In addition to fulfilling their function as religious temples, churches are also places to gather the community in significant social events (such as weddings and baptisms), group meetings, fundraising events, sometimes even concerts – because of the building’s privileged acoustics.
This variety of events in the same space can be challenging for Religious Organizations administrators. There are multiple requests, which can lead to conflicting dates, and some events are not as simple to accommodate in the church area because of their different demands. Remember that you still need to keep an eye on building maintenance.
The best way to keep up to date and avoid errors or omissions is to use facilities management software. Today, there are customized versions for churches, with several tools that easily allow you to organize your congregation’s activities and requirements.
1. Manage Your Janitors and Maintenance Staff
Churches are public spaces that bring together the most varied audiences in size and origin. Therefore, the place must be safe and comfortable. Janitors and maintenance staff are essential to keep the church clean and safe for worshipers. In addition, they ensure that equipment such as the sound system and speakers work perfectly for services and other events. It’s a lot to manage to rely solely on spreadsheets or verbal arrangements.
Facilities management software can help you determine and schedule recurring church tasks, organizing service requests, and even scheduling preventive maintenance work to avoid problems that can snowball over time, like spills, leaks, terrible furniture conditions, etc.
2. Handle IT Tickets
Religious organizations rely more and more on technology these days. Many even have profiles on social media to maintain more direct contact with the community, bringing another responsibility to the administrator, who needs to take care of all requests regarding computers, tablets, and other technological devices.
Facilities management software makes this job a lot easier. Maintenance operations are managed through IT tickets, which allow you to track what still needs to be maintained and what has already been provided. Using the software, you can also access previous requests, separate non-tech-related requests from IT issues, etc.
3. Schedule Your Staff to Avoid Conflicts
Your church has many rooms and departments and a lot of staff members to manage and sort into those spaces. No matter how organized you are, having too many events scheduled on the same day can lead to a lot of unforeseen confusion. Perhaps someone has scheduled two different activities for the same time and space, or a meeting that should have already ended is delaying another that should have already started.
With facilities management software, you can keep track of different events, have your team on the same page, and avoid unnecessary conflicts. The system has different planning and scheduling options to ensure different groups have access to the suitable space at the right time.
4. Rent Out Your Facility
A church building is not restricted to services and prayers. On the weekends, different organizations and even other parishes might want to use your valuable space to run community events.
Facilities management software allows you to manage space rental for different events. You can organize your schedule days, weeks, months, or even years in advance. The system will notify you of unavailable dates and automatically detect if a requested room is already booked. It’s also possible to keep recurring events scheduled every month – so that neither you nor your staff forgets to host an activity that is already traditional –, and you can use the software to ensure proper monetary collection.
5. Schedule Transportation
Religious organizations using facilities management software can schedule and manage transportation services more efficiently. Pilgrimages are an essential part of the religious experience, but they can also be complicated to plan and execute properly. What if someone on your staff forgets somebody or changes the scheduled date?
The software takes the guesswork out of the process by allowing you to schedule and reserve both drivers and vehicles for each trip, automatically detecting conflicts in dates or vehicles already booked. The technology allows you to register important information – such as the drivers’ names, relevant stops, accommodations, etc. This way, both drivers and parishioners will have all the tour details programmed in advance.
Have Faith in Technology
People always used churches as a meeting place, even those from other parishes or other religions. After all, the same building can host different community events, meetings, and assistance groups.
This versatility means that the activity of a religious organizations administrator goes far beyond regular services. And you need to ensure that everyone has dates and spaces available to use your church for their different purposes.
Using facilities management software in churches allows you to keep track of these processes and organize the church’s budget more detailed. Your community expects you to be responsible for the donations they make, and the software will allow you to be transparently accountable. So have faith in technology too.