Watch this video before diving in!
For the last two weeks we have been focused on learning and growing from Steve Ewing’s “mistake” which is all about not being so focused on the revenue but instead focusing on the staff. This week Steve has given us TOP 10 TIPS on how to achieve a people focused culture in your businesses.
Here they are:
TOP TIP #1
ONBOARDING. A team member’s perception of the way we behave as a business and the standards we think are acceptable develop from the minute we contact them for an interview. It is our responsibility as managers and leaders to inspire people to want to work for us and give their best (knowing that we will support them all the way) so the next time you interview think about this.
TOP TIP #2
Recognise each prospective team member as an INDIVIDUAL with individual needs – In an interview you can get a feel for their personality and their learning style. I have prospective therapists complete a trade test with either my in-house trainer or my treatments manager – not as a test; its more about getting a second opinion. Sometimes someone will open up much more after the initial interview. This is an opportunity to understand what training and support they will need and to plan their induction.
TOP TIP #3
INDUCTION. I am lucky as at Champneys we have a pre-defined induction that we can then tailor to our new starters but DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF A GOOD INDUCTION. If you cut corners with a new starter’s induction then they will think its acceptable for them to cut corners going forward.
TOP TIP #4
Creating a Team. A TEAM is a mix of personalities and when I interview, I think about how this person will fit in with my team and which team members they are similar to. Bringing someone in who has the right skills but the wrong personality / attitude could disrupt the team; an unsettled team could mean that other therapists leave.
TOP TIP #5
TRAINING should never end on induction. This is a frequent mistake as once a therapist starts generating revenue some managers would view the idea of taking them back out of treatment column for training as ‘costing’ the business money.
This is not the correct attitude; every time you have a complaint 99% of the time it can be traced back to training. Every time you see a missed opportunity well that links back to training as well. Every time you have a leaver again you need to ask yourself why did they leave and if you had devoted a little bit more time to their development could you have retained them? Compare the time you would have booked out for some training with your turn away figures and your sickness levels and the answer will be clear.
TOP TIP #6
DAILY RECOGNITION / REWARD. I talk a lot about recognising people as individuals I hate seeing spa’s treat clients like they are on a conveyor belt and its important that our therapists don’t see themselves as being on a conveyor belt. The way I encourage this is to ensure that every time they do something special, we notice and reward it. This is how you create a culture of team members really trying to give their everything as if they give their everything it is recognised and rewarded. The key word here is daily; not once a year in a free Christmas party, it’s about being consistent and doing it every single day.
TOP TIP #7
I also think ‘GAMIFICATION’ is a really important. It’s often a concept that is used when people describe how to motivate ‘Gen Z’ My thoughts are that regardless of age people love gamification – who can get the most name mentions on trip advisor? Who can sell the most retail today? But this is a key way to keep people engaged and interested through the day.
TOP TIP #8
SURPRISE AND DELIGHT. When you read reviews you often hear about ‘surprise and delight’ where guests are recognised as having a special occasion and surprised that someone remembered and made their experience special for them. We do that to create amazing experiences that our guests will talk about with friends and share on social media but what about making our team feel like that and getting them to share their experience of working for us. This can be done easily in recognising birthdays and special occasions and also with random acts of kindness… my favourite example of this is an Easter where every therapist who worked Easter Sunday walked into their treatment room and found an Easter Egg waiting in there for them in the morning.
TOP TIP #9
TIME. Some people will read all of the above and think – well if only I had time to do all of this but I would push that straight back at you. If you make time for all of the above how much easier would your job be? Less complaints, stronger upsells, repeat guests returning and paying more and spending more because they had such an amazing experience first time around – so I would make time for all of that.
TOP TIP #10
My last point is about our RESPONSIBILITY to our industry. Being ‘People Focused is our responsibility as managers and leaders if we want the spa industry to thrive. We talk a lot in the UK about a lack of people coming into the industry so when we do have new therapists it’s our responsibility to ensure that they are nurtured; enjoy working in Spa and progress and stay in the industry. They will then ‘sell’ the industry to friends and family and maybe before you know it will be known as an amazing industry to work in.
WOW. How incredible are these tips? Another valuable tool to add to that ever-growing and evolving business tool box.
Our next coaching session is on the 10th May at 4pm, it is a VERY important session all about Delegation which seems to be a common challenge among most managers and owners I chat to. So lets overcome this challenge together with a Step by Step session and some role plays demonstrating how to get delegation right!
Register HERE for the 10th May session.
Till then!
Marisa xxx