When you find the right people,
take care of them personally and professionally
so that they can take care of the guests
The spa business is not just about beautiful facilities, signature features and extensive treatment menus. It is about passion and compassion. Without the right people with the right skills and attitude, your investment in bricks and mortar will never realize its full potential.
In the last several years, spa development in the hospitality and lifestyle real estate industries has boomed, and then the pause button was pushed by the pandemic situation. For the hotel and resort spa, and even the local day spas, the challenge always be to find, train and retain staff.
For those of you who already have a spa, you know that the spa staff are not exactly like all the other staff at your property. They make contact with the guests not only in terms of their service/hospitality skills, but there is also physical contact and oftentimes there is a certain degree of emotional and psychological contact. Many of them are care-givers, nurturers and healers. In this article, SpaChina tries to give some insight into the challenges and opportunities for staffing your spa with people who are “grounded” and who possess the right skill set, attitude, vision and professionalism to make the spa a successful, marketable and profitable venue within the hospitality industry.
Staffing is one of…if not THE… most important decisions you will make. There are lots of beautiful spas that have stunning architectural and interior design features, high tech sophisticated equipment, customized exotic products, and thoughtful signature treatments, but this is “hardware”… you can call it “the stage.” We need it, but without the “software” – the cast, there is no “performance.” You can set the stage, but don’t pull up the curtain unless you are ready to perform. The staff perform the magic, create the memories, establish the relationships…they are the key to your success. Please never underestimate this.
Positions
Before you can start your staffing program, you need to lay the foundation. Based on the type and size of spa, the market, the desired guest experience, the depth of the labor pool, staff licensing requirements, etc., you will want to establish an organization chart identifying the type of positions, number of FTEs (The calculation of full-time equivalent), responsibilities, compensation, etc.
Here are some of the key staffing positions within a hotel or resort spa:
Spa Director
This is the producer and director of your Broadway production. It is someone who understands how to set the stage by drawing upon a variety of skills such as psychology, hospitality, sales and marketing, public relations and finances. This is one of the more challenging positions to fill. It is equally challenging to retain them once you hire them. It’s not easy to find someone who understands and can exemplify the balance between pamper (warm-fuzzy persona) and profit (business-minded acumen).
Since most of the hotel and resort groups only have one or two spa directors overall in charge of all the spas, what is most likely to happen is that the spa director does not understand the local business laws and regulations and the local customer needs, just simply copies the same spa menu into every spa, which may even cost extra useless investment because of the lack of local research and calculations. Also, having the ability to communicate well with the Chinese owner, listen carefully to owner requests, and share the experience in order to convince the owner to accept the best solution, will be a very important skill for an international spa director working in China.
Assistant Spa Director or Spa Manager
This person typically oversees the spa operations. Try to find someone who can run a business but also who can be mentored to be the Spa Director in case your leader is recruited away from your spa. This person should have a good understanding of hospitality as well as technology to use the spa software, and spa treatments.
In China, this position is also required to be able to have some marketing or sales skills, in order to understand the local consumer needs, working close with the product companies, and has some basic skills to put on some small spa events.
Sales & Marketing
Depending on the type of hotel/resort and the size of the spa, you may or may not have this position. Typically, this person works with the meeting planners and incentive groups plus may also have a role in selling spa memberships and conducting special events for the local community day spa market.
In China, the spas usually share the sales and marketing team with the hotels, so the Spa Manager will need to have good communication with the PR and marketing department, in order to have more exposure, and create more attractive packages in association with other department of the hotels such as F&B and rooms.
Receptionists
Similar to the person at your hotel/resort front desk, this is the first impression, the meet-and-greet person who possesses an infinite amount of information and who sets the stage for the guest experience. They are the “air traffic control center” since they are responsible for scheduling the guests, the staff and the treatment rooms, plus they are the point of sale for all treatments and sometimes retail transactions.
Sometimes some hotel spas use the therapists to work at the reception to save costs, but please make sure they are properly trained for receiving calls, and introduce the right treatment to the guests. Some spas also have the receptionist carry out the duty of sales, and it is of course possible too if the person has the talent to sell. It can be flexible, as long as the guests are satisfied and the revenue is good.
Retail
If the retail area is small, the Spa Receptionists and Service Providers might be the “sales” staff. If there is a significant emphasis on retail and if the retail space is large, there could be a retail manager plus dedicated retail sales staff. Everything used in the spa treatments as well as your locker room products and miscellaneous accessories are sold here to help create the “home spa experience.” A good retail program does more than sell products; it maintains the relationship between you and your guests and it becomes an on-going annuity program for the spa.
Spa Concierges/Attendants
This is a non-licensed position. These people are primarily stationed in the locker room. They are responsible for not only maintaining the area, but also making sure the guests are comfortable. They set the stage for the pre- and post-treatment experience as well as for the rest and relaxation experience. They are the liaison between the Receptionists and the Service Providers. Their role is often under-rated, but you should never under-estimate their importance.
Service Providers
These are the people who are performing the spa treatments. Many territories require that they be licensed and/or certified. For some positions such as the massage therapists, there are national certification programs. Service providers are the hair stylists, make-up artists, nail technicians, massage therapists and aestheticians (facialists). Some spas will have Supervisors for the various spa departments such as Massage/Body, Skin Care, Hair/Nails. Other spas may have a Personal Services Supervisor to oversee all the Service Providers.
Also, some hotel and resort spas are accepting visiting practitioners, to provide special treatments to their spa members, which could be a very interesting healing experience for many guests.
Fitness Instructors
These are people who not only supervise the cardio/weight studio, but may also conduct one-on-one training sessions as well as teach a variety of fitness classes. In some cases, they also oversee or participate in the resort recreation program. Depending on the type of fitness facilities and classes, there might be a Fitness Supervisor.
Spa Specialists
Depending on the program of services, the spa may employ or have on-call specialists in areas such as nutrition, stress management, behavior modification, health and lifestyle assessments, etc.
As you can see, the positions are many and they are varied. Now you know who you need. Next step… how to find and hire them.
Hiring
Each position in the spa has a different set of criteria in terms of education, skills, physical work load, psychological profile, etc. Make sure you have a clearly defined job description for each position as well as an org chart before you try to find your staff. If you don’t know what you are looking for, you will never find it.
Due to the nature of the work, it is critical to find people who are competent and compassionate; want to give and learn; work well on their own yet work better as part of a team; want a career and not just a job; feel rewarded by bringing pleasure to others; and understand the whole continuum, from pampering the guests to creating profits for the owners.
Give yourself plenty of time to find and hire your staff. It is not uncommon for the Spa Director to start 6 to 12 months pre-opening. You will be using a variety of methods to find people: ads, referrals, job fairs, etc.
Reference checks with people who will tell you more than the dates of employment are very helpful. Interviews should be one-on-one and there can also be departmental team interviews or management team interviews so that several people can give their impression on a person and how this person will or will not be compatible with the rest of the team.
Auditions for Service Providers are a “must” if you really want to really understand someone’s technical proficiency, hospitality skills, neatness, etc. If you are interviewing for management positions and the person is currently employed, go to their facility and see what it is like in terms of service, cleanliness, etc.
Conduct job fairs several times a year, do not lower your requirements, always try to look for the “best of the best”. Work with schools within the region and provide internships. Start people in support positions then move them into full-time licensed service provider positions.
Determine the skills and knowledge the employee needs in order to succeed in the position.
Hire staff who are passionate about what they do, have staff go through several interviews with various leaders on your team to make sure they are all getting the same feedback. It also shows if the colleague can be patient with the whole process.
And hire staff who are aligned with the spa’s philosophy and want to be part of a team. Find people who can be ambassadors in terms of always representing the spa in a favorable way. Do a careful reference check, spa staff tend to jump around a bit, and you want people with loyalty and commitment.
Staff need to have more than good technical skills. They need exceptional guest service capabilities. They need to be willing to learn and grow, be open to change and receptive to teamwork. You could consider hiring some people who are just out of school then they can learn from zero. Sometimes you find new therapists are keen to learn, and it is always interesting to mix new and eager staff with some of your tried-and-true staff. Try to hire people who have a dual license so they can work in different spa departments, e.g., massage, skin care, and image center/salon.
Now that you have found the people you want to be on your team, you need to train them so they all know their role as individuals and as team players.
Training
Training needs to be an on-going process. Pre-opening training is typically the most thorough, and there can sometimes be a 4 — 6 week training program which includes resort orientation, your spa’s SOP and DNA, departmental standards and protocols, service/hospitality training, product knowledge and treatment training, retailing, mock runs, soft opening, etc.
When new staff are hired, make sure they go through a similar thorough training program. Don’t just give them a uniform, a treatment room, a guest and put them to work… unless you really don’t care about your business.
On-going training can be done in-house by your lead staff, vendors and various industry professionals. But it’s always good for some staff to attend off-site workshops and conferences then bring this information back and set up in-house training sessions.
Bottom line… make a commitment to continually train your staff and make sure there is a training budget and that you allocate time to do this. Training needs to be a priority if you want the staff to be their best and deliver the best guest experience.
Provide a very comprehensive training program and strive for the highest level of standards.
Offer on-going education with product knowledge refresher classes, exceptional guest service, body mechanics and ethics. Also sponsor some good extra training classes for all licensed staff, or as a reward for good staff at the end of the year.
Ask a more experienced employee with good work habits to act as a “buddy” for the new hire.
Provide coaching tools in the form of handbooks, logs, manuals, checklists, etc. Provide positive feedback in the form of evaluations.
Training is essential at all levels of the spa. This should be done for all positions and on a regular basis: weekly, monthly and quarterly. Choose partners who support treatment and product training. It is truly effective when you get results and it should be measurable.
So, you might consider to create a training schedule for all new hires. Staff must be fully trained and tested in the spa’s procedures and protocols before they start working. Make sure the staff feel ready, competent and confident before they start working with the guests. Choose your trainers well since the quality of the trainers will directly reflect on the quality of your staff. Once you have invested the time and money to train your team, you will want to make sure you do everything possible to keep them. Let’s take a look at retaining your team.
Retention
With the abundance of spas that are being built and existing spas that are being expanded, there is a real challenge in retaining staff. Spa staff are continually being enticed to leave their existing spas and are given signing bonuses and better compensation as well as incentive and benefits packages.
In order to have loyal staff, they need to be well compensated, but they also want to feel that they are important. They need to be your “partner”…you commit to them, they are loyal to you. You need to listen to them, seek their advice, be sensitive to their personal and professional needs, invest in them and make them part of the team. They need to know that you are committed to providing the right environment and tools for them to do their job and that you care.
So please do support, recognize and acknowledge, maintain an environment that promotes the sharing of knowledge by allowing all employees to make positive contributions to the spa’s success. Provide education that can give the staff to build their confidence and career in the industry. Give perks such as property-wide discounts on services, retail and hotel rooms, provide benefits plans for insurance and profit sharing, with the performance salary increases.
Communication through evaluation. Treat staff with respect and honesty, get staff involved with decisions and ask for input, give positive and constructive feedback, complete performance evaluations on time, recognize and reward good performance, thank staff daily when they do a good job, make staff feel valued and appreciated. When issues are raised, follow up with a solution in a timely manner, promote from within.
Provide a competitive compensation package: salary and benefits, award loyalty. Make sure the staff feel as though they are part of the business by providing bonuses for departmental or spa profitability. Staff should see good role models and know there is room to learn and grow.
Listen to the needs of your staff. Provide appraisals on a regular basis, let your staff know how valuable they are and what a great job they do.
Conclusion
The “hardware” is important, but it is the “software” that makes it work. With so many spas being built, it is challenging to find staff. When you do find the right people, take care of them personally and professionally so that they can take care of the guests. Try to foster a positive work environment where the staff feel valued and respected. Allocate the time and money to make sure your people have what they need so they can focus on what the guest needs. Spas are all about people (staff and guests)…when you take care of them, they will take care of the business.
