29 March, 2024

How to Lose Your Best People

Features

by | 12 September, 2015 | 1 comment

By Melissa Sandel

Without the proper attention, it”s easy to see volunteers drift away from your church”s ministries. Here are proven strategies to keep that from happening.

At the center of a local park near my home stands a giant sandbox filled with dozens of well-used toys. From a nearby park bench, I recently observed an industrious toddler filling a plastic bucket with sand and lugging it to his construction site. Back and forth across the sandbox he traveled many times, hauling sand in his tattered bucket. Yet little progress was being made on his sand castle.

Why? The kid had a gaping hole in his bucket””a hole about which he seemed completely unaware!

Is There a Hole in Your Volunteer Bucket?

Leading volunteers is one of a ministry leader”s most challenging tasks. Huge amounts of energy are required to recruit, train, and launch volunteers into ministry. But that”s just the beginning. Ministry leaders must then ensure great volunteers don”t burn out, bow out, or bolt out!

While it”s natural for a small percentage of volunteers to withdraw from your ministry each season for understandable reasons, many church leaders consistently find themselves unable to keep their best people. Quite simply, there”s a hole in their volunteer bucket””a hole about which they are often unaware.

In his book Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (and Their Employees), author and speaker Patrick Lencioni suggests three primary reasons great employees choose to leave a job: anonymity, irrelevance, and “immeasurement” (a word Lencioni admits he created). While written as a resource for those who lead paid staff, Lencioni”s principles are equally important for those entrusted with the responsibility of leading volunteers in the local church.

Do you want your ministry to become a magnet for attracting and retaining top-notch volunteers? Become aware of Lencioni”s signs of a miserable job and work like crazy to avoid them.

09_Sandel_JNHOLE 1: ANONYMITY

Many excellent volunteers leave their ministry positions because they see little evidence they”re known and cared for by their ministry leader. They leak through a metaphorical hole called “anonymity.”

When a volunteer strategy is working right, synergy between leaders and volunteers is fostered. Life-giving partnerships are forged. High fives, hugs, and handshakes are given. Volunteers can”t wait to serve, not only because of the meaningful kingdom work they get to do, but because of the people with whom they get to do it.

Yet when volunteer numbers are low or a stressful season hijacks a ministry leader”s attention, caring for volunteers is often placed on the back burner. A volunteer can begin to feel like a commodity to be managed rather than a teammate to be developed.

There are many pragmatic ways to ensure volunteers feel known, cared for, and appreciated. And, there”s no “one-size-fits-all” approach to volunteer care. Every ministry leader must discover his or her own style and get to work.

“¢ Make a List

Begin by making a list of the volunteers under your umbrella. What do you know about them? How can you pray for them? When is the last time each volunteer heard from you personally for a reason other than to schedule the nuts-and-bolts of their volunteer service?

“¢ Reach Out

Send them a text (perhaps an invite for coffee), interact on social media, write a thank-you note, remember their birthday, show up at the hospital, request feedback about their experience volunteering in your ministry. Simply put, do something! Let your volunteers know that their lives and perspectives are as valuable as their contributions.

“¢ Put It On Your Calendar 

Some of the best leaders I know make an appointment on their calendar each week to encourage a volunteer. They may lead dozens of people, but make it a priority to meaningfully reach out to at least one per week. So, be intentional. Create a small budget for volunteer encouragement, if needed. Your efforts don”t have to be big or costly. Just show up when it matters most, reach out on a regular basis, and watch God build a team that terrific people flock to join.

“¢ Create a Multi-tier Leadership Structure

Some ministry leaders find it difficult to care for volunteers because they”re responsible for far too many. If getting to know your volunteers seems daunting due to the sheer number under your care, perhaps it”s time to reevaluate your volunteer structure. Consider creating another tier of volunteer leaders who can develop volunteers assigned to their care.

For more info on developing a multi-tiered volunteer structure, check out the book Simply Strategic Volunteers: Empowering People for Ministry by Tim Stevens and Tony Morgan.

HOLE 2: IRRELEVANCE

One of the fastest ways to shed volunteers is to assign them a task without explaining how their investment will ultimately make someone”s life better. Whether the task is big or small, volunteers must grasp how their contribution fits into the mission of your church and, ultimately, how it adds value to others.

Last Easter, two women from the church I serve took their posts at the main entrance of our building to greet guests. Why are greeters important? A story we heard from a first-time visitor sums it up.

“I was initially hesitant to come to West Side. After all, it”s on the west side of town (in a racially and socioeconomically divided community),” the visitor said. “I assumed it was a white church and that I”d feel unwelcome. But when I saw the joy of two women at the church entrance””one black, the other white””working together, enjoying each other”s company, and offering a warm smile as I entered the building, I knew this was the place I needed to be.”

Greeters aren”t just handshakers and door-openers. They are beacons of hope. They are way-finders and tone-setters. Greeters break down barriers and prepare people”s hearts to hear from God long before they take a seat in the worship center. When we train greeters at West Side, we make sure they understand that while the task is simple, the implications of their work are deeply significant.

Want to ensure your volunteers comprehend the importance of their efforts? Consider taking the following steps.

“¢ Tell Stories

Telling stories is perhaps the most important tool in a ministry leader”s motivational toolbox. Lencioni reminds us that leaders are CROs””Chief Reminding Officers. Remind volunteers why their role matters. Leaders should always have a current story on their lips to demonstrate how God is using ordinary people in extraordinary ways.

Find volunteers doing something right and tell their story. Not only does the story affirm the successful servant, but it may also breed the same kind of behavior in others.

“¢ Eliminate Unnecessary Volunteer

Roles

Another way ministry leaders can ensure volunteers are connected to meaningful work is by eliminating unnecessary volunteer roles. If a volunteer position is redundant or leaves a person with too little work to do, eliminate it. Don”t place volunteers in positions where they will eventually conclude they”re not needed. There”s too much valuable work to do in the church to let terrific people leak from your ministry due to inadequate planning.

“¢ Confront

Unhealthy Habits

Perhaps the toughest but most productive way to ensure volunteers do not feel irrelevant is to confront unhealthy habits. If volunteers fail to show up without explanation or consistently arrive late for duty, don”t ignore it! Some ministry leaders fear confronting unproductive behavior because they assume such a conversation will result in the loss of volunteers. In my experience, the opposite has proven true. Holding volunteers accountable and maintaining high standards attracts great people.

Sure, you may need to ask an irresponsible volunteer to step down for a season if coaching doesn”t motivate them to become more reliable. Some may quit. But the volunteers you retain will likely admire your leadership moxie, appreciate the quality volunteer environment you create, and become more eager to invite other fantastic people to join your efforts.

For all these reasons, muster the courage to hold the bar high for those who serve under your leadership.

HOLE 3: IMMEASUREMENT

Lencioni observes that all human beings need to assess for themselves whether or not they are doing a good job. The more we can help volunteers grasp how to measure their own success, the more they will love their role. When success can”t be gauged, volunteers are at risk of escaping through the hole of “immeasurement.”

“¢ Track and Celebrate Progress

An old management adage says, “What gets measured gets done.” As leaders, we must determine what success looks like and inspire volunteers to get after it. The measurement should be something within the volunteer”s ability to control. Once the win is identified, help volunteers track and celebrate progress, both individually and collectively. Then, at the end of the day, you”ll be able to give God all the glory for the specific work he has done through volunteer efforts.

It matters how people feel about their volunteer contributions to the church. It matters a lot. So if there”s a hole in your volunteer bucket, don”t remain unaware. Discover and fix it because you”ll never build something remarkable with a gaping hole in your bucket.

Melissa Sandel serves as director of ministries with West Side Christian Church, Springfield, Illinois.

1 Comment

  1. john allcott

    There are some very good tips here. I’d only add that folks volunteer when they are discipled. Labor is expected of disciples. 1 Corinthians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 11:1; Philippians 3:17; 1 Thessalonians 1:6.

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Features

Follow Us