The First 90 Days

The goal

By day 90 the new person should know the culture, know their people, know what a win looks like, and have had one honest review. Plan it before day one and hand it to them in writing.

Before day one

• Signed job description and signed offer on file.
• Payroll and tax paperwork ready. Ask your accountant or payroll provider what your state requires.
• Email, accounts, keys and a place to work, all ready.
• A written schedule for the first week.
• One person named as their go-to for small questions.
• Their name shared with the staff and the leaders they will oversee.

Week one: teach the culture

Do not start with tasks. Start with who you are. Walk through Resource 2 together, out loud, with stories.

One of the church's sayings puts it this way:

"Caught not taught."

So let them catch it. Have them shadow you on a Sunday. Bring them to every meeting that week. Introduce them to people by name.

The weekly rhythm

"We believe that balance in life isn't attainable. But healthy rhythms are."

Most of the team works in a seven-day flow. It is not mandatory, but it helps give the week a shape:

• Meeting Monday
• Tackle Tuesday
• Wrap-up Wednesday
• Thinking Thursday
• Friends and Family Friday
• Sabbath Saturday
• Serve Sunday

Show a new hire your rhythm in the first week. Tell them which day is their day off and protect it.

The staff meeting

A timed weekly agenda, about an hour and a half:

1. Personal life: one thing you are thankful for, one challenge. 10 minutes.
2. SWOT of Sunday. 15 minutes.
3. Goals for the week. 30 minutes.
4. Goals for the month. 30 minutes.
5. Pray. 10 minutes.

Put the new person in this meeting from week one. Do not ask them to report yet. Ask them what they noticed.

How we hand things over

Delegate but do not dump. "Our job as leaders is to set team members up for a win, to trust them with little as they begin the journey. As they grow we continue to entrust them with more. Time proves commitment and responsibility."

Inspect what you expect. "When you give a task be sure to follow up with clear feedback. We are robbing team members of growing by not celebrating the wins and explaining what they could improve."

Ask before you correct. "No matter how much of the story you know, as a leader, always ask what happened before you correct."

Days 1 to 30: learn

• Meet one-on-one with every leader they will oversee. Listen more than talk.
• Attend everything once before changing anything.
• Read the culture documents and ask questions.
• Meet with their supervisor every week.
• End of the month: they bring a one-page SWOT of their area.

Days 31 to 60: own

• Take over the regular meetings and rhythms of their area.
• Agree on the numbers for each metric in their job description.
• Pick one thing to make better. One, not five.
• Name one or two people they will start developing.

Our word for this stage:

"We encourage every servant leader to make it 1% better every week. Progression over perfection."

Days 61 to 90: build

• Run their area without you in the room.
• Report on their metrics for the first time.
• Bring a plan for the next season.
• Sit down for the 90-day review.

The 90-day review

Leaders are held accountable to goals that are set every season, three times a year, and leadership evaluations happen in the off months between seasons. A 90-day review puts a new staff member into that same rhythm from the start.

Use the job description as the agenda:

1. Honor first. Name what they have done well, with examples.
2. The metrics. Where are we against each one?
3. The leadership values. Go through them one at a time. Ask them to rate themselves first.
4. Their SWOT of their area.
5. What they need from you that they are not getting.
6. Goals for the next season. Write them down.
7. Pray together.

Decide ahead of time what you will do if it is not working at 90 days. Say at the start that this review is coming and what it is for. If you think you may need to end someone's employment, talk with an employment lawyer or your denomination before you have that conversation.

The seasonal review after that

Once the first 90 days are done, a new staff member joins the same review every leader has. We call the months between seasons Prep Month. Each leader sits down with the person they report to for about an hour and a quarter:

1. Introduction. Say what the meeting is for. 2 minutes.
2. Honor. Thank them and name something specific. 5 minutes.
3. Health. How are they doing, and how is their team doing? 10 minutes.
4. Last season. Their SWOT of the season and how they did against their goals. 15 minutes.
5. Growth. Who is growing, who could lead next, and what the trends are. Are leaders being developed? If so, what is working? If not, why not? 15 minutes.
6. Handbook and job description. Read back through both. 5 minutes.
7. Stay or step back. Ask plainly whether they are committed to leading next season. 5 minutes.
8. Goals for next season. Write down what they will deliver. 15 minutes.
9. Close. Honor them and pray for them. 5 minutes.

Keep them healthy

"In order to maintain health and sustainability, we encourage all teams and leaders to set healthy rhythms in their weeks so that they come into Sunday feeling rested and ready to serve."

Ask a new staff member about their rest, their family and their own walk with Jesus in the first month, and keep asking. Take them with you on the staff retreat if you have one. You hired a person, not a position.