Ms. Curtis

Spas, Health & Fitness

Five Effective Ways for Keeping Your Spa Team Motivated

By Nina Curtis, Founder & President, The Nile Institute

Keeping valued team members must be a top priority for any spa business planning to succeed over the long term. Although 'money' often plays an important role in someone's decision to join or leave a company, it ranks no higher than fifth among the most important factors for why employees stay with an organization. The following 'five effective tips for keeping your spa team motivated' will enhance your ability to support your spa team with feeling that they are a part of the organization and it will encourage them to participate in the success of your business for the long term.

Keys to success...

1. Recognition

When your team accomplishes something they have achieved something. Your recognition is appreciation for that achievement. Often managers don't give enough recognition because they don't get enough. Therefore, it doesn't come natural to do it. Take a hard look at this and ask yourself, are 'You' a giver? Recognition is free, give it out when appropriate as it can raise the bar with your team.

Another level of recognition is getting your company's Executive Team involved. Now this is a secret weapon. And like any secret weapon, timing is most critical. If this is used too often the value is diminished. And if it is used only for special occasions and rare achievements the value is escalated. Recognition coming from the 'Executive' level has a very positive impact on your people as it lets them know that they are being watched and attention is being given. This kind of recognition makes us all stand a bit taller. Memos and voice mails coming from the 'Executive' level stand out. This also allows you as the manger to ensure that upper management is kept abreast of the achievements your team is making for the overall success of the business... To add yet another level of stimulation, have an executive either personally call to congratulate someone (or a group) or even show up in person to shake hands and express his or her appreciation.

Applause, applause and more applause is also a form of recognition, but a very specific form. Physically applaud your people by giving them a round of applause for specific achievements. Where? When? The answer is wherever and whenever. At meetings or company-sponsored social gatherings, a luncheon, or in the office. At the end of a shift, before a shift, and whenever possible in the middle of a shift, get their attention...right on the spot...

On-the-Spot Praise. This too is associated with recognition but the key here is timing. When there is a reason for praising someone don't put it off for any reason! Promptness equals effectiveness. Praise people when the achievement is fresh on everyone's mind. What is effective is for us to pay attention, watch for accomplishments and go out and tell whoever it is what a great service they gave or applaud them for going above and beyond to serve the guest...praise them promptly for what they accomplished or achieved! Don't allow time to creep in and snatch away any ounce of the positive impact that praise can have when it is delivered promptly.

2. Training

Training is always a work in progress and your team can never get enough...For whatever reasons, too many managers feel, "My people have already been trained" or "I've got good people...they only need a little training." But training never ends. Schedule "booster" training sessions. These should be led by you or by a lead therapist with help from specific associates who show a particular strength in the skills taught. This takes time, but these types of training sessions will continually enhance the performance of your team and the productivity of your business.

One-on-one coaching, another form of training offers continued associate development. Your only cost is time. Time means you care. And remember people don't care how much you know... until they know how much you care.

Whenever the emphasis is on positive feedback, make sure to do this coaching in "public." Whenever you recognize and encourage a team member or members in "public," it acts as a natural stimulant for others who are close enough to see or hear what's taking place. It allows you to set 'best' practices in place so your entire team knows how things should be done. It sets the 'performance bar' so to speak.

Mentoring your associates helps them to know what is potentially ahead for them, what opportunities there are for growth and sustainability. This issue is a sometimes forgotten ingredient as to the importance it plays in the overall motivation of people. Setting career paths within your organization is very powerful. Do you promote from within? I hope you can answer yes to that. Although specific circumstances require you to look for talent outside your company you should always first consider internal personnel. If you do this you are sending a very positive message to every one that there are indeed further career opportunities within your organization. Another thought on this is as you train, coach and mentor your team members, you are ensuring that your spa could run smoothly and successfully if there were a promotional position to come open that you might want. Too often I have seen managers passed up for promotions because it was felt that they did too good a 'job' in there current position and it might be too hard to replace them. Think about that for a moment.

What's in a job name? When you talk about job titles you are tapping the self-esteem of people. How someone feels about the way they are perceived in the workforce is a critical component to overall attitude and morale. Picture a social gathering that includes some of your associates. The subject of work inevitably comes up. Will your people be proud, or embarrassed, to share their title and workplace? The importance of feeling proud of who you are and what you do is monumental.

Be creative as you think of possibilities for titles. Have your staff come up with ideas giving them input into the titles. Bottom line, you are dealing with pride...and pride enhances a positive attitude...and a positive attitude is the foundation for continuing success.

3. Leadership Roles

Give your team leadership roles to reward their performance and also to help you identify future candidates for promotions. Most people are stimulated by leadership roles even in spot appearances. For example, when guest come to your spa use this opportunity to allow an associate to take the role of guest guide.

A great place to hand out leadership roles is to allow your people to lead brief meetings. Utilize your associates' strengths and expertise by setting up "tune up" training sessions and let one of your associates lead the training, rotate this with your team members. The best time to do this is when new associates start.

Or, assign a meeting leader after someone has attended an outside seminar or workshop. Have them lead a post show, briefing the other team members regarding seminar content and highlights.

Have your associates help you lead a project team to improve internal processes. Remember they are on the front lines and hear and see things that you may miss.

4. Team Spirit.

Team Spirit is what drives teams to championships. This is a crucial component for your business success. It's also known as relationship building. What is your current team spirit? How do you currently build team spirit? Do you know how your team feels about the spirit of the group? Do your team members work as a team or as individuals, only looking out for what's in it for them versus what the team can do as a whole?

Have a picture taken on your entire team (including you!), have it enlarged and hang it in a visible spot. Most people like to physically see themselves as part of a group or team.

Work to create projects and affiliated activity that are team driven. People driving to reach goals together definitely enhance team spirit solely because they must lean upon others and be prepared to be leaned on.

One very effective idea is to build a collage of creative ideas with the "Team" theme. All associates are responsible for submitting a phrase referring to TEAM on a weekly rotation. Each of these ideas (such as TEAM: Total Enthusiasm of All Members or There is no I in Team) is placed on a wall, creating a collage of Team-oriented phrases. Don't have one person responsible for this...do it as a team.

Social Gatherings scheduled offsite can enhance bonding which in turn helps team spirit, which ultimately impacts your positive work environment. Halloween costume parties, picnics on July 4th, Memorial Day or Labor Day, and Christmas parties are only some of the ideas that successfully bring people together for an enjoyable time. Some others that can be considered with equal success are softball games (against other companies or among associates, depending on staff size), groups going putt-putt golfing or movie madness.

5. Communication

Open communication is a true motivator. We all like to be heard and voice our opinions. And the majority of employees say their managers don't communicate openly with them. But a majority of managers say they do. Who's right? Wrong question. If associates feel you are withholding information they need about their work or workplace, they will lose motivation and develop resistance to your management. Time to communicate more openly.

How? Since employees and managers generally see this issue differently, the simplest fix is to ask employees what they want to know. Ask them one-on-one, by e- mail, in meetings. Give employees at least one chance a week to ask you for information. And then give them the information.

Well, here's a start to evaluating your current situation and the level of motivation and 'spirit' your spa team and you have. Once you've checked that these points are in place and are working to maximize your performance level you must always remember that your work and leadership are always under construction.

Here's to your continued success.

Founder and President of the Nile Institute, Nina Curtis has worked in the personal care and spa industry for more than 25 years. She holds certifications in aromatherapy, reflexology, acupressure and color therapy and was instrumental in developing of training programs for salons and spas across the country. As principal of Curtis Communications, she consults for leading companies in the personal care industry. Ms. Curtis earned a MBA from Pepperdine University, and sees the value of learning business skills that are directly applied to the spa a nd hospitality industries. Ms. Curtis can be contacted at 310-275-6453 or curtiscomm@earthlink.net Extended Bio...

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