“ I believe that compensation structures that provide predictability and stability will become more enticing — for example , a healthy hourly wage can emphasize the value each employee brings to the company . Compensation should communicate confidence in the investment — not just hope for return .”
— SHAWN HALLUM , Regional Director , Freedom Spas LLC
about ’ s service providers earned commission on any service , a 10 percent operational charge was taken off the top . Then , commission was earned on the remaining 90 percent . This made it hard for service providers to look at weekly service dollars and quickly understand what they could expect to take home . “ You can ’ t look at your stats on your phone and see that you had a $ 3000 service week and that you ’ re going to take home forty-eight percent of ninety percent of that ,” Jasper comments .
Now , service providers earn commission off 100 percent of gross , rather than 90 percent — the operational fee has been eliminated . While this itself constituted a pay raise , Gadabout doubled down and raised service commission rates by 2 percent across the board . Retail commission rates are unchanged , though Gadabout is considering adjusting those .
With a simpler compensation structure in place , it became imperative to effectively communicate this to recruits , applicants and new hires . Gadabout created collateral just for interviewees that explains both compensation and benefits in clear , easily understood terms . A clearer expression
HIRING INSIGHT
When overhauling your spa ’ s compensation structure , remember that you ’ re not just competing with local spas anymore : the pandemic drove many spa professionals to different industries entirely , such as grocery , which Tompkins notes “ thrived ” during the pandemic . Jasper adds that the pandemic gave workers unprecedented time to evaluate their own careers and passions , leading to many wanting to pursue different paths . of benefits , in particular , allowed Gadabout to actually keep their benefits relatively unchanged yet still attract more applicants and hires . Despite being a local business , Gadabout offers many benefits associated with bigger corporations — group health insurance , short-term disability , a 401 ( k ). Yet many applicants and current employees didn ’ t realize the scope of benefits offered . By including these benefits more explicitly in collateral provided to both applicants and employees , it makes what they already offered seem even richer .
In this sense , the perception of a spa ’ s compensation and benefits package is just as important as the reality of that package . Angela Biehl , senior director of talent acquisition for WTS International , would likely agree with this idea . WTS International , a global spa consulting and management firm , operates spas in a variety of markets . At one spa , they ’ ve recently revamped compensation to increase the curbside appeal , if you will , of their job listings . The spa had a higher-than-typical price point for services ; therefore , massage therapists still earned more than those at other area spas despite having a lower commission percentage . Yet , this lower percentage hampered the spa ’ s ability to attract new therapists : applicants just couldn ’ t see past the lower percentage . Says Biehl ,“ We reduced the hourly rate and increased the commis-
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26 PULSE ■ JULY 2021