productive and have a collaborative relationship regarding goals. This check-in can be a simple email with questions like, “What is going the best in your ministry department right now? What obstacles are you facing that are hindering your progress in your goals? What do you need from me?”
One of the principles that has been threaded throughout this article is constant communication. If the most in-depth conversation is relegated to once a year, then the evaluations won’t matter. Consistent, clear, and caring communication is more critical than an evaluation. The review should reinforce or help redirect at best. It is not the Hail Mary to fixing staff issues.
Let the staff member know how long the meeting will last and set an alarm. This may seem impersonal, but it needs to be explained to the staff member in the interview that their time is valuable. A follow-up meeting can happen if time expires. The one holding the discussion can set up that time and determine if anything else must be discussed.
There is no one size fits all evaluative method for church staff. Even though the methods may change from church to church, the principles will be the same. Most church staff never get evaluations, and those that do share that it was a bad experience for them. The key principle that needs to be applied is to have a conversation with knowledge of the topics beforehand. They also need constant communication throughout the year to avoid surprises on either side. When evaluations happen correctly, they can build trust, help staff solve problems, and increase the overall productivity of the church.
