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Staff Communication

Communicating with staff can be hard work. The following seven areas are key to effective staff communication.

Tools for communication have skyrocketed over the past few years, but more technology has not necessarily made us better at communicating. We can easily allow the fascination of technology to move our focus away from real communication. Handheld computers are improvements only if we use them wisely. H. Norman Wright said, "Communication is accomplished only when the other person receives the message we sent."

I recently met with a small group of volunteers in our church with a proposal I thought would be a good direction for their ministry. I thought I had clearly communicated the proposal, but it soon became evident that my expectations were not clear. It became an emotional issue, and it took a number of meetings to achieve a unified understanding. It reminded me again that clear communication can be hard work.

The following seven areas of communication are essential:

Equipping. One of the biggest challenges and needs comes in equipping people to take on the tasks you ask of them. Do they know how to do what you’re asking them to do? Do they know when they are succeeding? Sometimes spending time mentoring, leading, helping, and guiding is critical to the success of an operation.

Quarterly reviews. How am I doing at my job? Am I performing up to the standards expected of me? These questions need to be answered regularly. Staff who don’t know what you are thinking about their work or ministry begin to worry and speculate. This hurts everyone.

Clear expectations. Make sure you agree on what is expected from each person. If we expect to know more than we are getting, we need to advise our coworkers of that.

Regular meetings. Keep everyone on your team well-informed. Make plans and work out schedules. We do this at least every third week.

Follow-up. Do this with team members especially when a project is ongoing. Stopping in an office and telling the story is often all that is needed.

Constant communication. Use forms, memos, e-mail, and voice mail to keep others informed. Sometimes meetings take too much time, so a quick e-mail solves the problem. When leaving your office, inform your assistant or secretary where you are going and when you will be back.

Prioritizing. Too much time is sometimes spent figuring out priorities for a given week. Don’t let people go off on their own and do things you don’t think are necessary.

A published schedule of all events in the building or congregation is a tremendous help. Everyone knows what’s going on; and if there is a conflict, it can be resolved quickly.

How you say what you need to say facilitates communication. Gentleness and friendliness foster good relationships. I advise my staff to remember that relationships are the most important ingredient of communication. When we strive to create and build good relations among the staff, we often circumvent problems that originate from hurt feelings and anger. Learn to "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15).

Even with a staff of 40 people, these tools and actions make communication a joyous part of working together.

—Vernon Armitage, senior pastor, Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, Liberty, Missouri, with Mark Littleton