Flipping staff is costly.
I’m sorry to use such a glib term for something that is often painful for everyone involved, but please bear with me. I have talked about the most serious part – the damage to people – in the past, and I will again. This time, though, let me focus on a cost to the church that may not be readily apparent.
One of the more damaging parts of losing (or firing) a staff member in a purely pragmatic sense is that they take their knowledge with them. Part of the reason that staff members exist in a church is that they take care of things. Over time, they build up expertise and internalize information, becoming the “go to” person to deal with specific issues. This is true for some volunteers, as well. When they leave, the information leaves. Multiple times in my consulting work with churches I’ve run into situations where the church couldn’t get into their YouTube page, youth website, or something else. Why? Because the person who knew the password left and didn’t keep their old files once they stepped into their new job.
Two things to do: share information and write things down. If you are hit by a bus, will the church stop in its tracks because no one can make anything work? It shouldn’t. There needs to be some sort of system in place to handle things. Each leader should have a document that they have created which explains how the systems of the church are set up: how information is communicated, who reports to whom, what policies are in place, etc… Those documents should be collected and regularly updated. If the information is sensitive (like passwords, for example), it can be kept in a safe or other secure location, etc…
I know that it’s scary to make yourself something other than indispensable. However, part of our job as the stewards of our churches is preparing for the time that we are not there anymore.
Note: All of the above goes for Senior/Lead Pastors, as well as staffers.
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