The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
You Handed Them Keys and Called It Onboarding
Sep 15, 2026
Episode 702
In this episode of the Healthy Church Staff podcast, Todd Rhoades discusses the importance of nurturing new church staff during their first year, emphasizing a structured onboarding process. He highlights insights from church staff health assessments, which show new hires often have the best health scores yet face neglect due to lack of consistent engagement from leadership. Rhoades advises implementing a formalized onboarding plan similar to business models, focusing on a 30, 60, 90-day check-in strategy to ensure staff feel valued and clear about their roles, ultimately reducing flight risk and fostering a healthier work environment.
• New hires often exhibit the best health scores but are frequently overlooked.
• Church Staff Health Assessment provides insights into staff well-being.
• Flight risk increases significantly after the first year if neglected.
• Emphasize structured onboarding with regular check-ins (30, 60, 90 days).
• Feeling valued is critical to staff retention and performance.
• 39% of staff felt role expectations were unclear at the start.
• Onboarding in businesses includes mentorship and clear success metrics.
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