4 Reasons Why Better Onboarding to Your Team is Critical for Young Leaders

by Kristin Miller, Director of Resident Development

When it comes to launching a sustainable leadership pipeline through residency the onboarding can make or break the experience.

There’s a reason airlines have pre-boarding groups when getting on an airplane. Those that have earned it, or need a bit of extra help, get to go first. This may be frustrating to you if you’re back in group 5 in the middle seat with no overhead bin space, but they’ve done this a few times and understand how to make it happen.

Did you know that 33% of all new employees begin to look for new jobs within months of receiving their first one? Turnover can cost anywhere between 100% and 300% of a teammate’s salary.

There has to be a better way…and there is!

In our conversations with hundreds of residency candidates and churches from coast to coast we’ve learned from them about how to pre-board and onboard the youngest leaders as they arrive on their team.

We have found that paving the way early on with pre-boarding (before a resident arrives on your campus) and onboarding with a resident is absolutely essential and leads to a strong start in residency. This many times leads to a better hire two years later!

It starts with the pre-board and the on-board and here are a few things we’ve learned from great churches:

Here are Four Things We’ve Learned:

// Keep the “woo” turned on even after all parties have agreed. A lot can transpire in this time span. A lack of communication may raise questions for the resident, wondering if he/she should have accepted this position, but intentional communication by a number of people (Host family, supervisor, coach, other residents, future team members, etc.) on your end can significantly alleviate doubt. Value is added, too, when you go the extra mile mailing some church and regional swag. Think of this similar to the recruitment colleges and universities use to woo students to their schools. They don’t cut off contact once the student has accepted a scholarship or determined who their roommate is. Create excitement by communicating regularly and creatively!

// Purposeful onboarding communicates anticipation and emphasizes the importance of establishing clear expectations. If, for example, your new resident is chomping at the bit to "do something," assure him or her that this is a time first to observe and learn culture and processes, so as not to unravel what has already been formed to this point at your church. Foster the method of “You watch, I do. I do, You help. You do, I help. You do, I watch, etc. Developmental conversations with him/her are essential so that your resident isn’t wondering why he's not trusted and instead begins to compare himself to others in his friends' circle who are already working jobs as employees somewhere. We recommend scheduling at least one hour a week one-on-one with your resident. During that time, explain your process, sharing a spreadsheet with your plan to introduce skills and handoff certain responsibilities over time. Remove the uncertainty, while also preparing your resident to not be spoon-fed tasks each day.

// Fostering community and connection for your resident are musts. I get it, you may be thinking, ‘I’m their supervisor; I can’t possibly be responsible for their social life, too!’ But, I assure you that if a resident doesn’t feel welcome and connected, he/she doesn’t feel that they belong and ultimately, your church doesn’t become their church, and they won’t be sticking around long-term, no matter the great growth process you have for them.

We’d recommend that you plan ahead for the first few weeks especially to introduce your resident to some key volunteers who might wind up being great mentors to have coffee with. You could schedule a lunch, as well as a fun activity outside of work with your team members to allow your new resident to become acquainted with them. It would be beneficial, too, to offer a couple of small groups for your resident to consider plugging into, and especially if your church doesn’t have very many young adults, inquire where they could connect with other peers. Having your resident tag along with you for meetings you have with other pastors or community leaders allows him/her to witness networking, and they just might make a personal connection they wish to maintain in the process.

Belonging is everything, especially if you hope to train a resident who could wind up at your church for years to come.

// Communicate to your entire staff team that you want more FOR this new resident than from them. That's a hard shift in thinking for some, and I can even say, in my own experience, I've had to re-remind myself of that in the craziness of busy ministry seasons. Residency is fundamentally designed to make your young leader highly desired and hirable into ministry. More and better are needed in the Church, and you and your team can be instrumental in handing off the baton of leadership to a resident you’ve helped develop into a leader. How satisfying is that?

Welcoming a new one to your team requires careful attention before they arrive and when they do. Helping one not quit within the first 90 days is a must, and these steps are some ways to hopefully get you past the first 3 months.

If you need help thinking through the pre-board, on-board, or how to launch residency book a call.