On Hiring Members

By Jan Gartner

A person with a teal blouse holding a phone with their shoulder while typing on a computer keyboard.

We of get asked if the UUA has rules or recommendations about members as employees. Hiring members can work well with good boundaries and shared understandings in place. This article provides guidance and links to additional resources on the topic.

What Does It Mean to Be An Employee?

Whether they’re a member or not, ensure that each employee appreciates and honors the boundaries, role, and identity associated with being on staff in your congregation. Problems can arise when staff fail to recognize the unique responsibilities and relationships inherent to congregational employment.

Do you have policies and practices in place to aid these understandings? Are your staff held to the codes of ethics of their respective professional organizations?

When someone is both a member and an employee, they are wearing two hats – and their “staff hat” should nearly always be the one that shows.

In the Hiring Process

With member and non-member candidates alike, use the interview to set the stage for appropriate boundaries and relationships upon hire. Consider these or similar questions. (These can be tweaked to address specific situations that may come up for a particular member who is joining the staff.)

Possible Questions for All Job Candidates

  • What do professional boundaries mean to you?
  • In the course of your employment, you are likely to learn of confidential information and sensitive situations. Can you tell us about a time when you held sensitive or confidential information in a work setting?
  • During times of congregational conflict or stress, what does professionalism require of you?

Possible Additional Questions for Member-Candidates

  • If you join our staff, what do you see as the implications for your family members (if involved)?
  • How might your relationships with other congregants need to change – especially with those you consider personal friends?
  • How will you manage your relationship with your supervisor, whether that is the minister, another staff member, or a lay leader?

On an Ongoing Basis

Here are some questions for staff to ponder together at team meetings, retreats, or supervisory sessions. Introducing these topics outside of a crisis or conflict will make it easier to apply group understandings during difficult times.

  • Staff are an important part of the life of the congregation and, as part of your role, you are likely in a collaborative relationship with members of the congregation. What does it mean for those with whom you work directly to view you as a staff member?
  • What limitations should there be in talking to members about congregational business or member situations?
  • Staff are often approached by members who want to discuss (or complain about) another area of congregational life. How should you direct people regarding concerns that fall outside of your own area of responsibility?

Staff as Volunteers

Allowing member-employees to volunteer in the congregation, even in areas that seem separate from their staff work, is a slippery slope and ill-advised. It is far too easy for work and volunteer responsibilities to commingle, leading to complications with hours-tracking and pay, as well as the blurring of roles and authority.

For More Information