Pulse June 2021 | Page 19

great people from it .”
The cost Sasowski mentions is , of course , real . It takes a considerable amount of time to form and foster the kinds of relationships that are going to yield strong hires . However , the approach may actually represent a more efficient use of time than simply posting to job sites . As Sasowski puts it ,“ I think as business owners , we don ’ t value our time enough . [ Job sites ] seem really easy and really quick , but on the other end of it , I have to go through all these resumes , and more than half of them don ’ t even qualify for the position that I ’ m looking for . If someone comes from the school , I ’ m going to look there before I look at my stack of resumes .”
It isn ’ t that the top-end candidates from the school are necessarily always better hires than top-end candidates who might apply to an online job posting , notes Sasowski ( she has had success hiring both ), merely that identifying passionate candidates who fit well in your team is less timeconsuming when they are being drawn from a smaller pool of unquestionably interested prospective employees . At a time when spa leaders have never been pulled in more directions , that kind of saved time can be immensely valuable .
Kelleye Martin puts it even more bluntly : “ I think that , wherever you

“ I think a lot of people have just left the industry , not just in spa , but in hospitality in general because we ’ re facing this all over our property . I mean , I definitely need massage therapists and nail techs , which I always have , but we would get applicants that would trickle in pre-pandemic , but now we ’ re not — it ’ s like a ghost town .”

— KELLEYE MARTIN
Representatives from Bryght conduct a demonstration with students ( and potential future employees ). are , if you don ’ t know your local schools , you ’ re crazy .” She adds ,“ You have to put in the time up front ,” citing several ways — going to speak to students at an esthetics school , inviting students to tour her spa ( virtually or in person , if possible ) and visiting massage schools to receive treatments — that she has cultivated connections with potential hires and even begun the process of identifying those who may fit best with her spa .“ You can start to see who ’ s available ,” Martin says , “ Then you ’ re there front-and-center when they start looking for a job . They ’ re like ,
JUNE 2021 PULSE 17