Hiring a new staff member is hard.

Consider some of the HARD questions that need to be answered when your church starts a new staff search:

1. Where are the holes on our current team? What team members do we REALLY need?
2. Do we have enough money in our budget for a new hire? If not, where do we find the money?
3. Once we find the money, what is a fair compensation package to offer?
4. How will we make sure this person matches our church’s theology?
5. How will we find a person that will want to live in (fill in your church’s location)?
6. How do we know that this person will really be a good long-term fit?
7. How do we write a job description that allows this person to thrive and spells clear expectations and accountability?
8. Who will this new person report to?
9. Who is going to make the decision on this hire? Our leadership team? Our elders/board? Do we need to appoint a search committee?
10. Who is going to review the tons of resumes that we’ll receive?
11. Who is going to ‘own’ the search process on our team?
12. What if our team is split on our final candidate(s)? Then what?
13. Where will we promote our new job opening so that candidates know to apply?
14. Do we include our candidate’s spouse in the conversation? If so, when and how?
15. How will we communicate with candidates that are not a match?
16. When will we decide who to bring for an on-site, in-person visit?
17. Should we do more than one on-site visit with a candidate before offering the position?
18. What is the top-end of our compensation possible for a person that has impeccable skills and tremendous experience?
19. How will we communicate with the congregation during the hiring process?
20. How will we communicate with the congregation when the hire is made?
21. How will we make the new staff person and their family feel at home in their new church and community?
22. What characteristics are we REALLY looking for in our next senior pastor? Worship pastor? Youth pastor? Does everyone on our team have the same expectations?
23. How soon do we need to hire this person? What if it takes longer than we expect? Will we lower our expectations/requirements or continue the search for the person we’ve determined that we’re really looking for?
24. What questions are the most important to ask during our interview process?
25. How can we tell if this candidate is telling us the truth about their skills, abilities, and past?

These are just a few of the questions that make hiring your next staff person really (really) hard.

Some churches skip most of these 25 questions.

Here’s what that looks like:

“Our worship pastor just resigned. We need a new one. Let’s post a new job opening on a couple of sites and start interviewing people.”

The job opening post ‘goes live’ the very next day.

When you hire to simply replace or hire a new role without counting the cost and making a plan, you’ll most probably find yourself repeating the process again in three years or less.

“Our worship pastor just resigned. We need a new one. Let’s post a new job opening on a couple of sites and start interviewing people.”

Lather, rinse, repeat.

At Chemistry Staffing, we work with each church to make sure they have a master plan for hiring their next staff member. That includes answering all of the 25 questions above (as well as a ton more).

The premise is really simple: the more questions you answer on the very front end of your search, the less ambiguity you’ll have when you’re trying to choose the right person.

And finding the right person… the person that truly fits your church’s theology, culture, and personality with the skills and abilities that you require… is a real win for effective, long-term ministry.

At Chemistry, we work with you to develop your plan to find someone that will be a potential great fit at your church for at least five years.

We’d love to have the opportunity to discuss your church’s next hire. At the very least, we can give you some helpful ideas developing your plan and making a great hiring decision.

Let’s talk.