Grace United Methodist Church
SPRC Committee
Hiring Process/Policy
March 4, 2020

Introduction:
The hiring/ filling of vacancies at Grace United Methodist Church are one of the primary functions of the SPRC Committee in consultation with the church pastors. Our focused strategy is to hire the best and brightest for our ministry. The most important thing the SPRC committee can do for the Church is to hire the best qualified candidates that fit the church culture every time there is a vacancy. They need a consistent, repeatable process that is followed every time a vacancy occurs. A consistently used process develops trust in the hiring process and will also lead to improving the church staff and the work/services they provide. A structured employee hiring process can ensure a good hire. This process, once approved by the pastors and church council, outlined below, will be placed on the church bulletin board, on the church website, and become a part of the SPRC standard operating procedures

Pre- Hiring Step:
A vacancy is an opportunity for the church to improve its’ staff.
Review the current job description with the supervisor to see if the job duties have remained the same since the previous employee was hired
Decide if the needs of the church changed to the point that a totally new position needs to be developed that better describe the needs of the church
Add/subtract responsibilities to job description as needed
Review/recommend current salary/hourly rate and set range for the position
Review/recommend education requirements and minimum experience required
Posting/Advertising the Vacancy:
To reach the best available candidates the job posting will be as follows: For Level 1 employees we will post local using the below listed sites as determined by the SPRC Committee. For Level 4 employees we will post locally and also reach out to colleges and UMC nationally through Churchstaffing.com, and Handshake.com, Career Link-Job Gateway and newspapers sites.
In the Church Bulletin
Grace Church bulletin board
Grace United Methodist Church Website
Churchstaffing.com(Fee)
Career Link-Job Gateway
Grace Facebook Page
Handshake@notifications.joinhandshake.com (Contact to Universities—Fee)
Indiana Gazette
Johnstown Tribune
Recommend posting for up to 30 days
Posting will include the job description, salary/hourly range , and hours of work
Posting will identify individual to receive applications/resumes and that individuals contact information

Receive and Review Applicant Resumes:
Job applicants will be considered a church customer group and will be given the courtesy of clear and consistent communication. Communication will begin and follow the below listed steps:
Communication:
Acknowledge receipt of the application (phone call, email, letter)
Communicate when an interview is scheduled
Communicate when they are no longer in the running for the position
Communicate when the position is filled—whether or not they received the position
Reviewing the resumes:
Filter out applicants who don’t match the key job requirements (send rejection notice)
Sort remaining resumes into “Maybes’ and “Yes” piles
Tips on sorting piles are as follows:
Quantitative evidence of a candidates past achievements
Longevity at past roles (employment gaps can be a red flag)
Clear career progression
Attention to detail (Grammar, spelling, mistakes, omissions on resume)
Skills and experience that match well with the job description
Develop interview list for applicants:
Review/ discuss the maybe pile with entire SPRC Committee and pastors to finalize the yes pile (send sorry/regret letter to candidates rejected at this time)
Finalize interview list and schedule the first round of interviews
Confirm date, location, and time of the interview with the candidate
Interviewing the Narrowed List of Candidates:
In the interview process we are looking for the candidates to demonstrate/reveal their skills, qualifications, important personality traits, level of enthusiasm for the position and their belief in God. In addition, we will try to determine the candidate that will fit into the culture of Grace United Methodist Church. The actual interview process will be as follows : It will always start and end in Prayer:
Develop an interview panel — preferably a small group of SPRC members (4-5) that have an interest in the position being filled
Develop a list of questions (10-12) that are related to the positions skills, education and experience and love of God desired for the position and approved by the SPRC committee
Have interview panel take turns asking the candidate the questions and the remaining panel members record the candidates responses to the questions
Consolidate and summarize the response of the candidate in writing in an overview and any remarks he/she may make in order to help her/ his chances for being selected for the position
At completion of the interview, let the candidate know approximately when they will be hearing from the committee on the next step.
Develop the written interview overview summary based on the notes taken by the interview panel.
Take the interview overview back to the entire SPRC Committee for discussion and decision on whether to give the candidate a second interview or send a regret letter that they didn’t make the cut in the interview process.
After completing all the interviews and screening the list further, form a second interview list of those candidates that succeeded in the first round of interviews.
Schedule the second round of interviews ( time, place, location)
Second Interview process:
With multi candidates that we think would be a great fit for the position and culture, the SPRC needs to quiz the candidates with more detailed questions about the position to confirm what we learned about the candidates from the first interview concerning the candidate’s skills, personality, and experience, love of God and fit for the churches culture. The second interview process will contain the following steps. It will always start and end in prayer.
The SPRC Committee will develop detailed questions around the items just discussed above(10-12)
The entire SPRC Committee will participate in the second interview taking turns asking questions and recording the responses of the candidates
A written interview overview will capture the responses of the candidate and will be used later by the SPRC to determine the winning candidate
Perform Background Checks
Contact References for additional information
Final Selection:
At this point in the process the SPRC has reduced the number of candidates to a very few. It is now time to make hard decisions and select the candidate that has convinced the SPRC members that he/she would be the candidate to excel in the position and take our church to higher levels. Using the final interview overviews and openly discussing the final candidates among the entire SPRC Committee and Pastors and praying on the decision a preferred candidate will be selected.
Send “Congratulation Letter” to winning candidate
Follow up the “Congratulation Letter” with a phone call to confirm staring date and time, who to report to and where they are located
Send regret letter/notice to those candidates not making the final cut
Schedule the announcement of filling the position with the church congregation