Staff Culture & Practices

Staff Radiating Communication
We work in a mix of remote and in-person. Our schedules shift depending on the season, the needs of the congregation, and the realities of life. Who happens to be in the office on any given day shouldn't determine who knows what's going on.
So we practice radiating information. Instead of waiting for someone to ask what you're working on, you push that information out proactively. You make your work visible so others can find it when they need it.
When information lives in someone's head, other people have to chase it down. That creates bottlenecks. It means duplicated questions. It means that low-grade feeling of never quite knowing what's happening in a ministry area that touches yours. It also means spending our time together updating each other rather than connecting with each other, or diving into what is best done in person.
The Four Mechanisms
1. What did you work on today?
You'll be asked this every afternoon via a recurring question in the HQ. You are required to answer at least twice a week.
Don't just list tasks. Say what you worked on and give a sentence of context about why it matters or where it fits in the bigger picture.
2. What will you be working on this week?
You'll be asked this every Monday morning as a recurring question. Answer every week.
You don't need to do this on Monday. But as you start your week, spend a few minutes naming at least your top three areas of focus. This helps the rest of the team know what's in motion and where things might intersect. It also means fewer surprises when two people discover they've been working on overlapping things without knowing it.
3. Team Heartbeats
A monthly written update from each ministry team, due by the first Friday of the month.
Heartbeats are how we tell the story of our work to each other. They summarize the big picture accomplishments from the last four weeks. They detail the little things that mattered. They highlight why the work was important and who it served. And they don't shy away from the hard stuff either. Challenges, difficulties, things that didn't go as planned: those belong in a heartbeat too.
On balance, heartbeats should feel good to write and genuinely fun to read. They help everyone on staff, including those not directly involved with the work, reflect on jobs well done and progress well made. They also give us something invaluable at the end of the year: a real record of what we did, what we learned, and how we grew.
A heartbeat should take about 30 minutes to write. If you're spending much longer than that, you're probably overcomplicating it. Tell the story of the month. That's it.
Who writes them. Team leads assign the writing of their heartbeat across these areas:
Area
Writer
Executive Team
Gretchen or Sean
Family Ministry
Lauren M
Groups & Engagement
Lauren F
Administration
Jenn
Justice and Social Change
Sara / Gretchen / Sean
Care and Community
Elaine (Carla during sabbatical)
Worship & Music
Sophia
How to post. Heartbeats go on the Heartbeats message board. Select the Heartbeat category when posting, and use this naming format:
Headline + [Team Name, Month Year]
4. Recurring Reminders for Operational Tasks
Recurring questions are for radiating information, not for tracking chores. Operational nudges live in the Recurring Tasks list instead. Some things just need a reminder on a schedule: coding your credit card, submitting metrics, and the like. If you need a recurring reminder for something like this, create a recurring to-do there.
Feedback
Questions and feedback are welcome. We want this to work for everyone, and if something feels off or unclear, say so.
When we change a practice, we run it mostly as written for a couple of months before making meaningful changes. Give it a real try first. Let it be a little awkward. Then we talk about what's working and what isn't.