The Quiet Staff Member Who’s Already Halfway Out the Door

In this episode of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast, host Todd Rhoades discusses the subtle signs of disengagement among church staff members and how to address them before it's too late. He emphasizes the phenomenon of 'quiet quitting' where staff members slowly lose connection without overtly resigning. Rhoades shares strategies for spotting disengagement early and ways to re-engage team members by asking the right questions and providing clear feedback.• Signs of disengagement include reduced participation, lack of creativity, and brief communication.• Common reasons for disengagement: feeling underappreciated, unclear expectations, poor leadership, unresolved conflicts.• Early identification is crucial - listen for behavioral shifts and emotional withdrawal.• Engage with staff through one-on-one questions about their motivation and job satisfaction.• Consider role adjustments or breaks to rekindle staff members' passions.• Preventative measures are more effective than interventions.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Signs of Staff Disengagement
• 1:00 Understanding Quiet Quitting
• 2:14 How to Spot and Address Disengagement
• 4:04 Prevention and Final Thoughts

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:08

Church staff rarely leave all at once. Most of the time, their exit begins long before they hand in their resignation. Today, on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast, we're going to talk about the subtle signs that a team member is already halfway out the door, and what leaders often miss, and how you can re-engage them before it's too late. Hi there, my name is Todd Rhodes and I'm one of the co-founders over at Chemistry Staffing and you're listening to the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. That staff member who used to be the first to speak up but now just nods silently in meetings? Or maybe the one who stopped turning in ideas or stopped asking questions? Or maybe they stopped laughing? Yeah, they're probably halfway gone. And today let's talk about how to spot a disengaged staff member early, before their body is still there but their heart's already left. Okay, let's talk about disengagement, because this happens all the time with church staff members, particularly in churches that aren't necessarily cultivating a healthy church staff culture. And here's the deal with disengagement. It happens quietly. Most staff don't rage quit. Sometimes they do, but usually it's a slow burn. They quietly lose hope and connection and passion. So here's some things you might notice. You might notice that they ask fewer questions that all of a sudden they're just less creative. They give you short responses to email or even in conversations. Maybe their responses or their reply maybe they stop replying, or their replies or messages or emails are just delayed, or they're just the rhythm seems off. Disengagement is invisible until it's too late many times, and by the time somebody asks or somebody says, I think I'm done here, they've already been done for a few weeks or a few months. You've probably already noticed this.

Speaker 1: 2:03

There are some common triggers for quiet quitting. That's what we call it quiet quitting. Maybe people feel underappreciated or overlooked, maybe there are unclear expectations or maybe some shifting targets. Maybe there's a lot of things in flux right now, maybe there's poor leadership, maybe there's unresolved conflict, maybe they're just not feeling spiritually or relationally fed. A mismatch could also be between their passion and their current role. Now, these aren't usually dramatic events. They're like I said. They're these slow things that happen over time that eventually deflate and decay energy and purpose and loyalty.

Speaker 1: 2:44

So how do you spot it, todd? What do I do? How do I spot this so that we don't have people quitting and I just I didn't have a clue. Here are some things that you can do. First of all, just have your spidey senses on. Okay, pay attention to those behavioral shifts. Maybe someone's pulling back emotionally. That's a warning light. And then another thing you can do is just ask questions. Don't stick your head in the sand. Keep those spidey senses real and actually ask real questions one-on-one How's your tank? How full is your tank right now? What part of your role feels most life-giving? Provide some clarity and encouragement in those conversations and allow some space for feedback.

Speaker 1: 3:28

Maybe it's time to revisit some goals and calling, Reconnect their work with the sense of purpose maybe that they had six months ago but they're not feeling now. And in some cases, if you're in a larger church, you can even consider some kind of a role shift or a break to help them recalibrate. Remember this, though Prevention is always better with intervention. Spotting disengagement early can help you save a staff member and your team. Okay, so here's today's bottom line and my final thought for today, and then I'll get you on your way.

Speaker 1: 4:04

You can't fix what you don't see, but you can start noticing. You need to start noticing. Pay attention. You may see things way before they become a problem. I'd love to hear from you, or you can reach out to me anytime. Podcastchemistrystaffingcom. Tell me this what's one way you check in with your team to prevent this quiet quitting that we're talking about? Maybe you're a staff member that you're currently quiet quitting and you didn't even realize that. You didn't even put a name to it. Yeah, todd, this is how I feel. Reach out to me. Tell me your story. I'd love to hear from you. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. All right, that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed today's podcast. And we're here every day, monday through Friday, right here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Talk to you tomorrow. You.