A new literacy?

Tony Dye has an interesting post on his blog today. Have we reached the point as churches that basic computer skills are a defacto job requirement?

I think the answer is probably yes, with some qualification. We need to define what computer literacy is. It's different for each position in the organization. I think we can say that just about every employee (with the possible exception of custodial???) needs basic skills in how to use a computer. Cranking out a basic document in Word, using E-mail and other similar skills cross just about every position, at least in our organization.

Part of the problem is that we often pay sub-market wages, patricularly in clerical areas. That means we get people with sub-standard skills. Our budgeting can also be behind the curve. We don't budget for training the way the private sector does.

Adequate assistance for professional level personnel is also an issue in many churches. It's silly to have a Youth Minister struggling to do mail merges, but that's part of the job at many churches. A well trained clerical worker can do lots of tasks in 10 percent of the time a member of the professional staff, and free them up for higher productivity tasks.

In many cases, I think we're talking about older workers, moms returning to the work force, or members of the church interested in part time work. In many cases, these folks bring great experience and passion. Their technology skills may not be great. We can take advantage of their experience by providing adequate training, and adequate clerical assistance. It's a managerial decision as to whether or not a particular persons skills outweigh the cost of providing the training, or the lower productivity.