BY KEN GODEVENOS, MBA, CCP, CHRP

The “temporary” classification mainly deals with the length of time involved in the working relationship, not the hours of work scheduled for a job. As a result, there might be temporary full-time, part-time, summer and casual employees. If a working arrangement goes on indefinitely, or until further notice, then you have either a regular full-time or a regular part-time employee, not a temp. The distinction is important as it might well govern the nature of the applicable benefits, depending on whether or not a part-time employee is considered regular or temporary, for example.

1. Ensure sufficient work exists for a temporary employee during the hours for which he or she is hired. Develop a job description for the temporary position. Failure to do so might result in a bored or frustrated temp and, possibly, resentful regular employees who might not clearly understand why you hired this individual.

2. Consider the temp-to-regular-employee ratio. Usually, the lower the ratio, the greater the morale among regular employees. This occurs for several reasons. First, regular employees feel more security as a group and are more comfortable with each other. Second, usually there is less risk their duties and responsibilities will be offered to the temporary employee. Third, some might dislike helping train temporary staff. While these attitudes can and should be overcome — especially among church staff — a sensitive administrator would be wise to mitigate their causes.

3. Ensure proper approval checks and balances are in place for the purpose of hiring temporary staff, especially in large churches. This includes how they are to be compensated. A good temporary-staff hiring policy goes a long way. Lack of one can cause ministry heads to assume their right to spend budgets or staff resource complements in this way when, in fact, this might not be the case.

4. Provide an appropriate, defensible salary. The issue of salary always is critical, but in the case of temporary employees, the need to get it right is paramount. Remember that in most instances, temporary employees — unless they come from a temporary-services agency — do not have benefits, which implies your salary should be sufficient to compensate for that. On the other hand, temporary employees should not normally earn more than regular employees doing similar work, or any other employee who has been doing similar work for some time and is performing above the level expected of a newcomer, regardless of classification. Overriding this is a requirement for Christian employers to be both righteous before God and to deal justly with others. The “golden rule” is a great guide in this situation.

5. Benefits generally do not apply to truly temporary employees as they might, for example, to regular part-time employees. Still, make sure you comply with all legislative requirements with respect to any compensation issues, including but not limited to a percentage amount paid for the equivalent entitlement of vacation pay.

Using a temporary-help provider

Some organizations have been very successful in using a staffing service as a convenience in filling temporary positions. The advantage is that one does not have to worry about advertising, going through resumés, conducting interviews, checking references and so on. In a church, this of course works well only when the position does not involve aspects of ministry or in any way relate to people who might expect certain types of behavior from a church employee. Such positions might include accounting and other clerical positions, maintenance jobs and more. In these cases, a staffing service might be effective.

Shelley Brennan of Vancouver, Canada-based Galt Western Personnel Limited (GWPL) recommends you ensure the following when dealing with a temporary-help provider:

• Verify that the agency guarantees 100-percent-satisfaction. They can do it a number of ways, including offering a refund of any advance paid or promising to send a new person to replace a poor performer without charging for the first person’s time.
• Research the company’s history and clients. While it might be difficult to find a company that specializes in serving churches, significant organizations should be willing to provide references that include churches in your area. I am aware of one current initiative that aims to organize a Professional Employers’ Organization especially for churches, and there might be others. Finally, check your local Better Business Bureau for any complaints launched against the company.
• Ask for the company’s privacy policy and/or code of ethics. Satisfactory review of this policy offers extra peace of mind.
• Ask the company to fully explain their candidate screening process. You might want to compare it with the processes used by other companies offering similar services, or even with your own internal process, before making the decision to go with that supplier. Candidates who end up working for you need to meet your standards, not just the agency’s.

Is it worth it?

Brennan says she understands the cost of hiring additional staff is, for some churches, an unnecessary expense when a regular staff member could simply take on additional duties, learn new skills or work overtime. However, she warns, any new skills learned are only required once, and having regular employees ignore their normal duties could harm their productivity.

For technical projects, skilled temporary staff understand not only how to build the required solution but how to build it better. As such, the cost of temporary help pales in comparison with gains in productivity.

The key to successfully employing temporary staff is found in one word: temporary. Whereas you can’t expect the same degree of loyalty and commitment as you do of your regular staff, temporary employees are staff too and should be treated accordingly. Keep their morale high by including them in appropriate church staff functions and meetings. Like all your employees, consider them children of our heavenly father. Doing so enhances the likelihood of desired results.

Question of the Month

Dear Ken,
One of the most difficult issues for administrators and board members is the policy with respect to pastoral spouse travel expenses. Most churches avoid dealing with it officially, but my church is, thankfully, now reviewing this policy. What advice can you offer?

Dear Reader,
Congratulations on tackling a tough issue! I’ve developed a series of questions to ask in your deliberations.

• Are there times when the accompaniment of a spouse (not employed by the church) on some travel will further a legitimate church objective or goal? If so, an argument could be made for providing some means of assistance for incurred costs.
• What conditions must be met to coincide with a positive answer to the first question?
• What spousal expenses (with associated limits) would be covered under such circumstances?
• How would financial assistance be provided? The General Council on Finance and Administration of the United Methodist Church provides an excellent memo (www.gcfa.org/Spousal TravelMemo.pdf ) on the topic of spousal expenses and potential tax treatment.
• Who or what body will approve the spousal travel expenses in advance on a case-by-case basis?
• How does any payment for such expenses relate to your church’s budget? Most churches have a “staff travel” line but are silent on “spousal travel.” Integrity requires that money be earmarked for a specific purpose, not for items left unaddressed in a budget.

Additionally, consider if such a policy would apply equitably to all employee spouses or just for a certain classification of employee (pastoral staff only, for example). Provide for the policy to apply strictly to a wife or husband but not to other individuals, including children.

Finally, take into account a spouse’s active volunteer status and history with the church when considering how his or her attendance at a given event will provide meaningful payback to the church, its congregation or the people it seeks to serve and reach.

Also be careful to assess the need for such a provision in the first place. In this respect, there is a big difference between a church that is struggling or paying its pastoral employees well below average for comparable positions elsewhere in the ministry and one considered to be a top-paying church. There is more rationale for a spousal travel policy in the former case, when it is more likely that a pastor could not afford to have his spouse join him at a church business event involving travel and registration.

The situation gets even more complex when one considers the earning power of one spouse (an employed professional, for example) vs. another spouse (a stay-at-home mom). While society might not expect us to differentiate, I think Christian principles and practice require it.