12 Min.
5 Keys to Leveraging Interviews to Build Strong Church Teams unSeminary Podcast
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- Christentum
“None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.”Mother Teresa
Have you ever had to let a team member go because of a performance issue? Without a shadow of doubt, it’s a horrible feeling.
I know there are macho leaders out there who may say things like “hire slow, fire fast” as if letting people go from a church is no big deal.
However, let me say this in no uncertain terms. It’s a big deal.
It’s painful on so many fronts. The person you are letting go feels a pervasive sense of intense disappointment. If that wasn’t bad enough, the relationships that the person has formed in the end up being strained. You have an internal sense of doubt about your decision. Furthermore, it costs the church a tremendous amount of time, effort, and energy.
If you haven’t had a chance to do that yet, consider yourself fortunate! It’s not something I’d wish on anyone.
The best way to avoid firing someone is by not hiring them in the first place.
Leveraging your face-to-face time with candidates is a critical step in building the sort of team that you need to drive the long-term mission of your church forward. Here are five keys to leveraging your interview process in order to ensure that you’re finding the team you need!
NOTE: As with anything around hiring and human resources, make sure to consult your local laws so as to ensure you are operating in the best practices!
Get Them to Relax
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received about interviews is that you have to get people to relax.
When people are nervous, it is very difficult to get a real sense of who they are. At best, they are tight-lipped, and you can’t gauge what it’s going to be like to work with them. At worst, they turn out to be a chameleon and just pretend to be whomever it is that you need to hire. Go out of your way to ensure that people who are in the process of being interviewed are relaxed and comfortable, and you are way more likely to get a true sense of who they are.
7 Ways to Help People Relax During an Interview
* Don’t make them wait // Sweating it out and waiting for the interview to start will just exacerbate the tension. They will arrive early (most likely), so you may want to be ready early and articulate that you’re glad they are with you! * Get them laughing // Crack a few jokes at the front end of the conversation in order to put them ease. Even a good “dad joke” or two can go a long way in helping someone get in the right frame of mind.* Offer them coffee // A hit of caffeine to the brain will help people relax and act closer to normal. * Find common ground // Look over their resume and find common points in your background. This will reduce the “power structure” that tends to get amplified in the interview by assuring them that you come from the same background. * Choose the location wisely // Don’t sit across the desk from them. Instead, sit side by side in some causal seating. Work hard to reduce the barriers between you and the candidate. * Go for a walk // If it’s possible, get moving during the interview. Even a quick stroll around the building will help diffuse the inherent tension in the conversation.
Use Performance-Based Questions
Compelling interviews should primarily be based on performance-based questions that look at what the candidate has done,
“None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.”Mother Teresa
Have you ever had to let a team member go because of a performance issue? Without a shadow of doubt, it’s a horrible feeling.
I know there are macho leaders out there who may say things like “hire slow, fire fast” as if letting people go from a church is no big deal.
However, let me say this in no uncertain terms. It’s a big deal.
It’s painful on so many fronts. The person you are letting go feels a pervasive sense of intense disappointment. If that wasn’t bad enough, the relationships that the person has formed in the end up being strained. You have an internal sense of doubt about your decision. Furthermore, it costs the church a tremendous amount of time, effort, and energy.
If you haven’t had a chance to do that yet, consider yourself fortunate! It’s not something I’d wish on anyone.
The best way to avoid firing someone is by not hiring them in the first place.
Leveraging your face-to-face time with candidates is a critical step in building the sort of team that you need to drive the long-term mission of your church forward. Here are five keys to leveraging your interview process in order to ensure that you’re finding the team you need!
NOTE: As with anything around hiring and human resources, make sure to consult your local laws so as to ensure you are operating in the best practices!
Get Them to Relax
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received about interviews is that you have to get people to relax.
When people are nervous, it is very difficult to get a real sense of who they are. At best, they are tight-lipped, and you can’t gauge what it’s going to be like to work with them. At worst, they turn out to be a chameleon and just pretend to be whomever it is that you need to hire. Go out of your way to ensure that people who are in the process of being interviewed are relaxed and comfortable, and you are way more likely to get a true sense of who they are.
7 Ways to Help People Relax During an Interview
* Don’t make them wait // Sweating it out and waiting for the interview to start will just exacerbate the tension. They will arrive early (most likely), so you may want to be ready early and articulate that you’re glad they are with you! * Get them laughing // Crack a few jokes at the front end of the conversation in order to put them ease. Even a good “dad joke” or two can go a long way in helping someone get in the right frame of mind.* Offer them coffee // A hit of caffeine to the brain will help people relax and act closer to normal. * Find common ground // Look over their resume and find common points in your background. This will reduce the “power structure” that tends to get amplified in the interview by assuring them that you come from the same background. * Choose the location wisely // Don’t sit across the desk from them. Instead, sit side by side in some causal seating. Work hard to reduce the barriers between you and the candidate. * Go for a walk // If it’s possible, get moving during the interview. Even a quick stroll around the building will help diffuse the inherent tension in the conversation.
Use Performance-Based Questions
Compelling interviews should primarily be based on performance-based questions that look at what the candidate has done,
12 Min.