The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
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The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
The Danger of Hiring from Within (Too Quickly)
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Hiring someone you already know and love from inside your church might seem like the safest move, but what happens when that internal hire fails? Today we're going to unpack why hiring from within isn't always the slam dunk that it appears to be, and how to do it right when it is. Hi there, my name is Todd Rhodes, I'm one of the co-founders over at chemistrystaffingcom and I'm your host right here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast, and I'm your host every weekday, monday through Friday. You know them, you trust them, they've been faithful, they love you, they love your church, they love the vision and the direction. So why not just promote them from a key volunteer to a key staff role? Because sometimes internal hires let me be honest they implode, and today we're talking about surprising risks that can come up when hiring from within and what you can do to avoid one of the most painful kinds of staff transitions. All right, so let me start here just as a starting point. Internal hires can be absolutely wonderful. They love you, they love your church, they, they love the vision. They're giving their time freely now, which means that they're invested and they might make a great staff member.
Speaker 1:But sometimes great volunteers don't translate into great staff members, and that's what we're talking about today. How do you know? Let's start here, because familiarity is not the same as readiness. Okay, just because somebody has been out there for years doesn't mean that they're ready to lead, you might say. But they're so loyal Loyalty doesn't equal leadership but they know our people Well. So does the janitor at the church. That doesn't make them ready to be your next executive pastor, but they've got such a heart for ministry. That's awesome. But are they equipped to succeed in a staff role? Churches often promote based on relationship, not on readiness, and that's a setup for frustration on both sides. Now let me be clear here. I'm not saying that great volunteers cannot be great staff members. They absolutely can be. But there is a transition here and there is a state of readiness and it's different. You know this. I'm not telling you anything you don't know. It's different being on staff and being paid to do a role than what it is to be a volunteer and be unpaid in a role. If your church is able to train and to be patient with that process, then an internal hire could be absolutely great. But you have to remember that you can't just promote based on relationship. You have to also promote based on readiness. Okay, here's point number two Internal hires can change the culture.
Speaker 1:They can change it for better or for worse, matter of fact. Let me say this Internal hires will change your culture. Internal hires bring history with them, sometimes baggage. They often struggle to transition from peer to leader, and others on staff might even resent the move or second-guess the move. It can feel like a who-you-know system instead of a merit-based system. So the wrong internal promotion, the wrong internal hire, can quietly poison your team's morale, even if nobody says it out loud, matter of fact, they probably are not going to say it out loud. So just remember and consider before you make that internal hire. They will change your culture, for better or for worse. So you need to make sure you have buy-in, not only from the person you're bringing on staff, but also from your staff, and you need to be ready and be well-equipped to help them during that transition, because it will be different, all right.
Speaker 1:So how do you got somebody that you taught? I think that this person would be a great. They're a great volunteer. I think they'd be a great internal hire. How do I do it the right way? How do I promote from within and make it work well, because sometimes you absolutely should hire from within. Okay, here are my tips. Okay and I share this with the churches that we work with here at chemistry when we talk with them about want to know whether or not they should hire somebody that's part of their church. Number one treat them like an external candidate. Okay, full interview process, full evaluation. Check them for competence, not just for chemistry. Ask the hard questions, get references Yep, you need to get references from internal candidates as well, people who have seen them lead, not just serve.
Speaker 1:So get references from their current employer or other people that have seen them outside of their volunteer role at the church. And then you need to provide actual onboarding and coaching as they come on the team. If you decide to hire them, don't assume that they know how to be on staff just because they volunteered at your church for years. You need to set them and your team up for success. Okay, and that sometimes can be different and we just think, if we hire this person because they know us and they love us, that it's going to be easy, and sometimes it's harder, okay, so here's the final thought, here's the bottom line for today the easiest hire isn't always the wisest one. Okay, be careful when promoting somebody you already love. It's still a hire and it still matters, and it will change your culture, either for the better or for the worse.
Speaker 1:I would love to hear your internal hire success stories and also maybe an internal hire failure story. Reach out to me. I'd love to hear your story. Maybe you're in the middle of this and you just want to have a conversation. Love to do that with you as well. You can reach out to me to start the conversation. Just send me an email. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. All right, that's it for today. We will be back here tomorrow for another edition of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Hope you'll join me. You.
