Admit it. You have a volunteer or two in your ministry who is just not working out. You are thinking you may need to fire this volunteer. Perhaps their personality does not match the ministry. Perhaps they have some spiritual issues to work on. Perhaps they smell. Or perhaps they have issues with authority. Regardless, if someone is not a good fit, you are only bringing your ministry down by letting them stay involved.

Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, talks about getting the right people on the bus. You have to get the right people in the right positions in your ministry. The right people will help you further your vision, the wrong people will stifle it. Roger Fields really challenged me a few months ago when he told me that if I really believed in what I was doing, if I really believed that it meant something, then I would take steps to remove those who got in the way of the ministry. Unfortunately, I’ve had to fire a few volunteers (and paid staff in my secular work) and wanted to share a few things I’ve learned along the way.

Before you even think about firing someone, you need to ask yourself these questions. If you can’t answer them with the volunteer’s best interests in mind, then you need to take some steps to give the volunteer a fair shake.

• Did the volunteer have adequate guidance to do their position (i.e. job description, proper training, right supplies)?
• Did you pray over this person for several weeks to a month first?
• Did you extend grace first, overlooking smaller offenses?
• Did you approach this person with necessary feedback when they did something out of line?
• How did this person respond to your feedback?

Finally, if after adequately answering the questions above, you feel that firing is the best thing for everyone, think through these tips before handing them the pink slip:

1. Arrange your thoughts–Make sure you plan out what you are going to say and provide appropriate examples which guided your decision. Discuss this with other leaders who can help you shape how you need to say things.
2. Get some support–Be sure your supervisor knows and supports exactly what you are doing.
3. Be positive–I often overlook this one. Everyone has something you can praise. However, don’t go overboard. Don’t give them mixed signals. Praise them for something, but explain that the areas they are failing in are too damaging to the vision of the ministry.
4. Set up a quick meeting–Don’t give them a week to try to figure out what you are meeting about. I have found it best to try to set up a time within 3-5 hours of first calling them to let them know you need to meet. A long amount of time between communicating about the meeting and actually having the meeting can breed much gossip and dissension. However, don’t just pull them aside in the hallway on a Sunday morning. Be thoughtful about when to meet.
5. Have someone with you–Be sure you have a witness who can document what you say. Another staff member is appropriate or an unbiased friend of the volunteer who can back you up.
6. Be steadfast–Don’t take the attitude that this is a discussion. Allow questions and feedback, but if you go into a meeting like this, then your mind should already be made up.
7. Establish clear goals–Give them a few articles that may help them. Point them to some proven books. Give them 3-4 clear and measurable objectives to work on and let them know you are here to help them on their journey.
8. Be even keeled–Many volunteers are going to get mad. If they are doing poorly enough to get fired, they are most likely not going to expect to get fired. They may yell, they may bring it back on your faults, they may shoot a smoke screen. Regardless, do not let them get to you and keep the attitude of Christ.
9. Set a time line–Put the ball in their court to come back to you in a period of time to get their job back. Let them know you will be praying for them and will have an open door to them during this time. One year is a generally good time for someone to step back and allow the Lord to change them. Major spiritual or leadership growth does not just happen in a matter of weeks. Some volunteers, however, may not be fit for the ministry and if so, you may not want to give these folks a time line. That’s up to your discretion.
10. Write a report–Do not wait too long on this one. Write up what was said in a straight forward fashion and submit this documentation to your supervisor. Be unbiased and unemotional. Just report the facts.
11. Follow up–If you really care, you’ll touch base with this person to find out how the Lord is working in their life. A simple letter or hallway conversation every couple of months will suffice.

How about you? What would you add to the process?

Related posts:

1. Leadership Nugget–Volunteer Awards
2. Mail Chimp–Free Email Marketing for Parents and Volunteers
3. January Leadership Nugget