Reflections: The Recipe for Success

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I love to watch cooking shows on TV, and my avid viewership of culinary genius is not a new habit. I grew up watching Jeffrey Smith, a.k.a. The Frugal Gourmet, but I would not pass up the opportunity to “throw down” with Bobby Flay, whip up a last minute brunch with Ina Garten or spice it up with Emeril Lagasse. It would be an impossible task to pick my favorite chef; they all have unique cooking methods, recipes and personalities. What they all have in common, though, is an agreement that great food is about quality ingredients. I would have to concur—in cooking, life and oddly enough, in spa.

The recipe for a successful spa is all about quality ingredients. Of course, you must have quality ingredients in your skin care products, but I am talking about your employees. Knowledgeable, happy employees provide great treatments and customer service, ultimately boosting your spa’s bottom line.

This issue of Skin Inc. is all about employee development, starting from the ground up. For those who just earned their license, or those looking for a career change, Mary Nielsen identifies eight tasks they can complete to get their dream spa gig. She discusses resume and cover letter development, noting that Times New Roman is the equivalent to wearing sweatpants to an interview. I couldn’t agree more.This issue of Skin Inc. is all about employee development, starting from the ground up. For those who just earned their license, or those looking for a career change, Mary Nielsen identifies eight tasks they can complete to get their dream spa gig. She discusses resume and cover letter development, noting that Times New Roman is the equivalent to wearing sweatpants to an interview. I couldn’t agree more.

The development of employee expertise is covered by Cynthia Malcom. It all starts with crafting a solid business plan, so you have metrics by which to measure staff performance.

She adds that it is important to encourage personal development, help employees find their strengths and enroll them in education to build upon those strengths. She further states that employees should be encouraged to seek outside knowledge on the ingredients and treatments that they use, and they should be rewarded for performance excellence, not just for sales.

Jaclyn Peresetsky also highlights the importance of rewarding employee excellence in her column on giving employees the warm and fuzzies. She believes in having regular “jam sessions” to deliver key spa updates and hear employee ideas and concerns. Regular employee rewards can also be tied into those sessions, but even if not, they should be regular to show appreciation for staff excellence. She concludes that special touches make for a happy employee environment, and happy employees are productive and good to clients.

We hope we’ve given you the tools to acquire and develop the best spa employees—your recipe for success. However, if you’re expecting to come over to my house and witness culinary genius, note that I’ve taken a brief motherhood hiatus for ravioli and PB/strawberry sandwiches. I’m saving my recipes for later.

Yours in education,

Katie Anderson

 

 

 

Katie Anderson, Managing Editor

[email protected]

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