When it comes to church communication strategy, we often think of communicating with our members or visitors. But what about your church staff? How can you maintain healthy church staff communication?
While in-person communications are vitally important, you can use technology to foster open communication and keep everyone on task and on mission. You want your church staff to be organized and on the same page, working toward a common goal—and technology can help you get there.
We’re breaking down some basic tips to remember for healthy church staff communication, whether your church has a large staff across multiple campuses or a handful of faithful volunteers.
Utilize Different Apps for Different Purposes
There are many different forms of digital communication, and each can serve a unique purpose! Sometimes, maintaining healthy church staff communication comes down to using the right tool for the right message.
Email is the most popular option. The general rule of thumb in corporate America is to reply to emails within 24 hours, and many churches have adopted similar policies for their staff. Because of this, email communication can be used for nonurgent matters or general mass communications amongst staff or church volunteers.
Chat apps like Slack or Microsoft Teams have greatly increased in popularity. These apps generally serve for more immediate and simple communications such as “Do you have time for a quick meeting?” or “Can you approve this Instagram post that’s going out today at 2:00 p.m.?”
Remember Tone
When writing any sort of digital communication, it’s important to remember how your message will come across without the recipient seeing your facial expression or body language. Sarcasm doesn’t come across well, and some statements can be misinterpreted as anger. This doesn’t mean you need to completely change your communication style—it’s just a reminder that digital communications can be interpreted differently than expected.
Additionally, different generations interpret writing differently, so keep that in mind when crafting your church staff communications. If you have a sensitive message to share, consider saving it for your next in-person meeting to avoid any miscommunications.
Organize and Share Everything
Use the cloud to improve your staff ministry communications! Organizing all of your files in one place (such as Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive) can help members of your staff to easily find what they’re looking for. Migrating from desktop apps like Microsoft Word to Google Docs means everyone can collaborate on docs together, such as meeting notes, to-do lists, and content planning.
This solution also allows you to avoid endless email threads about edits to documents or posts. Most online word processors have comments features, so everyone can leave notes, respond to questions, and make edits easily without having to send a separate email.
Meet in Person
This isn't technology, but we need to remember that using technology to communicate should be secondary to in-person communications. Having regular meetings with your staff and church volunteers can make your digital communications more seamless and can also reduce the amount of back-and-forth over emails.
This also allows you to connect more deeply with your staff, which can’t be achieved with technology alone. Balancing in-person and digital communication is key to fostering open communication and productivity! Organize your church records in one place with Church360° Members church management software.