without really taking the time to look at what the problems are and solve them , you ’ re going to have the same problem . It ’ s a continuous cycle that ’ s not only bad for the employee , it ’ s bad for the leader because that leader , even if they are effective in general , they ’ ll end up being burnt out and not being their best selves because nobody can operate like that on a continual basis .
P : Aside from communicating the culture of their spa or brand in an attractive way , what might spa leaders do to bring more people into the talent pipeline ? AS : There have been a couple of high school students that I interviewed for the locker room , and what they told me in the interview is that they were interested in looking at spa — they were taking some classes on cosmetology . They wanted to have this exposure while they were still in high school , and that triggered me to reach out to the guidance counselors at the high school and ask , ‘ Hey , can I give you some flyers to post ?’ They posted them for me , and that was awesome because it gave this kid a chance to see what working in a spa is all about . And they ’ re going to come to work dedicated , which is hard to find at that age .
Hospitality and spa both have shown that you can move up to higher levels . There are not a lot of barriers to entrance in that respect , which I think is attractive to some . I didn ’ t go to college right out of high school . I wasn ’ t sure what I wanted to do . Long story
short , I entered [ the industry ] as a fitness instructor , and within 12 years was at Canyon Ranch as the Fitness Director and moved into Spa Director from there , so I started on that trajectory . You ’ ve got to look at your audience . [ Some leaders ] might think , ‘ I ’ ll post a job and if they ’ re interested they ’ ll come ,’ but it ’ s about framing when you ’ re putting your job postings out there . This is a marketing opportunity ; it ’ s a branding opportunity . You ’ ve got to make it sound attractive .
P : You mentioned a potential ISPA “ talent toolkit ” for spa leaders earlier . What kinds of resources would an effective toolkit include ? AS : We envision some videos of operators who have had some successes , something for people to take away or get inspired or think about things differently . But we know leaders also want the tangible part . They want email templates . They want to know if they go to a job fair , what are the things that they need to bring — they want to have that listed out with all the possible tools . And they want to know how to recruit and interview . In the toolkit , we want to address all of that , as well as how to
“ We ’ re seeing a shift , so it ’ s an opportunity for us to look at that and say , if people are making a shift , why not the spa ? Could spa be a choice for people in second careers ? Why aren ’ t spa businesses and positions more of a first choice for graduating high school students ?” put together a successful intern program by working with some of these vocational schools . That was what the ISPA Talent Symposium was going to do : have us look at things differently .
When I said , ‘ This is work ,’ this is work , and you have to think about it . I ’ m living proof that it works because most of this stuff I do . And I tell my managers , ‘ This is self-serving .’ I do it for myself , so that I don ’ t bang my head against the wall every day when I come to work . But if it was so easy , we wouldn ’ t be having this conversation . We ’ ve been saying since the beginning of the pandemic , “ All hands on the rope .” Because we are a collective of like-minded people with a vision and goals that are similar . When we gather like that , our voices are stronger . Some of us might think we ’ re just a little spa in such-and-such town , but that ’ s why we have organizations like ISPA and we have all hands on the rope and we use all the tools . When we ’ re engaged , we can get a lot out of it . ■
30 PULSE ■ JUNE 2021