One of the frequently asked questions I get from my clients circles around training staff. Staff education is, in my opinion, highly crucial for several reasons: It gives clients confidence in your ability to deliver service. It helps to establish a minimum standard of service delivered by your team. It keeps the business current. It creates an environment in which the team feels secure in…
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Employee Relations
Let’s face it, working in a spa is hardly ever boring. No two days are the same. Tuesday might be low key and quiet, but the next day could be a train wreck of mis-scheduled clients and no shows. It’s a mixed bag for sure. The same can be said for co-workers. As someone who has been in the industry for over a decade, I’ve…
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Employee Relations
It’s a fact: without a staff and team that’s excited and motivated to help the business succeed, nothing else matters. Having great services and excellent care mean nothing if the staff is not excited to perform, sell, and market them, or if a client spots an unhappy staff and unfriendly faces the second they walk in the door. So, how can you motivate your team…
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Employee Relations
Hiring: Avoiding Resume Red Flags
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Let’s be honest for a moment. We have sorted through more than a thousand resumes in the past month alone. What is out there? Well, it is not pretty, folks! We have heard it all: “there’s no good help in Miami,” “it’s different here in New York,” “people don’t stay in jobs here in Houston like they do in other cities.” Unfortunately, hiring great staff…
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Employee Relations
by Mara Shorr, B.S., CAC II-XII and Jay A. Shorr, B.A., MBM-C, CAC I-XII You have already done the heavy lifting. You created the perfect job description and scoured the internet. You racked the brains of everyone you know for the candidates, did the interviews, and ran the background checks. You hired the perfect employees and you are watching them thrive! Now, it is time…
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Employee Relations
Leading a team takes more effort than simply hiring the right players. It involves keeping the right players and motivating and inspiring them to do their very best. Excited, eager, and talented employees at every level of the spa can be spotted by clients as soon as they pick up the phone or walk in the door. Furthermore, a motivated employee also shows in the…
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Employee Relations
10 Things About... Sanitation in the Spa
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Bacteria can come in many different shapes and sizes with varying degrees of severity. It is important to note that not all bacteria are bad, as many of them are helpful and essential to life. The difference between non-pathogenic and pathogenic bacteria is that non-pathogenic bacteria is considered useful, while pathogenic bacteria (such as germs) are more dangerous because they can carry diseases. When it…
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Employee Relations
During breast cancer awareness month, spas and salons may be wondering how they can contribute to the cause. In addition to becoming educated about oncology aesthetics and making treatments as safe as possible for clients with cancer, spas can partake in a number of fundraising and awareness ideas.
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Employee Relations
It is no secret that keeping clients interested in a spa’s products or services is a daunting task. With so much vying for their dollars, it is a wonder customer loyalty even exists. But keeping employees engaged is the most important goal for any business that truly wants to be successful. Remember they are partners in success. You work hard at attracting potential clients to…
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Employee Relations
It is all about balance and understanding how everything and everyone can work together. I have been in the employer’s seat for more than 23 years now and I am still learning life lessons. As I reflect on the past, I can honestly say that I was not always the best employer. However, I have learned to accept my strengths, help others to feel strength…
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Employee Relations
Motivating Employees
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Keeping employees happy and productive is no easy task. They may currently be dealing with personal issues or simply just having a bad day. However, a spa is a sacred space; unhappy employees make for unhappy clients. This can typically develop into a long-term recipe for financial disaster. By implementing new guidelines for your staff to follow, it can prove beneficial to the overall success…
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Employee Relations
Keeping Calm in Sticky Situations
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When practicing professionalism in the spa, it is particularly important to remember that negative comments relayed by your staff and/or co-workers can potentially ruin your personal and professional relationship with a client. Being able to keep calm in sticky situations is an integral part of maintaining a professional atmosphere in your business. From personal experience, one such situation occurred at my own skin care clinic.…
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Employee Relations
Navigation
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Throughout this series, we have discussed developing the principles of empowerment and leadership. Planning, prioritizing, organizing, applying initiative and overcoming obstacles all empower us, bring us closer to our goals, and develop our leadership skills. Two of the most necessary skills we develop are discipline and self-control. We have the ability to choose our level of motivation. We have the ability to choose our state…
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Employee Relations
Obstacles await us in many forms. They test our will as well as our resources. They separate the wanton from the determined. Obstacles expose the easily frustrated and undisciplined. They systematically measure our desire, resolve and preparedness. Conversely, those same obstacles can lead us to the opportunity we need to accomplish our goals. They oftentimes steer us toward resources that are otherwise unavailable. Without obstacles…
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Employee Relations
In the work place, each individual has their own objectives, opinions, skill-sets, roles, responsibilities and deadlines to deal with. These factors coupled with outside influences and pressures, can manifest into emotionally charged situations. Many of these situations usually stem from miscommunication, differences in objectives and opinions, as well as perceived importance. Two key words can most often diffuse the situation: respect and acceptance. It is…
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Employee Relations
Initiative
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So, here we are. We have had in-depth discussions about motivation, goals, priorities, plans and organizing. But, we already have experience with time management. We have all been using schedules and lists for years. Why have these tools not already created the success we seek? It has been said in many ways but I prefer the simple analogy – A goal without a plan is…
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Employee Relations
Healthy Choices: Mind Over Matter... and You
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“You can do it; it is only mind over matter.” Has anyone ever said that to you? While we are experts at telling people how to run their lives and make decisions, the funny thing is that we rarely apply it to ourselves. What is it that we are so afraid of?
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Employee Relations
Organizing
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How many times have you been working on a project and imagined a better way to accomplish the task? Do you witness or experience wasted time or other resources? Have you had an ambition that you have yet to develop a plan to pursue? The famous French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” One of the common…
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Employee Relations
Volunteering allows you to connect on a personal level with others in your community, creating and strengthening your ties with the local population. Volunteering can be quite rewarding on both a personal and professional level. You will have the opportunity to meet new people and build new relationships. Not to mention volunteering looks great on your resume! Here is a list of 10 things to…
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Employee Relations
Planning
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How often have you been halfway through a project only to be sidetracked by unexpected obstacles? Can you count the times you have witnessed valuable resources being wasted from inefficient planning? I imagine we have all experienced the project where we were met with unexpected delays and an expanding budget. Waste, unexpected costs and delays can be minimized or completely avoided with proper planning. My…
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Employee Relations
"Initially when I started having staff meetings, I would ask a question or for everyone's thoughts on a particular subject. But, I'd end up only getting blank stares from my employees. So, I made sure to have notepads and pens available at my next meeting, and instead I asked everyone to take a minute to write down ideas, thoughts, et cetera about the topic I…
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Employee Relations
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