The Five “C’s” of Hiring New Staff
I’ve now had the experience of hiring several staff members, and as of last night’s family meeting at Bethel, will soon be hiring another (a part-time worship leader). Each time I’m faced with this task, I remind myself of the five “C’s” of hiring staff…
Character
Always look for character and integrity first, and in ministry, this includes the candidate’s relationship with God. Talent, expertise, and charisma are worthless if there is a fatal character flaw. An entire ministry can come tumbling down without a team that represents character.
Convictions
I’m sure I’ll be a little bit criticized for this, but I look for staff members whose beliefs are close to our own. That is, I hire Bible-believing, theologically conservative Baptists. Doctrine is a high priority.
Competence
We can argue about experience versus education all day, but really, we’re looking for staff members who demonstrate an appropriate mixture of the two to equip them for the position. And talent and giftedness have to be considered as well. Trying to do someone a favor by hiring them to do something they aren’t equipped for isn’t a favor at all, it’s a hardship on the staff member and the church.
Commitment
I look for leaders who are going to be committed to God, to the people of our church, and to me as their leader. I’m not searching for blind loyalty or “yes men,” but I will look for those who care more about the needs of the body of Christ than their own.
Chemistry
This one gets overlooked, but it’s also highly important for the long haul. Everybody needs to get along. I’m looking for someone who is not only qualified, but whose personality is a good fit for the team, especially with me. If the chemistry is off, problems are inevitable, and too many churches have died from a staff infection.
Hiring isn’t necessarily fun. We should hire slowly and fire quickly and handle every new hiring opportunity with prayer, wisdom, and God’s leadership. So far, I have yet to make a hiring decision I’ve regretted. God has blessed us with a wonderful team. There are always kinks to work out, but we’ve experienced growth at every turn.
More wisdom on hiring staff will follow in the coming days as I revisit this drawing board myself. In the meantime, any suggestions to add?
I'm a Christian, a Pastor to 
This is nice information. I can not say I have not made a hire that I did not regret.
We have a wonderful team …yet, I might just need to hear more about your hiring process as over the years I have been to the school of hard knocks early and often in hiring.
In my industry …How can I recruit more young people who have what it takes? Suggestions are welcome.
Dale, It’s an excellent and common question. I’m not sure that I have any profound answers, but I’ll offer these from-the-gut thoughts:
~ It takes time to judge character – one interview usually isn’t enough and a resume certainly won’t do it.
~ When hiring young people, look for those who don’t require constant babysitting and pats on the back. We grew up in the everyon-gets-a-trophy-regardless-of-performance generation, so it’s rare to find people who will work hard because of their ethics alone, but they’re worth hiring when you find them.
~ Spend a lot of time on the chemistry part of the equation above. Go with your gut. If you are troubled by someone’s attitude, halt until that feeling goes away.
~ Ask this great interview question (which a friend of mine who was VP of Human Resources for a well-known corporation says is the only question you’ll ever need to ask), “What is the greatest mistake you’ve made in your career so far, and what did you learn from it?”
Just a few thoughts – anyone else care to chime in?