Office ManagementNational Institute in Church Finance

& Administration (NICFA)

Emory UniversityCandler School of Theology

June 27, 2012

Minister to the CongregationDunwoody United Methodist Church1548 Mt. Vernon RoadDunwoody, GA 30338

770-394-0675, ext. 114david.melton@dunwoodyumc.org

Office Management Part 1Presented by Rev. H. David

Melton

Who am I?My Ministry Experience

Church Administration is:

◦ Not what you do, while you’re waiting for the “real” ministry of the church to happen

Introduction

◦ Ministry, not methods

◦ Management, not manipulation of people and paper

◦ People, not paperwork

1 Corinthians 14: 33, 40

… for God is a God not of disorder but of peace.

God is in the Details

… all things should be done decently and in order.

Which is correct?

◦ “The Church needs to start functioning more like a business and less like a church.”

Introduction

Or

◦ “The Church needs to stop functioning like a business and start acting more like a church.”

The conceptual difference is in a Christ-centered approach

People and mission are the main focus, not the return on capital investment.

Introduction

Professionalism

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit, and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (I Corinthians 12: 4-7)

Demonstrated by:

◦ Your character . . . Who you are

◦ Your support system . . . Who you know

◦ Your knowledge . . . What you share

◦ Your performance . . . What you do

◦ Your commitment . . . . How you persist

Professionalism

What are the attributes of a professional?

◦ Punctual

◦ Respect others and their space and time

◦ Produces quality work

◦ Being proficient

◦ Person who takes responsibility

◦ Assertiveness – shows initiative

Professionalism

Positions

◦ Consider personality assessment tools when matching persons to positions

◦ Insure each staff member knows their job description

◦ Require a yearly evaluation for all positions ◦ Develop and distribute organizational chart

The Changing Role of the Church Office Professional

Image – First Impressions

◦ How we look – Dress Code/Grooming

◦ How we say it – Positive and affirming

◦ How we do it – Positive and helpful

Professionalism

“Come . . . make yourself at home”A way of hospitality

by Dr. D. B. Shelnutt, Jr.Johns Creek UMC

Professionalism

Effective Teams

“Those of us who love God, especially those of us in the church, should pull together as a team. We

should not pull against each other and we should not try to pull anyone else down.” (Ephesians 4:1 – 3)

What is team building?

Effective Teams

What is the definition of a team?

◦ People working together in a coordinated effort.

◦ Activities that enables the team to discover its best operational style and objectives

Belonging Together

◦ Belonging serves as the foundation of the team building process. Remember “Cheers” a place where everyone knows your name.

Effective Teams

◦ There is a societal paradigm shift occurring. The shift is away from the independent “get the job done” to a society that is begging to see a community of friends work it out together.

Recognition

No mater how you do it, find ways to show staff members how valuable they are.

Effective Teams

Growing Together

◦ Make learning a priority. Develop short and long range education plans yourself and other office staff.

◦ Take advantage of “in house” or team member sharing.

Effective Teams

Serving One AnotherA very significant act that will have awesome

results.

Effective Teams

Pray for each other Affirm each other Leave little gifts, notes, surprises for each

other

Reaching Together

◦ Sharing the vision

◦ Creating unique ways to own the vision

◦ Team building is hard work and needs to be a high priority

Effective Teams

As members of the Dunwoody UMC Staff, we covenant with one another to:

 

Pray regularly for one another

Provide each other with honest, timely, communication and feedback

Create a sense of “team,” seeking to make others “successful,” and to understand how our individual actions affect the workings of the team as a whole

Provide public support of one another, using private settings to share our concerns and to work out our differences; we will learn from our mistakes

Maintain a high level of confidentiality in staff discussions

Staff Covenant - Dunwoody UMC

As members of the Dunwoody UMC Staff, we covenant with one another to:

 

Listen really seeking to hear and understand with our heads and hearts what is being said

Carry our part of the work load, not depending on others to pick up our slack; be accountable to one another, we will lead and be led

To feel comfortable in asking for “help” of our fellow staff members

Use the provided systems to uniformly work and communicate with one another

Seek to be faithful to God’s will in all we say and do

Staff Covenant - Dunwoody UMC

Basic Coach Training HandbookBy J. Val Hastings

Empowering Others, Empowering Yourself

Team Building

Workflow: Managing office work in terms of the demands of the individual work item.

Workload: Managing office work in terms of the available resources and structures.

Work Control: Managing the balance between workflow and workload.

Process Management

First, focus on the whole project, what is your end goal

Second, understand the project at multiple levels:◦ From task to task◦ From worker to worker◦ From ministry area to ministry area ◦ From ministry area to parishioner

There is a difference between a project focus and a task focus

Workflow

Assertive Supervision◦ Susanne S. Drury

Assertive Supervision Progressive Leadership Model

◦ J. David Stone The Complete Youth Ministries Handbook

Situational Leadership Model◦ Kenneth Blanchard

The One Minute Manager◦ Paul Hersey

Situational Leader

Styles of Supervision

Be direct in what is needed/wanted Say what you need to say in a direct way,

but with respect for others.◦ This is what I expect. What do you need from me

to help you be successful?

Assertive Supervision

The Stages of Ease

I do it - You watchI do it - You helpYou do it - I supportYou do it - I move on

Progressive Leadership Model

Scheduling activities and facilities usage is a never-ending job

Church Calendar: No Matter What – Have one!

◦ Desk/Wall type calendars◦ Calendar software◦ Event Planning Software

Calendar Collisions

A good calendar program:

◦ Tracks room usage◦ Custodial/maintenance work orders◦ Energy needs◦ Multiple staff can view◦ Has pop-up reminders◦ Interfaces with personal calendars◦ Allows advance planning 12-24 months ahead

Calendar Collisions

Create policies that address how rooms are scheduled and which groups have priority over others

Limit authority to input or change schedules to one or two persons

Create calendar request forms that provide complete details of each event (i.e. times, special set-up instructions, media needs)

Allow at least 24-48 hours before approving request to check for all potential conflicts

Designate a “keeper of the calendar” and an “arbitrator”

Calendar Collisions

QUESTIONS?

Church AdministratorDunwoody United Methodist Church1548 Mt. Vernon RoadDunwoody, GA 30338

770.542.1662 (O)678.221.4773 (C)Jim.boyea@dunwoodyumc.org

Office Management Part 2Presented by Jim Boyea

Supplies & Purchasing

Record Retention

Safety & Security

Supplies & Purchasing

How Do You Do Business?

Supplies & Purchasing

“Nowadays people know the price of

everything and the value of nothing.”- Oscar Wilde

“Good stewardship has less to do with how much money is saved and more to do with how much money isn’t wasted.”

- Anthony Coppedge

Supplies & Purchasing

Focus on total cost

Price = What you pay for the item

Total Cost = Price + +

Supplies & Purchasing

Orders totaling $500 or more: Require a Purchase Order

Orders less than $500 are ordered directly from vendor by individual ministry departments

Avoid splitting orders to avoiding the PO process

Central Budgeting & Purchasing for Standard Inventory Items

Supplies & Purchasing Purchasing Groups

◦ National Church Purchasing Group8108 Virginia Manor Drive • Mechanicsville, VA 23111 • Phone: 800-795-NCPG • ncpg.net

◦ Shared Church Services • 5118 Park Avenue • Memphis, TN 38117 • (800)301-CORD sharedchurchservices.com

◦ FMS Purchasing & ServicesPO Box 7768 • Clearwater, FL 33758-7768Phone: 800-456-2025  fmspurchasing.com

Record Retention 35% of documents contain legally sensitive

info*

1 out of 4 documents is subject to compliance**

49% of Companys are “not confident” they could show records are accurate, reliable, and trustworthy*

*Source: Cohasset Survey 2005** Source: Vanson Bourne Consultancy

The Seven Deadly

Sins of Records Retention

Record Retention

1. Not keeping your records separate from your backup.

Record Retention

2. Expecting the legal department to produce a rule of thumb for how long to store records.

Record Retention

3. Assuming that document retention is someone else's job.

Record Retention

4. Not being able to respond quickly to a request.

Record Retention

5. Having a policy you can't follow.

Record Retention

6. Failing to offer guidance on how to destroy old records.

Record Retention

7. Telling people to delete information at the wrong time.

Record RetentionHard Information

Must be protected in a locked area with controlled access.◦ Personnel records, counseling files, private

correspondence, memo’s, pledge cards, giving records

Paper Shredders◦ When hard information is no longer needed - -

Don’t Dump – Shred!

Record RetentionSoft Information

Information stored in the church computer or network.

Key to keeping these records private is access.

◦ Carefully evaluate who has viewing rights as well as who can change the contents. Establish different security levels for different job descriptions and the types of information.

Workplace Safety & SecurityWorkplace Personal Safety

Highest Priority. Safety and Security occurs at two levels:◦ Workplace environment and those things we have

control over;◦ External factors we cannot control. For these

things, the best we can do is have measures in place to reduce and minimize harm to others and ourselves.

Workplace Safety & Security Provide regular opportunities for formal

dialogue between staff and supervisors

◦ Creates openness between staff and supervisors◦ Provide an instrument to guide dialogue

Staff Review

Workplace Safety & SecurityBest Practices Minimizing/Recognizing Risks

◦ Assess how well you are doing Communications

◦ 2-way, cell phone, intercom, “code words” Audits

◦ Security audit – Use police department, security firm, consultant

Workplace Safety & Security Leaders are encouraged to equip themselves with tools that can be used to resolve conflict.

Create a culture that encourages mutual respect and open communication.

Conduct training in conflict resolution, how to report and handle complaints of unfair treatment, and how to recognize signs of a potentially violent employee.

Violence often results from stress, either on or off the job, and pushes people “over the edge.”

Screen thoroughly; have a written ZERO tolerance policy for workplace violence, report all threats of violence to the police.

Learning From Each Other

“Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from experience of others, are also remarkable for their disinclination to do so.”

-Douglas Adams

NACBA www.nacba.net

NACPA www.nacpa.org

NACFM www.nacfm.org

NACFS www.nacfs.org

GACHP www.gachp.org

Learning From Each Other