Most congregations are unaccustomed to sharing staff and it can take a little getting used to. Here we address a few areas that you may find tricky. These should not be seen as barriers, but as opportunities for the kind of intention that we hope you show in all of your employment relationships.

Remote Work

Sharing administrative staff often (though not always) means that the administrator is working fully or largely remotely for at least one of the congregations.

Congregational leaders (and sometimes administrators themselves) may be reluctant to engage someone in an administrative role who won’t be onsite regularly. Concerns include: supervision, time zone differences, out-of-area payroll, building relationships, and responsibilities that seem to require an in-person presence.

Tips

• Just because you are used to having something done onsite doesn’t mean it has to be done that way. Experienced administrators are generally skilled at getting things done remotely. Be prepared to change your processes.
• Build the relationships that will be important to successful functioning without the benefit of regular face-to-face interactions. Can staff and/or other team meetings be attended virtually?
• Ask mid-career professionals in your congregation! You’ll likely find many who are working remotely and have great practical experience to share.

Differing Systems and Processes

The need to learn two different databases, communication platforms, or workflow processes can make working in two similar jobs feel more complicated than it should be.

Tips

• Keep in mind that having different systems and processes provides opportunities for congregations to learn from each other.

• Consider whether common systems are possible, especially if either congregation is inclined to change a system or platform for other reasons. A new administrator coming in may have expertise that can help you.

• Take into account time needed for learning and adjusting to an unfamiliar system.

Coordination Between Congregations

Even if the two (or more) congregations haven’t collaborated on the hire and haven’t been in relationship, there are often still things like scheduling and benefits to coordinate.

Tips

• We provide some guidance on our Sharing Staff page.
• Have a clear point person in each congregation to manage questions and concerns that may arise from the shared arrangement.
• When an employee serves more than one congregation participating in a UUA benefit, hours are combined for eligibility purposes. Reach out to our Benefit Plans and Services group (BenefitPlans@uua.org) for assistance.
• Discuss and calendar well in advance any items that may entail altering the regular schedule. (For instance, do you want the administrator available during your annual meeting?)

Culture

Remote work, differing systems, and benefits coordination are primarily technical problems. But navigating two different congregational cultures? That’s more of an adaptive challenge.

An administrator may have roughly the same job “on paper” in two congregation and yet discover very different norms around supervision and evaluation, approaches to conflict, expectations of staff availability off-hours, and more.

Tips

• One of our cohort members reflected that “The work is easy, but the relationship can be hard.” Be intentional. Be open to reflection on congregational culture. See this article on Practicing Intercultural Agility.

• Refer back to the Groundwork page, especially the Boundaries section, for resources on healthy leadership. Still have questions or need support? Reach out to your regional contact.

• You have likely made assumptions about “how things are,” only to learn that congregations and people are different, so expectations may need to be adjusted.