HELLO AND WELCOME!
Setting Standards of Excellence & Enhancing The Welcome For Visitors
DIOCESE OF HEREFORD
INTRODUCTION
This information has been produced by the Diocese of Hereford to provide a practical step-by-step guide to help set high standards for churches to enhance the quality of their welcome for visitors.
It is important to realise at the outset that most improvements need not cost vast sums of money and a further drain of already tight resources.
Over 1 million people visit the churches in the Diocese of Hereford each year. It is our responsibility therefore to ensure they have an enriching and enjoyable experience at each and every church, whatever the reasons for their visit.
It covers all aspects that impact on the quality of the visitor experience to help each church improve that experience.
In setting Standards of Excellence, churches should not consider this process to be competitive nor daunting, but a simple and inexpensive way to raise and maintain standards for the visitor welcome. It can provide an agenda for PCCs to take forward over time, building on strengths and improving any weaknesses.
A standard has been set at three different levels for each element of the visit. These levels in themselves begin to set a further agenda for improvements.
Good Luck!
HOW TO USE
The toolkit is divided into four sections, depicting the structure of a visit to any church:
1. Pre-arrival
2. Arrival
3. The visitor experience
4. Other services
For each element of these sections, the toolkit identifies:
- A standard to achieve at three different levels;
- A series of questions at the end of each section, the outcomes of which can be used to enhance the visitor experience; and
- For some elements, examples of best practice from churches in the diocese.
All churches are unique, with different and distinctive features and settings. It is recognized that what is appropriate and realistic in one Church may not be the case in another. The toolkit takes these variables into consideration.