Rationale
St Andrew’s is committed to the wellbeing and flourishing of all our staff and volunteers; they are children of God who offer their skills and time to the mission and ministry of this Church.
We are blessed by gifted staff in our office, who are flexible and pastoral in their approach, take on a huge range of tasks, and regularly go ‘above and beyond’ their job specifications.
The mission and ministry of St Andrew’s is varied, and includes the important ministry of hospitality to a wide range of community groups who undertake Kingdom work, from dementia care to support with baby loss.
The Centre staff have been very successful in attracting and retaining bookings from groups who return repeatedly to St Andrew’s. This is wonderful in terms of our ministry and mission, but also creates significant work for our staff.
The current ‘open door’ policy means that staff are frequently interrupted by members of the Church family coming into the office, often numerous times an hour during the working day. This puts immense pressure on staff, as tasks are constantly disturbed, meaning they often work beyond their contracted hours.
The staff are often asked to do tasks with little or no notice, which makes it hard for them to prioritise and plan their core work. Members of the Church family often come to ask for printing or photocopying, for example, with the expectation that it will be done immediately, taking staff away from tasks which might be equally, or more, urgent or important.
Most Churches of a similar size and activity level to St Andrew’s do not have the luxury of full-time office staff. We have become used to staff being ‘on call’ to everybody at all times, in a way that is potentially damaging to their wellbeing, and indeed the life and work of St Andrew’s.
St Andrew’s is a hugely active Church, only made possible by committed groups of people, who consequently bring varied requests to our office staff. To ensure that these requests can continue to be met to a high standard, as a Church family we need to acknowledge that the way the office operates has to change.
Therefore, to allow our staff to continue to work effectively and efficiently, the PCC has agreed that way that individual members of St Andrew’s, and its Church groups, request support from the office will change from 16th February 2025, as laid out below.
Opening Hours
The office will be open for Church groups and members of the Church family between 10 am and 12 noon Monday to Friday.
Between these hours, the office will be open for members of the Church family to ‘drop in’ with in-person enquiries and requests.
Outside these hours, the door to the office will be locked and the door blind drawn. Please do not knock or disturb the staff.
Scope
These new patterns for working include all members of the Church family, whatever their role.
The hatch window will be open for enquiries from bookers, for contractors, and for those lone working to alert staff to their presence.
Key holders to the office are asked to respect these opening hours; if you are coming into the office to work at a computer or access a paper file, please do not disturb staff or make requests demanding immediate attention.
Do’s and Don’ts. Please:
Do use email to contact the office with requests in the first instance: Kelly on operationsmanager@standrewsbedford.org, and Caroline on office@standrewsbedford.org. They are also available by phone on 01234 216881.
Do leave a message if your phone call is not picked up; staff may be in the middle of a task, or elsewhere in the Centre.
Do ask office staff for help in case of emergency – just think carefully about what constitutes an emergency!
Do give a minimum of 48 hours’ notice if you or your group would like material copied or printed.
Do give a minimum of four days’ notice if you or your group would like something designed or transcribed.
Do make an appointment by email or phone if you need a longer slot with Kelly or Caroline, by emailing or calling to find a mutually convenient diary time with them.
Do make use of the external post box to drop things off to the office.
Do make room bookings by email. The Church Centre is increasingly busy, and it is the responsibility of each Church group to ensure they have booked the room they need, and not the responsibility of the office staff. This includes all Church meetings.
Do use the points of contact indicated in publicity, the enewsletter or notices, rather than defaulting to the office.
Do consider the office staff to be ‘off duty’ when they come to Church on Sundays. It is their Sabbath, and they need to be able to worship and enjoy fellowship without the demands of work.
Do be gracious and understanding as we adapt to new ways of working, and be prepared to take ‘no,’ ‘not now,’ or ‘not yet’ as an answer.
Don’t contact the office before you have checked the Church website or Google!
Don’t ask for contact details for other members of the Church family; we cannot share these because of GDPR requirements.
Don’t call the office if you need to tell or ask the Vicar something, or make an appointment with the Vicar – just contact Lucy! 01234 354234 or vicar@standrewsbedford.org.
Don’t think that the revised way of office working does not apply to you. It does!
One of the very best characteristics of St Andrew’s is our care for one another. The changes to the way our office works are one way of caring for our staff. I really appreciate your help as we work through these new ways of working, knowing that they will take a little adjusting to, but that the change will bring benefits to all of us in the longer term.
The Reverend Canon Lucy Davis
January 2025
Comments