The global economy is floundering. All over the world, organizations are struggling to carry on. It is affecting not only big corporations but also those of us who work in churches and Christian organizations. I am hearing of churches that are being forced to close. Other ministries are cutting programs and staff. While we can clothe our situations in spiritual terminology, the fact remains that the world’s economy is being shaken and it is having an impact on us.
How do Christian leaders respond to this?
There is nothing we can do to change the world economy. It is a fact of life we must accept. But there are things that we can do to protect our ministries when financial resources are strained.
More important than trimming budgets, organizations and churches must make sure that their employees are engaged in their work and are embracing the overall mission of their ministry. This is always good management, but it is most imperative in tough times. When there is an emotional disconnect between staff and leadership, both efficiency and effectiveness suffer.
During ordinary times, increasing staff engagement is necessary to move a company from good to great; in difficult times, staff engagement is essential, not just for smooth operations but for the survival of the ministry.
Recently a senior pastor showed me his ministry campus. As we toured the facilities, he passionately described what he was doing and what he felt his long-term mission was. He was clearly excited about what he was doing. The atmosphere in the office said something else. There was no excitement about the work being done, there were extra long stops at the water fountain and computer screens were filled with games and Facebook pages. People walked around aimlessly. There was a disconnect between the senior pastor and his staff. The very people necessary for accomplishing the pastor’s vision seemed disenfranchised.
People in ministry talk a lot about engagement. Preachers want to engage their congregations. Teachers want to engage their students. Evangelists want to engage the people they are attempting to reach. Chairmen want to engage their boards. But too often, leaders forget to engage with their employees, the very people who can make their efforts successful.
Employee engagement is an emotional and spiritual attachment between an employee and the workplace. It is not optional.
As churches and organizations tighten their budgets and leaders rightly cut expenses, they often forget their most important asset, their staff. They make decisions that unsettle employees. When one person is let go, the person at the next desk is wondering if he will be next. While decisions may be discussed in a small circle of leaders, the average employee is left out in the dark. This has tragic consequences and leads to the staff disengaging. Just look at recent research from the world of business.
Employee engagement in business
Currently in America, workers are becoming increasingly disengaged from their work. More and more, they go through the motions of work, but don’t actively relate to their work or embrace it passionately.
Only 29% of US workers are engaged with their work. These are the people who are enthused about the mission of their job and are excited to go to work each morning.
Fifty-five per cent of US workers are not engaged in their work. They show up late and leave early and fiddle away their time in between. They are the people who retired emotionally three years ago but just keep showing up to the office to pick up a paycheck.
Sadly, 16% of workers are actively disengaged. They sabotage the work place and spread discontent among others in the office as well as those outside the office.
This has serious consequences for everyone on the team. If people have a positive work experience, they share it with one or two people. If people have a negative work experience, they share it with nine to ten people. Clearly, disgruntled workers do a lot of damage to any organization. It is estimated that disengaged employees cost US businesses $350 billion each year! Engaged workers absent from work half the number of days. Turnover among staff is 50% lower when they are engaged, while engaged workers have 38% above average productivity.
Engaged employees are the critical factor in our success. Staff who just work for pay and do not have any emotional attachment to their work short-change the effectiveness of a ministry.
Where do engaged employees come from?
Research indicates that engaged employees come mainly from managers who work at interacting with their staff in a meaningful way. If leaders don’t engage with their staffs, it is unreasonable to expect staff to engage with their work.
Here are three ways to increase staff engagement in your church or ministry.
1. Focus on people
Your strategy for working with your people must be as important as your business plan. Some leaders are so focused on corporate strategy that little attention is given to the well-being of the people who fill the boxes on their organizational charts. In effect, they use people to achieve their goals.
Engaged employees are necessary for efficiency and effectiveness. The care of staff is also a Christian responsibility. We must manage our organizations in a business-like way, but we must deal with staff with Christ-likeness. We don’t just throw unnecessary people off the bus. While it may be necessary to let some people go, we treat them with grace and understanding.
2. Involve more staff in the decision-making process
The day of just one person or even a few leaders making corporate decisions and then announcing them to everyone else is over. That approach only fosters resentment and breeds disengagement
Involving staff in decision-making is always important but in challenging times it is even more critical. Employees are smart. They often have a better understanding on what’s going on in an organization than senior leadership who is removed from day to day operations. Yet too often, organizations don’t take advantage of this resource.
Not knowing what is happening “in the big office” unsettles employees. Uncertainty breeds fear. Involving a wider circle of staff in the decision-making process manages this fear.
Give people an opportunity to ask questions and express their concerns. This will not only make them feel a part of the process, it will unearth some good, but unexpected perspectives and ideas. Giving people an opportunity to hear what is happening and to express their ideas fosters a higher level of buy-in, ownership and passion. It makes the office environment more productive. People thrive on open communication about what’s happening in the board room.
Engaged staff know that their ideas are heard and are confident that their opinions count.
3. Create small rewarding moments
Give staff short-term assignments that result in success. Then celebrate. It
promotes greater engagement. People know they are noticed and appreciated.
Engaged employees perform better, they just do their jobs better! Keeping staff engaged during these turbulent times is essential as leaders attempt to keep operations going, maintain ministry programs and to do so by getting more work out of fewer people.
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