Pulse August 2021 | Page 33

It would be a stretch , however , to say that the spa industry is “ returning to normal .” Given all that the industry has witnessed and learned since the pandemic started , even using the word “ normal ” may feel strange . Now that spa leaders can genuinely set their eyes on the horizon instead of the ground right in front of their feet , perhaps the time has come to redefine that term and create a new normal that carries the industry to new heights . That ’ s how former ISPA Board Chairman Jean Kolb sees it , anyway . Fresh from leading a panel on the merits of careers in spa at the ISPA Stronger Together Summit in May , Kolb spoke with Pulse about the industry ’ s path forward .

P : Do you worry that added tasks like stay interviews may be challenging for some spa leaders to maintain , given the many hats that so many are wearing ? K : Oftentimes , as leaders , we have back-to-back meetings every day . If you tell a leader ,‘ Oh , by the way , you ’ re going to need to do stay interviews at least three times a year , and do these check-ins with every single therapist and guest service team member ,’ they ’ re going to roll their eyes and ask ,‘ When am I going to fit that in ?’ But it ’ s so critical because if you ’ re not fitting that in , you ’ re fitting in a new hire , or training and retraining , or disciplinary discussions because it ’ s gotten too far down that road — to the exit interview — which is what we all want to avoid .
Pulse : You recently led a Knowledge Builder Session with three experienced industry professionals at the ISPA Stronger Together Summit . What did you take away from that conversation ? Jean Kolb : We talked about Generation Z and what it takes to keep them in this industry , and I think the biggest takeaway is that this next generation wants not only a job ; they want a career . They are highly engaged . They want mentoring . They want to be the best that they can be , and we have to help them grow , or they will go . Eric [ Stephenson , director of education at iMassage Inc .] had a great comment about one of the ways in which to that through stay interviews , which is the exact opposite of an exit interview . Once an exit interview happens , we have lost them , and we ’ re not going to be able to get them back . Stay interviews really help to build trust through communication and through transparency . We have to ask them what is going to make them stay with us and what are the potential pitfalls that would make them leave . Based on that candid feedback , we have to put things in place that are going to help not just that person but the overall team , because if one is thinking like that , chances are several are thinking like that .
P : Are there other characteristics of Generation Z that spa leaders should be mindful of ? K : You know , Fred [ DeMicco , executive director , School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at Northern Arizona University ] was asked ,‘ How is Gen Z different ?’ And while he said that they are very different , they ’ re also very much the same . However , this generation is so highly engaged on social media , and they will know as much as some of the people on your staff do about the job and the brand . They walk into the interview knowing a lot about you . They know what type of culture your have ; they know what your brand standards are — they can tell all of that based on social media , so they are much more prepared in that interview than they have ever been .
And from a recruiting standpoint , I just have to reiterate that , if our priority is getting the best people in the jobs that we need , we have to make it a priority — it cannot be mixed in with everything else . And we have to act quickly , because this generation is not going to wait two months for a job offer . It ’ s a very instantaneous generation . We cannot keep them in a holding pattern because they will continue to look at their options .

“... from a recruiting standpoint , I just have to reiterate that , if our priority is getting the best people in the jobs that we need , we have to make it a priority — it cannot be mixed in with everything else .”

AUGUST 2021 PULSE 31