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FASTFACT
Massage Envy pays for investments on continuing education for its franchise staff, whether a recertification or learning a new skill. Franchise owners are, however, encouraged to be creative with their staff development. Schermer once opened his clinic to local massage students to come in and work on his therapists, which provided a nice reward for the employees, and gave students first-hand, professional feedback from experienced therapists.
recruiting and interview processes.“ It’ s a mixture of more experienced therapists and those who are just coming out of school,” Schermer says. But as with firsttimers being a key driver of clientele,“ massage schools are essential for us to supply sufficient therapists,” he adds. Massage Envy therapists have an average of three to four years of experience.
“ There is no clearly defined set of procedures [ for interviewing therapists ],” Schermer says, so hires are made based on a combination of practicals, interviews and search for the right attitude.“ We try to get the ones who are really passionate,” Fitzsimmons adds, and retention is as important in a staff as it is in a customer base.“ We really make an effort to get the best therapists on the market that we can find, and then keep them,” notes Schermer.
Continuing education is offered and paid for by the company, whether a recertification or learning a new skill, but franchise owners are also encouraged to be creative with their staff development. Schermer once opened his clinic to local massage students to come in and work on his therapists, which provided a nice reward for the employees, and professional feedback for the students. Fitzsimmons, who made a note of this“ great idea,” maintains a lead therapist program where the more experienced ones serve as mentors to the fresh-out-of-school employees. Half of Fitzsimmons’ s therapists are trained in pre-natal massage, and Schermer brings a clinician to his location periodically to hold classes on-site.“ If you look at what it will cost you for continuing education, it really adds up,” he says, another reason recent massage school graduates are drawn to Massage Envy to gain experience.
Schermer takes pride in the fact that his staff has such a varied knowledge base from all that education.“ Our therapists bring all knowledge to the table that they’ re capable of,” he says, allowing customers to get just what they want from each session.“ We train our people to find out what the customer is looking for. You have to ask the right questions. Clients are not required to specify Swedish or any other specific modality when the appointment is booked,” he says.
Fitzsimmons also stresses that working at Massage Envy opens more job opportunities.“ There’ s always room for growth,” she says, adding that they can always recommend staff for other locations. If a therapist wants to move to the west coast,“ we can call Massage Envys in California and they’ ll give them opportunities,” Schermer says.
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16 PULSE ■ August 2011