Telecommuting for Jesus

Pennsylvania State University studied 12,833 telecommuters and found that telecommuting programs are beneficial for both the workers and their employers. The results showed more job satisfaction, less stress, improved work-family balance, and higher performance ratings by supervisors.

Sounds great!!!! So how so you work in a church or non-profit and do this???

It’s not easy. The first hurdle is the boss, and then all the people who give to support your mission. Then the real hurdle: Your ego.

I bring this up because those who work in these sectors sometimes have the biggest problems with the work-family balance issue. There are always more people to help or more souls to save. And there is always a group of people cheering you on as you sacrifice all to do so. So how do you figure out what to do?

The first step is to get to know yourself better. Ask yourself some of the tough questions:

Who am I trying to impress? What am I afraid of? What am I trying to control and why?

As you answer these questions, you may find that telecommuting is not your solution, but rather just choosing to go home when it is time to go home (and then actually focusing on home when you are there!)

Most of us are actually choosing to neglect what we say is important in order to do things that get us positive attention from those we want to impress. We just use the “working for God” as an excuse to get our egos fed.

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The New Economy

My son and I have a game we play almost every day - it’s called “What’s the price of gas today?” He is great at remembering what and where and keeping me informed. I almost always get the lowest price around!

At one intersection close to our house there are several gas stations. Two of the stations are usually within a few cents of each other, while a third station is at least 10 cents more. Guess where the lines are.

While the more expensive gas may be a better quality, no one is there.

There is a change from “see how much I paid”… to “see how little I paid”

What does that mean for churches and non profits? More than you think.

The decades of self indulgence are coming to an abrupt halt. Giving to “bigger and better” is dead. If you want to survive, you need to know the new rules.

For years church buildings have been the height of self indulgence. I remember one church that was constructing a family life center (gym). When I asked why..the response was that the YMCA was really crowded in the mornings, and also 20 minutes farther than the church. I appreciated their answer because most churches just don’t have the guts to confess their real motives for what they build and why.

Each month our staff gets together and tells stories about the lives that we have seen changed through what we do. It is incredible to hear those stories, and know that what we do really does matter. We routinely run out of time before we run out of stories.

I have asked other groups to tell me their changed lives stories. There are blank stares, and awkward silences. If I ask them about their next building project they can talk forever - and in great detail, down to the type of carpet they are using.

Those who support us are no longer going to be moved by the expensive carpet or the new building: They are going to be moved by the lives that are changed.

It is time to rethink the purpose of our facilities, worship centers, offices, classrooms and gyms. It is time to look at the needs of our communities and see how what we have can be used to make the human condition a bit better (or a lot better). It is time to stop rationalizing multimillion dollar projects that are really just monuments to ourselves. It is time to open up, and use what we have in ways that we have never thought of before.

If you don’t have those stories to tell - then its time to close your doors.

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Non Profit Salaries and Benefits

In our last post… we made the claim that there is extra money in the salaries and benefits budgets of churches and non profits.

When a staffing need presents itself, there are always two options. Find a volunteer, or hire an employee. The default has become to waste money by hiring someone. Why? Here is the thinking…

First - If we pay someone, then the job becomes desirable.

Second- We need to pay someone the going market rate for that position.

Because they have experienced positive results in doing this in the past, they assume that it is working. They are wrong. It is not the money that brings the success…it is the process.

Think about it for a moment. In order to hire a person, you go through many specific steps. You determine the need, formulate a job description, look at resumes, interview candidates, and work out the employment details. You work hard to find the right person. Of course it works - you put a huge amount of time and energy into filling the position.

For a volunteer , there is typically an announcement in a newsletter or website stating the need for help with something. The description is usually broad and unclear. The hours and duties are flexible (unclear) because they “don’t want to scare off” a potential volunteer. They end up with people that are looking for something to do, and like the flexibility that you have communicated (low commitment) and they take advantage of it…

After a while the boss complains about the lack of commitment from the volunteer and convinces the board to go for the hire. It is not the volunteers fault it didn’t work…it is the organizations.

If they simply went through the same process for finding volunteers as they do for hires, they would have great committed volunteers who would do the job for free (or close to it).

Most organizations are wasting huge amounts of money by paying people to do what others would be glad to do for free. And it is because they are lazy.

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Non Profit Budgets in a Tough Economy

When the economy gets tough, churches and nonprofits are some of the first to feel the pinch. Both groups often live on thin budgets to begin with, and when the income slows down - it can get really difficult to make it. There are numerous articles out there (here, here, and here) on how to make you money go further, but quite honestly, they are sugar coating the problem.

Here is the uncomfortable truth: Churches and nonprofits waste tremendous amounts of money.

Each year, they go through the same budgeting process whether the economy is good or bad. They take last years budget numbers , decide what % increase is reasonable, and then try to get the budget to reflect that amount. The problem is that no one is going back to the initial basis for the budget. I have yet to see a budget for a church or non profit that doesn’t have a tremendous amount of waste built in. And the people building the budget KNOW that!

So if that’s the case - how do yet get ready for building next years’ budget?

First - Don’t let the people who are spending the budget build the budget. That is like asking my 10 year old to figure out how much candy he wants.

Second - Get the people who spent the money to justify each expenditure they made. It is very different to explain why you spent than why you want to spend.

Third - Have your board (or board reps) look over that information and decide which of those expenditures actually moved you forward in your mission. You will be surprised by the results of that action.

Fourth - Build a budget based on expenditures from last year that moved you forward combined with known unavoidable increases (insurance, membership fees, etc.)

You may notice that I have not addressed salaries and benefits — That will come next time! And there is a lot of extra money to look at in those 2 categories!

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218Answers

Do you ever look for a resource that answers the questions you have as a leader? Maybe you buy 100+ books each year - but only read 10. Time is hard to come by for a busy leader.

One of the things I have found helpful over the years is seeing the answers to questions that other leaders have. Although the situation may be a bit different from mine, there are often great nuggets of truth that can be pulled out and applied. It is a great way to get insight. That is where 218Answers.com comes in.

Over the next month, our consultants will begin compiling some of the recent questions they have been asked, and the answers they have given. If you are a current client of 218 Consulting - don’t worry! We will never give any identifying facts away- and will continue to honor our confidentiality policy.

If you have a question - get ready to submit it to us. You can help yourself and others at the same time. Watch for the 218Answers link to appear at the top of our Home page soon!

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Disruptive Innovation

I recently picked up an older copy of the Harvard Business Review and an interesting article caught my attention. In the Dec 06 issue they wrote about Disruptive Innovation for Social Change. I have read and seen many articles and posts on the value of disruptive technology (finding an underserved market and targeting their needs), but applying that concept to the social sector is an interesting idea. They use the illustration of the emergence of walk in health clinics that initially were designed to meet the needs of people with no health insurance. That evolved into a strong business strategy that also attracted people with insurance, but with little time or desire to sit in a doctor’s office to be seen for minor illnesses. What other areas are out there that the same approach could help? Are we overlooking simple solutions to many of the problems because we are too caught up in the systems that exist? Ultimately - they claim - most systems exist for the benefit of the status quo. Does yours?

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Finding Your Next Move

As several of you have noticed… the past series was more like an article than a post. My apologizes! So let’ s move to some shorter focused (and very practical) issues.

One question that I get is “how do we determine where to focus our attention?”

In the worlds of nonprofit and churches, that issues is usually it is driven by “who” more than “what”. “Who” is upset, “who” is giving money, “who” started the project, “who” will benefit from the project, etc. (is that supposed to be “whom”?)

In order to get beyond the “who” barrier, you must bring in some sort of unbiased assessment. This may be a person or an evaluation tool of some kind. Many consultants have the skills and resources to do both. ( I am not simply plugging 218Consulting…but I really do believe in what I do!) The outside consultant can see things that you haven’t, say things that you won’t, and do things that no one else can. It is, in my opinion, the best way to focus.

There are assessment tools that you can use without a consultant. For churches, I recommend Natural Church Development (NCD). This tool has a proven history in many churches across denominational and geographical lines. It measures effectiveness in 8 areas, and has a great amount of resources available to help you make progress in the areas you identify. I have used it in many churches, and seen very positive results.

Whatever you do - make your decisions wisely, not out of fear or pressure. What you do really matters, and is worth investing time and resources to do it well.

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Religion and Branding

In the world of branding, they even see the issues that the Church is facing! Check out this article on BrandChannel.

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Lets make lots of money!

Continuing in Ferrazzi’s Never Eat Alone book…

This book is primarily about networking. I don’t know about you, but networking brings several images to mind, and not all of them are positive! I imagine the guy handing out business cards as fast as he can, hoping to get a paycheck out of the deal. Or the woman working the room, making sure that everyone knows that she is there, and in a not so discrete way, letting you know she is expecting you to support her latest project.

Ferrazzi does a great job in challenging these concepts. For him, networking is about building relationships with people BEFORE they can help you, and in reality, even though they may not ever be able to help you.

I have watched a similar thing happen in the non-profit sector. Unfortunately, I am referring more to the first example than the latter. Many non-profit seek to build relationships with those who can help them. The board meets, and comes up with a list of people that can move the organization or project ahead politically, socially, or financially.

A non-profit is, by definition, created for public good. Networking should be done in a way that invests in people, not looks for investments from people. These organizations will benefit in significant ways, simply by being seen a generous (with attention) and caring. The way that people feel about a no-profit is vital to it’s ability to survive. If you only get an invitation from a friend when they need money, you are actually being treated like something other than a friend. Organizations that feel compelled to throw hugely expensive events to attract “substantial givers” and large sums of money are often prostituting themselves and their cause. A $1000 a head dinner to build a homeless shelter? Obviously, that would beÂ crazy, but many groups don’t see the disconnect they are creating. After subtracting all the costs associated with such an event, a much more community focused (and priced) event would have been the better move.

Organizations do this because it is quick and easy. Building real relationships with a community takes time, and most board members have too many other commitments to take that time.

A new position needs to be added to those boards, and it is the Community Partnership position. The purpose will be to develop a long term approach to being in the community, meeting people where they are, and even assisting other non-profits in any way you can. The goal is to make this world a better place for everyone, not just to have your non-profit get the big donation.

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