When You Shouldn’t Hire (Even If You Really Want To)

In this episode of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast, Todd Rhoades discusses when churches should avoid hiring new staff members. He emphasizes that more staff isn't always better and provides five critical questions to contemplate before deciding to hire. These include ensuring a clearly defined role, not using hiring to avoid difficult conversations or merely manage busyness, ensuring the culture supports the hire, and making sure the decision has been thoroughly prayed over.• Avoid hiring when roles aren't clearly defined.• Do not hire to avoid tough conversations or replace existing team dysfunctions.• Ensure hiring isn't just a response to busyness but part of a strategic plan.• Cultural readiness should be assessed before hiring.• Pray for clarity before making hiring decisions.

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Transcript

When More Staff Isn't Better

Speaker 1 0:08

More staff isn't always better . It seems like it should be better , right , but today we're going to look at the signs when your church shouldn't move forward , when your church should not move forward with a hire at least not yet . From unclear roles to broken systems , adding someone too soon can actually make your team less healthy . So , before you hire , we're going to talk about five critical questions that you should ask . Hi there , my name's Todd Rhodes . I am so glad that you joined us for today and by us I mean me . It's just you and me here on the podcast together , on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast . I'm also one of the co-founders over chemistry staffing . I don't think I mentioned that today anyway , all right , today we're going to talk about staffing and hiring . We've been doing a little mini series here the last couple of weeks on churches and hiring , and maybe you're not hiring someone at your church , maybe you're not , maybe you're a staff member and you don't hire , but I still think , as we talk about healthy church staff structures , that there should be something here for everybody . Today , let's start here . Not every staffing need should lead to a hire . In fact , hiring at the wrong time can actually multiply your problems . Actually multiply your problems and before you say yes to that next

Five Rules for Church Hiring

Speaker 1 1:28

staff member , let's take some time today the next few minutes anyway and hit pause and talk about when you absolutely should not move forward in hiring your next staff member . Believe me , this could save you and your team a ton of frustration and conflict and even turnover . Okay , so when should you not hire somebody ? All right , here's the first rule that you should not break , and I see this rule broken quite often when churches call us and say hey , todd , can you and chemistry staffing help us hire this next role ?

Speaker 1 2:00

Here's rule number one that gets broken . The rule is you don't have a role that's clearly defined it . If you don't have a role that's clearly defined , if your job description sounds like three jobs in one or you don't know what even the heck you're hiring , you're not ready . You don't just need a warm body , you need a job description . Clear expectations are actually kindness to the person that you're looking to hire . Don't hire somebody to figure it out as they go . That's not leadership , that's chaos , okay . So do not hire when you have not fully defined the role .

Speaker 1 2:39

The role Point number two do not hire when you're avoiding a hard conversation . Are you trying to hire around someone who isn't working out . Maybe bringing someone new on board won't fix a toxic church team member , but you think maybe it will , but it won't . Okay , sometimes you have to fix the fountain before building more , okay . So rule number two if you're hiring to replace somebody that's still on your team yes , this happens . Or if you're hiring because you're trying to hire around somebody that you don't want to deal with , do not

Culture Always Wins

Speaker 1 3:22

hire until you get it taken care of at home , okay .

Speaker 1 3:27

Rule number three when it's just about busyness , okay . Don't hire when it's just about busyness . Overwork is real , but not every solution is a new hire . Don't build your church's organizational chart around short-term urgency . You need to consider restructuring , maybe clarifying responsibilities or pausing non-essential projects first . So don't just hire another person because you're busy . Look at not just the short-term urgency but the long-term urgency before you pull the trigger and decide to hire somebody new , all right .

Speaker 1 4:03

Rule number four do not hire . Don't ever hire when the culture can't support it . If your staff isn't healthy right now , adding more people is not going to make your staff healthier . If you think my staff isn't really healthy now , but if I just hire just one person that's really healthy . They'll just kind of spread that health all throughout the organization and the staff . It never happens , okay . Culture always wins , always . It always wins . A new hire will quickly adopt the dysfunction around them or they'll bounce away . Okay , so that's rule number four .

Speaker 1 4:44

And finally , rule number five this might seem like why even mention it , because of course we have , but many we forget it . Do not hire if you haven't prayed through it . And I don't want to get overly spiritual here , okay , but it is ministry . And if a hire is being made out of panic or pressure or pride , slow down , don't make the hire , don't pull the trigger . Prayer will bring clarity and clarity will often bring peace . All right

The Time to Hire vs Wait

Speaker 1 5:19

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Speaker 1 5:19

So here's the final thought , here's the bottom line for today . I feel like King Solomon here in Ecclesiastes right , there's a time to hire and a time not to hire . There's a time to hire and a time to wait . Hiring isn't always the right next step and that's weird , coming from somebody that pays my mortgage . I don't really have a mortgage , but I used to pay my mortgage through helping churches find staff people . There's a time to hire and not a time to hire . Sometimes the healthiest thing you can do is just push , pause and wait and pray and get your job description around and fix the dysfunction that's happening on your team right now before you bring anybody new into the mix . All of those things will serve you really well , and if you just pause because of one of those things today , this podcast was well worth your listen , I think .

Speaker 1 6:10

So what's one question your team needs to ask before adding someone new ? I would love to have a conversation with you . If you'd like to talk through and just say , todd , given what you know , because you work with churches all the time , all around the country given what you know , should we hire ? Should we not hire ? Love to have that conversation with you , talk through some of these things and see if this is really a good time for you to hire and then , if so , if there's a way that chemistry can help you or I can help you and your church through that process and we'd love to be able to do that as well but reach out to me podcast at chemistrystaffingcom , and if there's any way that I can assist or help you or your church , please don't hesitate to ask at podcast at chemistrystaffingcom Also

Free Church Staff Health Assessment

Speaker 1 6:52

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Speaker 1 6:52

Before I let you go here , we just started last week our 2025 Church Staff Health Assessment and you can take that absolutely free . It's about 50 questions . At the end of the assessment , you'll get a synopsis of where you fall on that church health spectrum . It's absolutely free , you can take it anytime right now . Matter of fact , I would love for you and your team individually to take this Church Staff Health Assessment . Just go to chemistrystaffingcom slash 2025 . Chemistrystaffingcom slash 2025 . Chemistrystaffingcom slash . The number is 2025 . All right , that's it for today . Thanks for joining me . You're listening to the Healthy Church Staff Podcast . You .