Pulse Legacy Archive January / February 2013 | Page 38

drawn out from the client’s body, spun
in a centrifuge to separate the platelets
and then injected back into the face—is
one example of the medical spa’s new
approach to skin care.

REFLECT: How competitive are
your employee benefits and what
self advancement opportunities
do you offer to ensure that your
staff remains loyal and inspired

REFLECT: How does your spa,

to work?

medical or not, stay cutting-edge?

BEST PRACTICE: Be a
Hands-on Leader.
Denise Haddaway, spa manager at The
Inn at Perry Cabin–Linden Spa, shared
ideas on local initiatives, getting creative
and increasing retail sales. The key,
according to Haddaway, is to be a
hands-on leader, carefully overseeing all
aspects of the spa experience, such as
product selection. The Inn at Perry
Cabin-Linden Spa makes its own tea
baths using natural ingredients from the
resort’s own garden. The spa also makes
its own soaps and cultures its own bees,
which produce natural honey used in
some of its products. In addition to
using them in services, the spa also sells
these products in its retail shop.
Haddaway and her team have successfully created a spa experience in which
guests can always enjoy a piece of the
local environment.
REFLECT: In what creative
ways do you add local flavor to
your spa’s guest experience?

BEST PRACTICE: Do Social
Media Right.
Angela Cortright, owner of Spa
Gregorie’s, spoke about the power of
social media and how her own spa is
using it to effectively market to spagoers. On a regular basis, her team runs
Facebook sweepstakes that offer exciting
prizes. Besides Facebook sweepstakes,
her team effectively uses QR codes.
Every one of Spa Gregorie’s three locations has an outdoor sign that
encourages passersby to scan the QR
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January/February 2013

code and receive 10 percent off their
next spa service. The QR code takes the
client (or potential client) to the Spa
Gregorie’s Facebook page and prompts
the visitor to “like” the spa. According
to Cortright, their pay-per-click marketing campaign to promote their holiday
offerings has been far more effective
than traditional advertising initiatives.
REFLECT: What creative ideas
do you have lined up in your social
media calendar?

BEST PRACTICE: Invest in
Your Staff.
Deborah Szekely, founder of Rancho La
Puerta Fitness Resort & Spa, challenged
the group to think outside your own
business. Szekely and her team bring
new meaning to “investing in your
people” by offering staff multiple benefits and self-advancement opportunities.
According to Szekely, one of the many
great benefits they offer is financial
support for their staff’s education. She
regularly invests in the community by
inviting students to intern at Rancho La
Puerta and learn about the industry,
while helping these future leaders build
marketable skills. Her staff and their families are also welcome to enjoy the
luxurious facilities within the spa.

In closing, keep in mind the Japanese
term “kaizen” which means “continuous, incremental improvement over
time.” This essentially means that next
month, your team should be better than
it was this month. To practice kaizen is
a daily process. Seeking and sharing best
practices with industry peers is one of
the most effective ways to facilitate
improvement over time, not only within
your spa but in the spa industry as a
whole. So, take these best practices,
share them with your team, and implement the one(s) that will help your team
reach their strategic goals. ■

DR. BRYAN WILLIAMS is a service consultant, trainer and author. His specialty areas include service excellence, employee engagement, and quality
improvement. He has travelled worldwide to work with more than 100
companies in diverse industries such as health care, hospitality, spa,
banking and real estate. Williams is the former Global Corporate Director
of Training and Organizational Effectiveness for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel
Company.