Staff Are People Too
thoughts about covenant and management inside our walls
A few months ago, my social media feed was showing me content from two British business gurus, Ben Askins and Chris Donnelly. Their content is similar - likely because they are friends, had owned a ridiculously successful business together, and very probably decided that what they wanted to talk about might benefit from a two-pronged approach.
Ben and Chris talk about healthy workplaces. They highlight toxic practices in management, human resources, and supervisory interactions. They offer ideas for talking to bosses, when to escalate complaints, and how to manage broken promises. They talk to bosses too, encouraging them toward transparency, kindness, and generally how to support and build a strong and happy workforce.
I will be honest - I’ve been captivated. Yes, they’re offering advice for businesses and corporations, and I don’t work in that field. But the advice they’re offering is easily transferable to not-for-profit organizations and religious communities.
Because ultimately what they’re talking about is how employers and employees make and hold covenant with one another.
Some of the stories are outrageous, some are downright unbelievable, and at times I can’t decide if these guys sound pompous because of their egos or because of their Britishness. But over and over again, I’m impressed with their down-to-earth, honest, and kind advice.
A few weeks ago, I saw Chris’s post “15 Uncomfortable Truths Every Employer Should Read” and thought to myself “oh, this is good advice for congregations too. Because I have seen more than once congregations who are great champions of unions and fair wages and workers rights outside their walls, but are pretty terrible to their staff inside their walls.
Here are some highlights from Chris’s post; consider these some points to ponder as we start up another congregational year:
You don’t have a “work from home” issue, you have a trust problem.
People don’t just quit jobs, they quit bad managers.
If your team doesn't feel comfortable to say “I don’t know” or “I disagree.” You have a lot of work to do.
If you’re not paying people what they are worth, others will.
If the actions of the company leaders do not align with the values, any trust will be destroyed.
The fastest way to kill company culture is to let bad behaviour be tolerated and rewarded.
There are more, of course, and they’re all worth reading. But you get my point. And Chris’s. Some turnover is inevitable - people move, people grow past their jobs, people change focus, people have major life changes. But the way we work with our staff should never be the reason people leave.
Making people our priority IS our business. It’s our covenant.
Let’s be better employers this year.