Introduction to The Discipline of Hiring in Ministry

Dr. Glenn Miller, host of the Leadership and the Church podcast, and CEO of Miller Management, is joined by his colleague Tracy Hale, CEO at Youth Volunteer Corps.

The introductory episode of The Discipline in Hiring in Ministry

Tracy also has a personal relationship with Miller Management. YVC is a current MM client, but even more so through previous employment as MM’s Vice President. During her tenure, she and Glenn created a course, How to Hire, Motivate, and Release Staff, as a training workshop for MM clients. We are pleased to have her on the podcast this month to help clarify these big issues.

Discipline of Hiring

No one likes the word discipline. Or patience. And definitely not “it takes however long it takes.” But all three: discipline, patience, and time are all necessary in the Discipline of Hiring in Ministry.

The first thought is the monetary side. There is the cost of marketing a new job position. And the onboarding cost. “But,” as our guest points out, “it’s not just about the monetary side, the bigger piece is the non-financial side.”

Northwestern University research states that the cost of a bad hire is about 30% of their annual salary. Some of the other factors involved in a bad hire include:

  • Impact of money
  • Impact of current staff
  • Impact towards constituents

“We need to slow down and take our time in hiring the right people.” – Glenn Miller


How does a bad hire impact your staff?

“Often your current staff are going to have to do the work of the bad hire. Which means that you now have more employee issues to manage,” says our guest. Plus, they are probably actively thinking about how bad the hire is, and are distracted in doing their own work. Which could lead to more stress with the extra workload and the extra time thinking about things they can’t change.

How does this impact your constituents?

You’re entire mission and vision can be impacted if you are not able to accomplish what is it you should be doing because of those bad employees. Could it also be a bad reflection of Christ? Depending on the job, we think, yes. Which could be a negative reflection on our ministry. Not to mention the embarrassment factor of not being able to hire the correct people in ministry.

Why is discipline important?

When our host asked that question, Tracy said: “Discipline can make you do something you don’t want to do, or it’s hard to do, but it also gets you to a place you definitely want to be.” The effects and benefits of good discipline can really benefit the whole company.

We hire our own problems.

From the workshop that Glenn and Tracy put together many years prior, one of the big takeaways from that course is: “We hire our own problems.” You may not see it in the beginning, but later on, you will realize you wouldn’t be in this position if you hadn’t make that hire.

Coming Up Next

This month is all about tangible steps to be able to walk out your mission and vision more effectively through utilizing these disciplines of hiring. Check out Hiring 101 while you wait for the next episodes.

Next week’s episode our host and guest will discuss Success Criteria and Developing a Ministry Description. The following week will be about Recruiting and Interviewing. The final week will be devoted to Assessing the Candidates and Forming an Effective Offer.



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Special thanks to our guest, Tracy Hale, and our master of all things podcasting, Chris Miller, for this introductory episode in The Discipline of Hiring in Ministry series.