Jan Gartner

Compensation and Staffing Practices Manager

Office of Church Staff Finances in Ministries and Faith Development

Email: jgartner@uua.org

Telephone: (617) 948-6424

Jan Gartner

Jan Gartner

Jan is passionate about helping congregations live their values within their walls! Her work is inspired by the mission of the UUA Office of Church Staff Finances: Guided by Unitarian Universalist values, we equip congregations for excellence as employers and their staff for financial competence and well-being.

In her role as Compensation and Staffing Practices Manager, Jan oversees the UUA Compensation Program and helps congregational leaders and staff with a wide variety of personnel-related matters. She is the primary author of the monthly publication, Compensation and Staffing News. She serves on the Transitions Plus Team.

Special interests include productive professional transitions, robust staff teams, economic sustainability of congregations, and Polarity Thinking. Jan’s 2019 sabbatical project is entitled, Reimagining for Resilience: Evolving Reflections on Congregational Staffing and More.

Jan joined the UUA staff in 2011, moving to the Office of Church Staff Finances after 5 years in the Professional Development Office. A Credentialed Religious Educator, Jan previously worked in religious education at the congregational and district levels and served as a Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA) Good Officer and Board member. She strives to bring all of the skills and sensibilities of an educator to her current role!

Jan telecommutes from her home near Rochester, NY, where she lives with her husband, Mike. They have three young-adult children. Jan is an avid walker, a lover of word and number puzzles, and an enthusiastic soprano in the First Unitarian Church of Rochester choir.

From Jan Gartner

Displaying 1 - 10 of 54

Involuntary terminations are never easy. Ensure the best possible outcomes for the congregation while offering kindness and respect to the employee. This is a chance for the congregation leadership to practice UU values.

By Jan Gartner | October 24, 2023 | From LeaderLab

For congregations that own a parsonage, consider the possibilities as well as implications for structuring a ministerial agreement.

Leader Resource | By Sean Griffin, Jan Gartner | August 29, 2023 | From LeaderLab

Every year, we update our Benefits Tune-up Workbook, one of the most popular resources offered by the UUA Office of Church Staff Finances.

By Jan Gartner | April 3, 2023 | From MidAmerica News

This page provides benefits process guidance as well as recommended benefit levels. When providing benefits for your employees, both "how" (process) and "how much" (levels) are key to putting Unitarian Universalist values into action. Includes important reminders specific to UUA benefits.

By Jan Gartner | February 16, 2023 | From LeaderLab

The UUA offers a Congregational Salary Program as a service to congregational leaders. Our approach emphasizes process and values, with recommended salary ranges provided for six job levels in four congregational size profiles.

Leader Resource | By Jan Gartner, Sean Griffin | November 15, 2022 | From LeaderLab

We have transitioned to a new Congregational Salary Program but are making information from the earlier version of the program available here, including the '22-'23 Geo Index Listing and Salary Tables.

Leader Resource | By Jan Gartner | November 9, 2022 | From LeaderLab

When your congregation has staff but no staff member is in a supervisory role, you will need to find a volunteer lay leader to fill that role. 

By Jan Gartner, Renee Ruchotzke | November 2, 2022 | From LeaderLab

Problems can arise when staff fail to recognize the unique responsibilities and relationships inherent to congregational employment. 

By Jan Gartner | November 2, 2022 | From LeaderLab

We're undertaking the first significant revisiting of the methodology behind our Salary Recommendations since the UUA Compensation Program was introduced in 1995.

By Jan Gartner, Sean Griffin | August 24, 2022 | From LeaderLab

A polarity is an interdependent pair of needs, values, or goals. Although the two poles seem to be in tension with each other, both are good and true, and they depend on each other over time. Neither can exist alone. Use Polarity Thinking to reframe competing needs as complementary.

By Jan Gartner | August 12, 2022 | From LeaderLab

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