For Andrea Zemel , those conversations also provide an opportunity to make a team member feel seen and valued . Forming those close connections and demonstrating a genuine desire to support your teams is , of course , critical in any case , but it can also have an added benefit . “ You want to make sure that within our industry , we ’ re creating those connections … creating those different avenues for the people who might have had a tough year . And you know what ? They ’ re going to go on Glassdoor and make an amazing comment about where they work . Why ? Because you connected with them .”
setting up shop
The recruitment and retention processes are challenging even for spas that fall under a larger corporate umbrella or have more substantial resources , such as a dedicated marketing or human resources team . But spa leaders without access to those resources can have an even more difficult time getting ( and keeping ) qualified staff in the door . Each panelist shared their thoughts on how smaller or single location spas can face the industry ’ s workforce issues with confidence .
“ I would first tell you to take a step back and assess what your needs are moving forward ,” said Andrea Zemel . “ What is important ? What is your brand ? What do you want it to say about you ? And then build off of that and be flexible .” On top of establishing a clear set of priorities and a sense of your brand , Zemel asserted that spa leaders should embrace something that they may usually try to avoid at all costs : failure . “ It ’ s okay to fail . I ’ m
very big on that . We want to fail , because then we learn from it ,” Zemel second connection on Linkedin ,” said
members automatically become your said . Biehl .“ When you think about what
Maintaining an extensive professional network ( and leveraging it as to change your presence , it ’ s a true
joining one group on LinkedIn can do
you seek out candidates ) is vital as snowball effect . So don ’ t be afraid to well , according to Angela Biehl .“ There reach out , use your network and keep are so many easy ways to do that an open mind .” with LinkedIn . There ’ s one particular Finally , Tracey Kalimeris left attendees with this advice : “ I think , for hospitality group that has over 300,000 members in it , [ so ] just by me , it would be making sure I hired joining that group , all of those the very best people . I would just be really , really picky , and I know that ’ s easier said than done these days , but I think it would be so important for me to build the right team . We ’ re going to be in it together , and we ’ re going to be able to create some awesome stories .”
“ Easier said than done ” is an apt description for nearly everything related to talent in the spa industry at the moment , but by putting into practice some of the strategies outlined by these Stronger Together Summit panelists , spa leaders can set themselves up to recruit ( and retain ) great additions to their teams . n
“ You want to make sure that within our industry , we ’ re creating those connections … creating those different avenues for the people who might have had a tough year . And you know what ? They ’ re going to go on Glassdoor and make an amazing comment about where they work . Why ? Because you connected with them .”
— ANDREA ZEMEL
44 PULSE ■ JULY 2021