“How to Schedule Team Members”
If your recruiting efforts were fruitful, you now have several eager Team Members waiting to be put to work, wanting to make a difference in people’s lives. The following are some practical steps you can take to mobilize your team.
- Be flexible in dealing with different personalities.
You will have people who are chronically late or no-shows, and those who are very dependable. You’ll have those who want close supervision and those wanting freedom. Be prepared to give to your volunteers what they need as a leader.
- Start by asking them what their routine needs to be.
Some might be limited by family demands, work schedules, etc. Your scheduling may even depend on who can do what on your ministry team. Help them think through special seasons, such as summer, Christmas, school starting, etc., that might affect their commitment.
- Schedule people so that they have real tasks and make a real difference.
It is very de-motivating when a volunteer doesn’t have anything to do or doesn’t see the value of what they are doing. Make sure each person is trained to accomplish something meaningful and that they walk away from the experience having contributed something.
- Limit their commitment to a certain length of time.
It is best to set a limit on the time they serve. It is easier for people to commit when they know it is only for a certain time. Generally, indefinite commitments tend to wear on people more. Schedule people for either a quarter, half a year, or full year, depending upon the needs of the ministry. Once that time is up, graciously release them without any guilt.
- Start with the most rigid schedules first, then work everyone else in.
Some can only serve the first Sunday each month, nights only or when they aren’t needed elsewhere. People will appreciate any accommodation you make for them.
- Make your schedules accessible in variety ways.
People will misplace their copy you gave them or just simply forget they were on. Make hard copies available on bulletin boards, ministry sites, besides simply mailing them out. You can also utilize secure pages on web sites.
- Train them to replace themselves, not just cancel on you.
Let them know up front that they can’t just leave a message on your machine or send you an email informing you they can’t make their commitment (especially on Saturday nights!) Sending out a roster with the names and numbers of others on the team will help them find a replacement for themselves.
- Make friendly reminder calls a couple days before they are scheduled to serve.
All it takes is leaving a voice mail or email just reminding them. People appreciate it and it can actually prevent no-shows. You can also program PCO (our scheduling software) to automate text and email reminders.
- Follow up with no-shows graciously but immediately!
It’s important we don’t grill people when they don’t show. However, if someone doesn’t show without calling, they devalue the ministry, their contribution and the commitment others have made. You must communicate the impact their absence had and insist they replace themselves or at least call next time. You need to defend the ministry and the value they bring to it.
- Check up on them periodically to see how they are doing.
Most likely adjustments will have to be made in either scheduling or ministry descriptions. Besides, it is a great leadership discipline to stay in touch and encourage those on your team.