5 Ways To Help Your New Church Staff Hires Transition Well

I recently uprooted my life and moved 12 hours from Alabama to Houston, TX to join the team at Vanderbloemen Search Group. With it being such a big move, you might wonder if I found myself constantly questioning if I was making a mistake. However, I can confidently say that I did not. I never felt like I was making a bad decision. Why? Because my company did an amazing job of preparing for me and making me feel taken care of and welcome.

Everyone wants to hire the right church staff members, and while finding and securing those new team members is the first step, remember that helping them transition well is equally as crucial if you want to keep them on your team.

Here are a few simple ways your church staff team can help your new hires transition to your team well, especially your out-of-state hires.

1. Connect on social media.

One of the biggest ways to make a new team member feel welcome by your company is for their new colleagues to engage with them on social media. Follow them on Instagram and Twitter and add them as a friend on Facebook.

I had not even begun my long three state jounrey but I could already feel the love from my new team from 765 miles away. Every person - from our president to our intern - engaged with me on social media, allowing me to feel connected before I even stepped foot in the Vanderbloemen office.

2. Begin professional, relational, and educational development before they even start.

Another great way to make your new church staff employee feel welcome and a part of the team is to go ahead and clue them in on some of the resources that make your staff a great one. As a colleague, this could look like sending them a few work-related articles that the rest of the team has read. As an immediate supervisor, go ahead and send over the list of company recommended reading so that they can get started. Also, a "Hello, so glad you're going to be a part of our team" email that comes from a senior leader can go miles in making the new kid on the block feel welcome.

3. Equip them with info about your city.

Moving a significant amount of distance from home is already stressful enough. Throw in the fact that your new employee may know absolutely nothing about their new city and that's enough to cause a minor breakdown. However, you can make this easier on them.

Equipping your new hire with info and expectations about their new city is very beneficial. As a senior leader, ask your staff to compile a list of the best areas to live, the neighborhoods to avoid, and the most useful real estate apps and websites. Once they have settled on a place to live, have one of the new employee's teammates send over a list of all the best restaurants, grocery stores, and pharmacies in the area. Get them excited about the new area they are moving to!

4. Give them a stellar onboarding experience.

Now that your new employee has arrived, some strategic steps must come in to play to solidify that coming to your company is the best decision they have ever made.

A stellar onboarding experience plays a crucial role in the first few weeks of employment. 

Send fun and friendly onboarding emails throughout the day and week, giving your new team member something to look forward to. These can come from colleagues, supervisors, or an onboarding committee. They should include information about the history of the company, the culture of the office, facts that are specific to the industry, and fun facts about the folks that work there. These emails are a great way to make your new church staff member's first few weeks fun and informative.

5. Begin building community on day one.

We all know how important a person's community is in so many aspects of their life. Go ahead and start building a community with your new team member from the very first day. As a senior leader, make sure you are planning a sufficient amount of staff training sessions for the company as a whole. As an immediate supervisor, conducting not only team meetings but also fun activities outside of the office are a huge help. As colleagues, grabbing lunch or dinner after work can go a long way in building a strong team environment.

So whether you're the Senior Pastor of a church or a colleague, everyone is responsible for helping the new kid on the block, from near or far, transition well. It is not only beneficial to them as an employee but also to the team as a whole.

How can you ensure a smooth transition for your new hires?