TALENT TOPICS
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to do by reducing the number of people who potentially
touch each item. It may also have the added benefit of
creating more space in your common areas, further allowing
you to encourage social distancing.
6. Take Precautions with Health Information
If you are going to gather health information about your
guests and employees, think about if and how you are
going to maintain that information. Consider, for example,
taking the temperature of each employee and guest upon
arrival but before they enter the spa. The individual’s temperature
could be considered medical information, so you
want to think carefully about who will have that information
(i.e., who took the person’s temperature) as well
as whether you will record it in some fashion. Think also
about whether it might be useful to have a daily record to
demonstrate that you did take the temperatures of the individuals
present that day (guests and employees who
clocked in), but balance that against not gathering too
much information.
Spa employees may be used to receiving some medical
information, such as disclosures about skin conditions,
sports injuries, and the like. This is a great time to revisit the
need to keep all medical information confidential, lest your
employees share information and create significant risk for
the spa.
7. If an Employee or Guest Tests Positive
Finally, be prepared for one of the “worst-case” scenarios:
an employee or guest notifies you after being at the spa
that they have tested positive (or been exposed to someone
who tested positive). [Ed: It is recommended that you
understand and comply with any guidelines from local,
state or national governments or agencies in this area.]
The best approach is to be prepared for this potential before
it happens. As a first step, think about adding language
to the client paperwork (if it isn’t there already) to
discuss that there are risks associated in coming to the
spa, including but not limited to the potential that a guest
may contract an illness during the visit. To the extent allowed
under applicable law, a spa would be wise to have
all guests waive such risks.
Also plan in advance for what you will do if there is a
diagnosis or exposure. There aren’t “right” answers, but
questions to consider include: Will you notify the employees
or guests that they may have been exposed? Will you
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