This week I’ve felt challenged to look at how we use our communications assets – specifically social media.
What if…
This week I’ve felt challenged to look at how we use our communications assets – specifically social media.
What if…
Recently my husband and I went on a vacation. I found myself one day, wandering the market, looking at souvenirs. Should I buy the kids t-shirts they’ll grow out of? Should I buy jewelry, toys, trinkets? Will they like the style and color of jewelry I pick out? Or will it sit in a drawer – never worn? Will the kids play with the toys? Will they break? Will they fight over them? Will the trinkets sit on a shelf, collecting dust, becoming a burden?
As I wandered the market – each booth blending and blurring together – items at one seemingly identical to the others – my mind drifted to our church management software.
I love that fact that we customize our fields. And that we can add additional custom fields. But are we taking it too far in some cases? Are we creating fields that are unmanageable? Want to track people’s favorite foods for the next church-wide dinner? We can do that. Want to know their favorite music? Their favorite restaurants? Their favorite type of cheese? We can do all of that. Under the profile fields, I’ll add in a field for favorite cheese.
But what happens if the church grows exponentially? What happens when the cheese ministry leader gets called to another ministry? Say, maybe, the fruit ministry?
And now – when you export that spreadsheet – there are huge gaps – missing information. And then we spend our time trying to chase down information, filling gaps that ultimately, may not be that important.
At the end of our shopping, I realized that the best ‘souvenir’ I could bring home, was a well-rested, clear-headed, refreshed and renewed version of myself. One that wasn’t feeling distracted or irritated. A version of myself that wasn’t stressed from trying to pack breakables into an already full suitcase or stressed whether someone would like the jewelry or toys I’d picked out.
Take a look at your profile fields. Do you need to know all of them? Is it time to get back to the basics? Look at what you’re realistically using the software for and what you want out of it. I have a friend who compares life to shooting. You aim first, then shoot. You don’t fire and hope it lands somewhere near the target.
Decide why you have the software and what you really want and need it to do. Build your profile fields around that.
Chances are, you don’t need to keep track of favorite restaurants…or cheese.
“Mom, can I have the keys to the car? I’d like to go out.”
“Sure, son. See you soon.”
Except that ‘son’ hasn’t passed a driver’s test. He doesnt’ have his license. He never even gotten his permit. He hasn’t taken Driver’s Ed class. And he’s never driven this car.
Would you do it?
I hope not.
And yet, we do it every day with our software access.
New staff member? You get staff access.
New ministry team leader? You get ‘group leader’ status.
New teacher? Don’t forget to take attendance.
Software administrators get frustrated when data is entered outside of the boundaries of standard operating procedures.
Executive Pastors get frustrated when their end reports are inaccurate.
And our new-hires and ministry leaders are frustrated because they don’t know what they did wrong.
Here are a few things that can help avoid some uncomfortable situations and unwanted scenarios:
1. Training. This is my favorite word. Set aside some intentional training time for new-hires, new group leaders, no ministry directors, etc. Make it part of the onboarding process. The more access they have, the more training they need.
2. Continuing Education. Just as software administrators receive emails from software companies regarding software updates, so should the people using the software. Anytime there is a software that will effect their area of ministry, make time to talk to them about it.
3. Clear Expectations. Do the teachers know they are supposed to take attendance? Do the ministry team leaders understand they are expected to use the software to plan events and schedule volunteers? Do group leaders know this is used as the primary means of communication? Make sure they know what’s expected.
4. Written Documentation of Policies. Written documentation protects you from being accused of favoritism. There’s temptation to make one person sit through an hour-long training session, while you let another person slide because you know he or she is a computer genius and has a PhD in Computer Science. Don’t do it. Develop a set of standards. Write them down. Everyone should follow policy.
5. Revoke Privileges. This is my least favorite thing to do. If you break a traffic law, your license could get suspended or revoked. If someone is using the software in a way that is causing you to consistently go in behind them and “fix” or “undo” what they’ve done, revoke their privileges and have a private conversation with them. Chances are very good they simply forgot to do something or this topic was overlooked in the original training. In most cases, privileges can be reinstated after they’ve had a ‘software refresher course.’
The good news is that most of the current ChMS programs on the market today, have ways to fix, or undo, any data entry errors. Also remember that this is just a software program – a tool in the process – and that any relationship with a co-worker, fellow church member, and friend is to be treasured far more than the systems, processes, and tools we use.
As we’ve already established, this is my comfort zone:
The only thing it’s missing is my phone which is always nearby (skin grafted to the palm of my hand).
Except today.
Oh, how I was looking forward to today.
There are six of us living in our relatively small-ish 3-bedroom, 2-bath house. I love my family. I LOVE MY FAMILY. But, there are times when you crave peace, quiet, a space alone, time to clean out a closet without distractions, and a good chick flick.
Due to different schedules, vacations, and grandparents, I realized my oldest son and I were going to have roughly 36-hours at home alone.
That’s 36 hours of peace, quiet (well, he’s a guitarist with multiple amps, so maybe not so quiet), space alone, time to clean out a closet (or two), and maybe even a good chick flick.
And then the church member.
I am having trouble with my class attendance and follow up report.
I’ll investigate that for you.
Would you come to my class Sunday and help me?
No. I can’t on Sunday.
Why?
I will not be at church Sunday.
Where will you be?
Here:
On my couch. Watching a televangelist. Maybe even eating bon-bons.
“Hmmm…” She said, “bon-bons or the WORD OF GOD?”
Guilt trip, anyone?
Okay, okay, I’ll be here. Meet me in the office and we’ll go over attendance.
The guilt trip continued to the next stop until we reached our final destination.
I’ll go to her class. I’ll stay in her class and maybe even participate. I’m even staying for church.
But, truthfully, I don’t think I’d have been happy staying at home this morning.
I’m grateful to be here.
Just like you can’t do it all; you also cannot do it alone. Being the software administrator, you’re probably also in some type of leadership position at your church. While teaching others how to manage their own areas of the software and not trying to do it all, you also need other leaders around you. Here are some ways that have helped me:
Managing the database is not an easy job. Get some people around you that will make you smile and laugh. Get some people who will pray for you when things don’t go as planned. Don’t do leadership alone.
January 1, 2017
As I was thinking about starting a blog, I realized my blog needed a theme. Trust me, you WANT me to have a theme. You don’t want some of the random thoughts that just come out of my head.
My boss has referred to me as “process thinker.” And since the boss is always right, I thought about how that would fit into my blog. Late last night, I realized that processes are good, but they should lead to progress. As Christians we are always growing and progressing. Moving forward, not backward.
This morning, as I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed, this article came up:
How to Have a Better, Bolder 2017: Embrace the Process
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Some things you’ll find:
Any questions?
Let’s go…
the process of progress
Helping you experience a better online community
the process of progress
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