Recruiting: Three Ingredients for a Successful Search
by Dave Miller/Co-Founder
The number one question we get at Leadership Pathway from those seeking to launch a church residency leadership program is how do we find better candidates?
In fact, this is THE QUESTION we also get from the largest churches in America that’ve been doing a residency for over a decade+.
Just like in every sector (education, medical, transportation, Taco Bell) there just don’t seem to be as many candidates right now for residency as there were just five years ago. What to do?
First of all…come to grips with the fact that the calvary isn’t coming…the seminary, the college, the place you’ve been getting candidates from…you must continue to open new pipelines.
Look inside your church. I’m still surprised when a church is waiting magically for someone to fill out their very long application on a webpage that cannot be found. No talk of residency is in their communication plan at all. Your church family is the number ONE SPOT TO LOOK.
I hear many times “But our church is only ______ big” Double your weekend attendance (at least) that’s how many are coming through your doors in a month. Now, multiply that number by 5. That’s the potential pond you are fishing in. Each of those people has 5 significant relationships that may know someone. They all have a niece, nephew, cousin, friend, sibling, or former co-worker.
Expand the top of the funnel. How many “real” candidates do you believe it takes in order to you to find that perfect fit? The answer is actually ONE. Recruiting at any level in your organization is like selling a home. The old adage “it just takes ONE” is true; HOWEVER, don’t be fooled where you’ll find that one! You should double/triple the top of the funnel for next year.
Never stop when you have a certain number of resumes or interviews completed. Keep going! Get more. Who knows…you might accept them next year!
Build a recruiting team. Find people in your church family who are connectors. Engage them to be recruiting with you. Connectors are people who “know someone.” Need a plumber? Need a good restaurant with a room to rent for a meeting? Need those cushions replaced in that odd couch? Connectors respond with “I gotta guy!”
There’s a deeper dive HERE that we do with churches on recruiting of all kinds, but nothing beats consistent teamwork of reaching out to relationships asking wondering if you know of anyone.
It feels like there are hundreds of moving components and things to be done when launching a residency. But none of those things matter if you don’t have a resident moving to your town in August.
As always, please reach out if you ever want some free advice or just to commiserate! ha. We feel your pain.
PS The holidays are key times to be recruiting. The right candidates are thinking about the summer of ‘23. Are you?