Volunteers - Some Advice?

[tomoairwav]

• The Issue: During the Sunday Celebrations, the PPT operator has the slides jumping back and forth, looking very disorganized and very distracting. Advancing before they should, going back, causing animations to get lost, etc. A real train wreck.
• The Question: How to deal with a very intelligent and technical person, a loving heart, a willing volunteer and a friend? He is there 51 out of 52 weeks a year.

Brief background: We are a 3 year old church plant, very contemporary, lots of good, up to date tech stuff. Pastor prepares in advance with a well documented outline. PPT team puts 10 - 14 hours each week into a very well done presentation. PPT team reviews it with pastor before the Celebration and then reviews it with the PPT operator. The pastor's notes have been highlighted and has bold arrows in the margins where an advance needs to happen. We use presenter's view, so before and after slides are on the operator's screen, easy to see.

The PPT team occasionally runs it and it works flawlessly - but of course they are intimate with it. On the other hand, there is so much prep, I think a totally untrained person could come in at the last minute and do it. This operator knows without anyone telling him he blew it and sincerely apologizes.

I am frustrated, the pastor is frustrated and we want to "make it better". I would appreciate any thoughts, advice, etc. Again, this is a loving friend and a charter member of this church.

Thanks for your help!

[tedanderson]

Many times people in positions like that are doing it because they feel obligated. And as a result of their obligation sometimes they look at is as to say, "Yeah, I am not doing a great job but they have nobody else to do it."

You cannot be afraid to dismiss someone from their position if they are not performing adequately. At the same time, you should make it known that the guy is not disliked and that nobody is angry with him. But when you need something to be done right, you need to put the right people in place. Not everyone will be good at everything. The pastor's vision and the purpose of the ministry is greater than anyone's position. As long as you address the issue tactfully, you need not be concerned about his response.

[jksbc]

Wow. I feel your pain. All I can say is sometimes feelings have to be hurt. You just have to go to your friend in a loving way and let him know the feelings of the PP team and pastor. I am probably the pickiest person there is when it comes to what goes on our screens. It is very important to me not to draw attention to the operator. I don't even like it when the pastor says, "Joe, do you have that video ready?" I too spend hours working on a presentation. It doesn't matter what tools are available or what application is being used it takes time to make it look great and seamless. I don't claim to be the greatest artist but I do have an artist's heart and am passionate about my work. I can understand why your team would be upset to see their "creation" messed up. I will pray for you as you face this dilemma.Joe

[prochlea]

I guess the question here is - what is your position? Are you "in charge" of the media/tech stuff, or are you just the sound board op? If you're in charge, I think you just have to let him know that it's a problem. This is a little easier, because you're not criticizing something that the PPT operator created, or criticizing someone singing, etc. This is a simple button pressing thing that they just need to pay more attention to. To start out - I think it can be as simple as saying - "Hey, there's been a few mis-cues recently with the PPT. Try to pay attention to it a little more." If the problem doesn't correct itself, then you have to have a more in depth discussion, but the operator knows it's happening - so you have you push them to correct it. Too often at churches, it seems like people are too nice when it comes to issues like this. Just because this is a church and we don't want to hurt someone's feelings, doesn't mean we can settle for mediocrity. Most likely - the person's feelings aren't going to be hurt, and they'll just work harder to make it better.

[tedanderson]

I don't even like it when the pastor says, "Joe, do you have that video ready?"

And even worse when they publicly say, "WOW JOE! You were right on time!" Uhh.. yeah.. that's what we talked about earlier, right?

you have you push them to correct it. Too often at churches, it seems like people are too nice when it comes to issues like this. Just because this is a church and we don't want to hurt someone's feelings, doesn't mean we can settle for mediocrity.

Amen. And one thing to add to that is that the congregation and visitors are not going to settle for mediocrity either. They may not be vocal about it, but it is little things like that which can cause someone to change their mind about the church and never come back. Consistent technical problems are usually one of the most unforgiveable complications in the worship experience because what was supposed to be an enhancement has now become an hinderance.

[tomoairwav]

"As long as you address the issue tactfully, you need not be concerned about his response."

This is really tough for me. After 55 years of life, I am getting better at the first part but still find the 2nd part difficult. I am a manager at my full time and struggle with this. I also can't get it out of my mind how terrible it would be to get fired from a volunteer position!!!

"I am probably the pickiest person there is when it comes to what goes on our screens. It is very important to me not to draw attention to the operator."

Same here!

"...the congregation and visitors are not going to settle for mediocrity either."

VERY true!

"...they just need to pay more attention."

That is what it really boils down to. He is EASILY distracted and people seem to walk up and want to talk with him, completely throwing him off track.

I am indeed in charge. The pastor and I talked yesterday at length. I have been wanting to, but now am going to start schedules. This is actually going to be big, allowing us to schedule him off and train others. This flows over into the sound and lighting ops. One of the rules for sound will be attendance for one of the 2 band practices. I can't believe we have NOT been doing this all along!

The somewhat varied response here have been great food for thought and encouragement to make changes.

Thank you SO much for the input!

Tom

[tedanderson]

"...they just need to pay more attention."

That is what it really boils down to. He is EASILY distracted and people seem to walk up and want to talk with him, completely throwing him off track.

Ok, so now we are getting somewhere! Either he has to learn how to ignore people while service is going on or he will need someone to excercise "crowd control" and not allow anyone to disturb him. That is a problem that we used to have with our production crew all of the time.

Typically, we would meet in the morning, assign tasks, and we would go through the setup procedures. But we always had a couple of people who would get sidetracked with conversations from the other early birds in the congregation. So while I was in the production room waiting for the cameras to get into position, the camera operators were in the sanctuary just chatting away.

So when I addressed this issue, they said that they didn't want to appear as rude or dismissive but I asked them if this would be the case if they were on their way to work or if their boss gave them an assignment to do. I explained that none of us would put our boss/job on the back burner to hold a friendly conversation. The same should apply on Sunday morning because we have an important job to do.

I also can't get it out of my mind how terrible it would be to get fired from a volunteer position!!!

Well let's put it into perspective. Let's say that you had to go to the hospital and they allowed an intern to work on you. What if he had to stick you with the IV needle a dozen times because he kept missing the vein? And part of the problem had to do with the fact that he was responding to text messages because every 30 to 45 seconds it was "BLIP-BEEP" and he took attention off of the needle and reached in his pocket to get his phone.

But wait a sec. He is a volunteer. And he really loves his job. And he really wants to be a doctor one day. So do you: A. Allow him to keep sticking you with the needle? or: B. Forget about his feelings, his dreams, his ambitions and demand that they get someone who is more attentive to their job?

[[Admin] osborn4]

If he is distracted by other people around him, by all means employ some sort of crowd control. This has helped me immensely on occasion.

If he can't pay attention, maybe this isn't the job for him. Maybe there is some place else he could plug in?

If he really loves doing it, then going to practices and such should help. Could he be there when the PPT team goes over the PPT with the pastor? And then, maybe take a copy home to practice?

Just some thoughts.

[tomoairwav]

Before I found CMN, I really thought I was out here on my own. Great to know this community exists and be a part!

Lots of good stuff presented here and just batting it around has helped me move towards resolution. Hopefully I can report back in a while with positive results.

Thank you!!!

[tedanderson]

I cant begin to tell you how many times I sit here, read the other posts, and then say to myself, "Oh, this happens in your church too?"

[waynehoskins]

Oh, other people have that crowd control problem too? Wow!

Man, I don't understand it .. people see me or the words guy working on something and think it's a prime time to sit and chat, shoot the breeze. All the while, I have a soundcheck to do and a video file to copy and test and a DVD to bounce and...

[tedanderson]

But one thing that usually works is to tell them, "Hey, I gotta talk to you later. I gotta get this system set up and going. Thanks!"

And if that does not get rid of them, put them to work and make them your gopher. They will either help you along or they will find a way to excuse themselves. As large as our church is, we are always short on extension cords and power strips. If I ever need to get someone off my back, I usually send them looking for one. "....Oh.. that's a 25 foot cord.. I apologize- I needed a 50 foot cord..."

Someone once told me that whenever someone yelled "Boil some water!" on a TV show while a woman was going into labor, it was so that the doctor could keep everyone else out of his hair while he was performing the delivery.