competition for roles is fierce , and I believe Internal promotions will be the most likely way to advance within the spa industry
“... there are so many people that are incredibly passionate about spa , wellness and hospitality . For those people , it ’ s not a job — it ’ s a calling .”
right now . Employers are more likely to take a chance on the performance of someone they know and trust . WTS has an impressive record of internal promotions and career success stories , and it ’ s especially rewarding to see that continue now .
Who we ’ re looking at for spa management roles hasn ’ t changed , but I think prior to COVID-19 , it was easier for someone who was a spa supervisor to advance into an operations manager . It ’ s more challenging now to make a step up by changing companies . Many highly compensated people in the spa industry were furloughed due to the pandemic . Now you have this different tier , people looking for jobs at salaries possibly below where they were at previously . For candidates that were looking to jump ahead , it becomes even harder , because now they are competing against candidates that have higher levels of experience .
P : Are you optimistic at all about hiring moving forward ?
B : Some people have shifted industries because of all the
uncertainty in hospitality , and that ’ s a little heartbreaking to see , but there are so many people that are incredibly passionate about spa , wellness and hospitality . For those people , it ’ s not a job — it ’ s a calling . It ’ s what they want to do in their life . I believe recruiting these individuals and allowing them to shine can help define you as an employer of choice . When you have staff that are that engaged , that are excited to be at work every day and excited to do what they love , that translates not only to your guests , but to potential staff , because it resonates with people when they can see that you have an exciting team that is happy to be there and passionate about their work .
Recruitment now will require all of the same things that we ’ ve said before : You ’ re going to have to proactively source , build an engaged talent pipeline , manage your social media and focus on the company culture and reviews . Recruitment marketing is also a critical aspect of hiring , and candidates want to see what ‘ a day in the life is like for your team .
We ’ ll make it through this . People are excited to come back to the spa . People are hurting for interaction . They want touch , they want healing , they want wellness . We ’ ll be back and stronger than ever . It ’ s going to be a tough time during this process , and reopenings are going to be challenging . But I think that for the brands that are doing this right , that have engaged staff , that have something that they can offer , that ’ s what you hold on to — and that ’ s what you advertise . n
ANGELA BIEHL head of talent acquisition for WTS International , is a Human Resources leader with over 20 years of experience in talent acquisition strategy . Connect with Angela via LinkedIn to interview during the ISPA Conference & Expo . For exciting WTS International career opportunities in Spa and Wellness , visit www . wtsinternational . com / wts-careers .
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