Staff Wellness will SAVE YOUR BUSINESS!
As we start reopening the Beauty, Hair and Spa Industry globally, we are all faced with the same challenges as we navigate our way through the “new abnormal”.
One of the key challenges, yet often overlooked, is staff wellbeing. This is a critical business responsibility which deserves careful thought and execution. As an owner or manager you have experienced the challenges of implementing new protocols and trying to keep your space virus free. Imagine for a moment how this new work environment and the added responsibilities may be affecting the wellbeing of your staff. It is understandable that you feel completely overwhelmed with the added workload.
Let’s start off with defining the word wellbeing. Wikipedia states that wellbeing or wellness is the condition of an individual or group. “Wellness refers to diverse and interconnected dimensions of physical, mental, and social well-being that extend beyond the traditional definition of health.
Why is this so important in your business?
If you were to conduct a survey to ascertain the way the general public has been feeling since the onset of the pandemic you would encounter words such as; stressed, traumatised, afraid, anxious, worried, to name but a few. It is highly unlikely that you will hear anyone say they’re feeling energised, wonderful, elated and fantastic. The reality is we are dealing with a mentally fragile workforce.
In our industry, more so than any other, we rely on “energy transference” to complete the customer experience and determine whether a customer becomes loyal or lost. Energy transference is the magic that happens when a therapist touches her client, whether during a massage or skin treatment or during a scalp massage at the wash basin. Every time we touch a client, our energy transfers to them and it stands to reason then, that the client transfers their energy to the therapist as well. Have you ever had a massage and felt that the therapist had “angel hands” or “heavenly hands”? Have you ever had a massage where you felt the opposite, so perhaps irritated or anxious after the massage? Well, that feeling you have after a spa or salon treatment is a direct result of the energy transferred by the therapist.
It may be unfathomable that this one aspect could make or break your business and now, more than ever, you are in no position to neglect any avenue to success. It is your responsibility as owner or manager to be in control and manage your staff wellbeing to ensure their morale and psyche is energised, positive, happy and nurturing.
Let’s now investigate three ideas to assist you in managing the wellbeing of your staff. The focus is to prompt them to share information they ordinarily would not, giving you valuable insight into their physical and emotional state.
- Quality of Life Questionnaire
- Letter to Covid
- Check in “feeling” word
The quality of life questionnaire will give you crucial insight into the frame of mind of your team member. It covers emotional, spiritual, financial, environmental, social, physical, cognitive and behavioral aspects of a person’s life. This questionnaire will determine whether the staff member is capable of working on your clients or whether you need to seek further interventions to better their state of mind.
Writing a letter to Covid is fun and also allows for a good, solid vent. Encourage each staff member to write a structured letter to Covid. Ensure they write a minimum of one page but don’t limit them to a maximum. The more they write, the more they vent!
Here is a guide to the proposed structure of the letter:
- Cleary tell Covid how you feel. Be sure to describe each emotion you are feeling.
- Tell Covid what has happened in your life during lockdown / quarantine.
- Tell Covid three of your lowest moments.
- Tell Covid what you learnt during lockdown / quarantine.
- Tell Covid three of your best moments during lockdown / quarantine.
- Tell Covid who was there for you and helped you get through the lockdown / quarantine.
- Lastly, tell Covid what your future plans are in terms of getting back on track.
This is a powerful tool to assist owners and managers to understand the impact the pandemic has had on each individual member of staff.
The check in “feeling” word is a simple exercise which will allow each person to express their daily feelings in a safe environment. The idea is to create a group chat platform where team members share one word to describe the way they feel each morning, prior to arriving at work. This allows team members to offer each other support where needed as well as a deeper level of understanding, fostering empathy and care in the workplace.
Again, as an owner or manager, feeling overwhelmed at this juncture is understandable. The absolute last thing you need to be burdened with is creating a wellness strategy for your team. It is important to leverage channels available to ease your workload. For this reason, we have devised a Dynamic Employee Wellness Guide, specific to our Industry, with 13 ideas to implement in your business, including a comprehensive quality of life questionnaire.
Download your guide here and apply this code to receive an exclusive 20% discount: DNYN8M3JY62U
Deepak Chopra said, “For everyone, wellbeing is a journey…. The secret is committing to that journey and taking those first steps with hope and belief in yourself”. So, I urge you all to take those first steps now and commit to a wellness journey for yourself and your team!
Wishing you wonderful wellness!
Marisa and the Spa Professionals Guild team