Talking about salaries and compensation can feel awkward, especially in Christian charities. After all, we’re working in ministry, no one is in it for the money, right?
In our extensive experience of over 50 years, collaborating with thousands of Christian charities across Canada, we have learned a key insight: neglecting to establish a compensation policy and unintentionally underestimating your charity’s compensation package can be a significant mistake. Attracting and retaining the right talent needs to be a top priority.
A proper compensation package will reflect Jesus
A well-designed compensation package, rooted in Christ-like attitudes, fosters positive relationships and helps retain quality employees, ultimately impacting the ministry’s effectiveness and reputation and helping you fulfill your mission.
The best compensation packages do the following:
- Demonstrate care for the employee, ensuring fair treatment and promoting employee morale
- Ensure compliance with employment legislation
- Help maintain competitive pay levels
- Protect the organization’s reputation against claims of unfair treatment
- Allow Christian organizations to model exemplary treatment of staff to their members and other stakeholders
- Bring in the best possible people to serve your ministry
- Sustain your workers’ lives so that they don’t need to go somewhere else
What your policy should include
A compensation policy lays out the principles that inform how employees are paid. It should align with the organization’s values and philosophy regarding the treatment of its employees and those it serves. Additionally, the policy should support the ministry in achieving its strategic objectives while demonstrating good stewardship of its financial assets. The resulting compensation package encompasses various components, such as base salary, bonuses, benefits, and non-cash compensation.
Don’t know where to start? Our Member Support Team can send you more in-depth information to help you build or overhaul your approach to compensation. Click here to learn about how we can help.
Construct a policy outline that includes the following elements:
- High-level overview of your approach to compensation
- Purpose of the policy
- Summary of how compensation decisions are made, and who makes them
- Job titling guidelines
- Guiding principles for pay increases
We’re here to help
Consider engaging CCCC and the HR Consulting program to support the work you’re doing on your compensation documents. Our team has extensive experience helping Christian charities build policies and packages that align with their values, mission, and vision.
Additional member-only resources
Members have access to our extensive compensation resources through our knowledge base and member support team.
Here’s a taste of what is available to CCCC members:
- Sample Job Descriptions in the Knowledge Base for various roles in Christian ministries.
- Access to Affordable HR Consulting (blocks of hours or specific job-related processes).
- Free access to CCCC’s Compensation Survey Tool to determine fair compensation for your next hire or review data for various ministry roles across Canada.
- Free access to CCCC webinars related to HR:
- Discounted online training courses in the Learning Table.
Still have questions? Our member support team is available from 9am-5pm ET Monday to Friday to answer your compensation and charity management questions.
Not a member yet? No problem! Non-members get one free consultation call with our professional Member Support Team.
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