How accurate are your employees’ job descriptions? Most places might have one during the application process but by the time you are one year in your responsibilities have morphed so many times, that it’s unrecognizable. Some organizations take the opposite approach making a description so...
Apple’s director of machine learning (Artificial Intelligence), Ian Goodfellow, resigned from his role just four years after joining Apple and returned to Google. Why? In his email to his team he said the change is due in part to Apple’s requirement that staff return to the...
In his highly influential New York Times Best-selling book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni writes: “Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.” (p. vii) Lencioni says...
Payroll and taxes are usually a confusing topic for churches that can easily find themselves in trouble with the IRS if payroll taxes are not reported correctly. Church payroll taxes can be especially tricky due to the dual-tax status of their pastoral staff. There is...
As summer ramps up so does travel, especially in ministry. Churches and nonprofits are organizing summer youth trips and conferences, mission trips and conventions around the world. While exciting, anything that disrupts a normal work week routine raises questions. Primarily, who pays for what? What do...
Question: “When paying severance, which is better: one lump sum or monthly payments over a set time period?” ANSWER: Generally, we recommend organizations provide severance spread out rather than one chunk amount because it encourages a continued amicable relationship between the church and the leaving employee. It also...
Can you modify housing allowance mid-year? The Housing Allowance can be amended (changed) as often as needed. We always recommend overestimating when designating a housing allowance. The goal would be to have enough of a buffer in the designation to end up with unused housing...
Question … Our elders developed a sabbatical policy that provides our pastors with benefits that includes normal salary and benefits. There is additional pay for activities like meeting with mentors, studying, developing relationships with peers, exploring industry best practices, and resting-rejuvenation. Because these activities almost...
Employers can generally offer different PTO benefits to different employees as long as there is a valid and non-discriminatory business reason for doing so. We would recommend mentioning your policy variations in your employee handbook to be clear on the subject. With that said, it is...
Tax documents are currently arriving in mailboxes and inboxes, reminding us all that tax season is rapidly approaching. This article will give a brief and broad overview of what credits and deductions are all about. The federal tax code allows for certain “credits” and...