We love finding ways to streamline internal processes, especially if it’s a larger church. While the term "streamlining" seems to have more to do with business, it's completely applicable to churches, too. When you think about it, churches actually do run like businesses. And any business that wants to make fewer errors and prevent project delays should work on streamlining their operations.
In order to save you time from having to do the research yourself, we've shared 5 border-line genius ways that real churches streamline their operations.
Implementing Internal Request Forms
Let's face it, even people you work with at church can be inconsiderate of your time. Even though members of the church leadership team don't mean to disrespect your workload, there are many times you have gotten the short end of the stick. Because your skills are needed to help further the church mission, you usually tend to say 'yes' more than you say 'no' and this can cause a lot of stress, especially when there are deadlines to meet.
The good news is, you can prevent those last minute “Hey! Glad I ran into you. Can you get this done this week?” problems. Not convinced? Then try implementing an internal request form to see just how much it helps. This handy dandy communications tool can be a lifesaver when it comes to increasing your efficiency and collaborating with the rest of your team.
Using Chat to Reach Coworkers Quickly
When email first arrived on the scene, it was a quick and convenient way to communicate with someone. But times have changed and although email still has its place, you need to find ways to avoid having an email exchange ordeal that can suck up your time in a hurry. This is where using chat comes in. When you need to get a hold of someone for a quick question or conversation, here are some great chat tools to try:
- Slack
- HipChat
- Twist
- Flock
- Ryver
Using chat also eliminates the need for trying to set up a meeting (or two), excessive emails, texts, and phone calls.
Having One Longer Weekly Meeting
Rarely does anyone do a happy dance every time they get to go to a meeting. Even though they can be fruitful, meetings often take place at the worst time possible when you're in the middle of a zillion projects and you have deadlines looming around the corner. And just when it seems like you just attended one, you're reminded of the next one starting in a couple of minutes.
A simple, streamlining solution is to hold just one longer weekly meeting that covers the plan/goals for the week. This will eliminate having to hold several short meetings throughout the week that break up the workflow.
Scheduling Social Media Ahead of Time
You don't want to be pressured to come up with content for your social media every. single. day. Not only would it be burdenson, but it could also prevent your creative juices from flowing (it happens from time to time, even to the best of creatives). Instead, you can take a couple of hours once or twice a week and write up and schedule all your social media posts ahead of time. You can also monitor and schedule different platforms all in the same place with social media management (SMM) tools like Hootsuite, Sendible, and Buffer.
Learning to Use Project Management Software
Yes, we know that learning how to use project management software can be a pain and is oftentimes a long ordeal. But if you really want to streamline your operations and run things more efficiently, it's worth it in the end. Some of the best project management software out there includes:
- Basecamp (What we use)
- Teamwork Projects
- ActiveCollab
- Trello
- Freedcamp
Besides helping you to collaborate with team members in real-time, project management software requires the use of documentation which can be beneficial for creating systems that allow for transparency and accountability. Other advantages of using project management software include: creating forecasts, tracking budgets, and keeping tasks on schedule.
