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The goal of performance employee management is to provide support, encouragement and give feedback. It involves ongoing communication. In order for an individual to feel most cared for in their role, 3 things are necessary:
- Responsibilities clearly defined. Does the staff member know what is expected of him or her and what it takes to accomplish those duties?
- Authority given to carry out those responsibilities. Is the individual in the learning process? Do they need more or less involvement from you? Where are they in the coaching process? I do, you watch; we do together; you do, I watch; or you do and come to me when you need help.
- Accountability to provide integrity in performance. What happens if the staff member does a good job? A poor job?
Management/Leadership
Effective coaching involves ongoing, honest, two-way communication. It also involves consistent and well written documentation.
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Some of the tools listed in this section will help probe those internal and external factors.
TOOLS
Staff Working File
Every staff member should have a working file. The working file prevents a manager/supervisor from relying on his or her memory. Anything related to a staff member’s employment can be tracked in a working file. These files must be kept confidential and secured (locked away if a physical copy or password protected if electronic) and should only contain objective, observable information. Items that might be included in a working file include:
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To restate, information kept in a working file should not include assumptions or subjective conclusions unless preceded by objective, observable examples. For example, the staff member has a bad attitude. This is subjective however could FOLLOW this information: the staff member yelled at Joe student on Friday, September 19th and did not speak to any of the staff during the staff meeting on Tuesday, September 23rd . The staff member has often kept their arms folded and frowned during team meetings over the past month leading me to the conclusion that the staff member is upset for some reason and is refusing to engage others in a positive manner.
Management/Coaching sessions
They are sometimes called one-on-ones, tune-ups, statuses, etc. Whatever they are called, they are vital to keeping lines of communication open between you and your staff member. It is the opportunity for expectations to be clarified, encouragement and constructive feedback to be given, and for the relationship to continue to be built. There are many tools to help you facilitate coaching conversations. A “Plus/Delta” and a “Start, Stop, Continue” are in Appendix B4 and Appendix B5 as sample tools.
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Start, Stop, Continue: This is another tool that can help with communication, supervision, or even meetings. What would you like me to start doing? What am I currently doing that you would like me to stop? What are those things that work well and that you’d like me to continue?
SMART Goals
Writing good goals can help staff have clearly outlined expectations and give you a good measuring stick for how they have done with those goals. Writing goals that are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable (or Achievable), Results-Oriented and have a Timeframe can help your staff be successful. The measurable part of the goal can be either quantitative or qualitative. An example follows for both a quantitative and qualitative goal:
Poorly Written Quantitative Goal:
Focus on Ministry Team Development each week.
SMART Quantitative Goal:
Designate 4 hours per week towards MTD including making at least 5 calls resulting in additional monthly support of $50 per month.
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Results-Oriented (Quantitative)– goal is to continue to develop support. $50/month is a results-oriented goal.
Timeframe – each week
Poorly Written Qualitative Goal:
Lead/Facilitate a small group each week.
SMART Qualitative Goal:
Lead a small group every week with the goal of providing a “safe” environment where each person feels comfortable to contribute and where leaders are being developed. By end of semester, identify and begin meeting weekly with one individual (apprentice) who would like to grow into leading the small group. During this time with the apprentice focus on what is happening in her life, go through a book of the Bible together that you mutually choose and co-lead 2 small group times with the apprentice by the end of the semester.
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Whether the goal is met or not, feedback is important. Some individuals feel that it is difficult or unfair to make ministry about reaching goals or performance. It is important to understand that the goal is faithfulness. Someone once said that success is cooperating with what God is doing in your life at the moment. If a goal is not met, the next question becomes why. This will be discussed in the Constructive Feedback section.
Knowing Styles: Yours and the person you are coaching
Understanding your own coaching style and being able to adapt to meet the need is one aspect of being a good coach. Knowing your strengths and areas of opportunity for coaching will help you adjust your style to match what your staff member needs. Some staff members need more time for the relational aspect of coaching where others prefer more direct task supervision. There are several models of leadership that can help with this.
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If you would like to look into these tools, please contact Missionary Resources. We have certified facilitators that can help your team identify, understand and learn ways to adapt their styles to increase effectiveness.
Constructive Feedback
Verbal & Written Warnings
As mentioned earlier, staff members are employees and have responsibilities for which they are accountable. One example of these responsibilities is ongoing ministry team development. Often times, when poor performance or behavior is not addressed, “grace” might be the justification. However, there are also boundaries and consequences for actions. The staff member, GCM, the church, and Christ’s reputation is being critiqued by the world constantly. Donors want to be able to trust that the finances they are giving are being taken seriously and ministry is happening responsibly.
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- Signatures – it is important that all parties sign the document. If the employee refuses to sign, the supervisor may write such and sign.
REWARDS & RECOGNITION
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.” Heb. 10:23-25
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Sadly, many individuals share that they do not receive regular and ongoing feedback from their ministry supervisors.
Missionary Excellence Program
Writing a Good Appraisal
A well written performance appraisal is important for many reasons. The annual review provides a summary of the staff member’s performance over the previous year. (See Appendix C1) There should be no surprises on an annual review – the review is simply a documented summary of things that have been shared with the staff member throughout the year.
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Unsatisfactory/Does Not Meet (below 2) – does not meet expected performance levels. Meets some of the components of the job duty/responsibility, but does unsatisfactory work in some key areas. This individual is very inconsistent in the given area, not effective or the duty/responsibility is not getting done. This should not be the first time the staff member is aware of the issue. If improvement does not happen very quickly, the individual may be in danger of some type of warning in the future. If the person has already been on a warning in an area and has still not improved, this may also warrant an “Unsatisfactory”.
Career Development
Vocational ministry provides opportunities to develop a long-term career path. Longevity in vocational ministry is more likely if an employee sees development potential. Some individuals will go on staff with a shorter term in mind, possibly 2-5 years. Many will desire this to be a longer term career. One aspect of providing that opportunity is helping them with development.
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