As the owner and spa director of the Ziba Day Spa & Art Gallery in Laguna Beach, CA, Katherine Vaccaro, the subject of Skin Inc. magazine’s March Face to Face profile, knows having a great team is one of the major focuses of any quality spa. In the following article, she addresses how she works to keep her team members engaged, appreciated and happy.
Motivate
Staff motivation is crucial in building and maintaining a great working team, and I myself have come to realize that motivating my day spa team members with fairness and a positive outlook is simply huge.
Attitude is gratitude, and emotions are what keep your staff happy, along with incentives and goal-setting. Rotate walk-in clients amongst your staff so everyone has the opportunity to work and no one is left waiting around. This practice assists me in keeping the good energy flowing, and then, when a professional touches the client, that feeling translates to them as calming, soothing energy.
Clients make their own decisions regarding which spa to keep coming back to again and again, so they need to feel as if they are welcomed every time. How they feel while the service is being rendered is remembered, so it is essential that they are comfortable in your spa’s environment. Your spa should exude that happy balance of a soothing atmosphere and a caring touch. And if your staff feels appreciated, they will extend those healthy vibrations to their clients.
The staff should be rewarded with commission raises when a winning number of products were sold that month, and they should also be patted on the back for repeat clients. Make it a team effort. This encourages the staff to take pride in the spa’s business by feeling like a part of the team. It is acceptance: We all want to feel appreciated and important because we are. People come to us for guidance, our helpful knowledge and professional loving touch.
Another way I let my staff team members know how much is appreciate them is by offering them free services. Also, I have a new staff member receive a service from another professional familiar with the spa’s procedures. This teaches hands-on service and provides a lesson in what the services should be like. It also skillfully bonds the staff with feelings of trust and unity within the workplace.
When your spa staff feels confident and has a positive attitude, they become eager, and that attitude shows from the very moment a client is welcomed into your reception area.
The spa experience should be a pleasant one that focuses on the client and the needs they want addressed. I offer the chance for my staff to stretch and breathe before starting their day, as this prepares them to receive clients openly and graciously give them the service of a life time every time.
