SNAPSHOTSURVEY2012
REMEMBER: Visit the Snapshot Survey Portal at http:// snapshot. experienceispa. com to access results reports for the surveys you participated in or to purchase reports for the months you missed.
This chart was taken from the June 2012 ISPA Snapshot Survey on education and training in which 402 ISPA members participated. The chart provides data on the highest education level of management / executive staff for ISPA spa member respondents.
One question in the June 2012 ISPA Snapshot Survey was asked of spa, resource partner, consultant and educator members. These groups were all asked to describe any educational trends they have observed over the past year within the spa industry. The following is a sampling of the combined responses from all four groups.
“[ Having ] been a spa director for 12 years, [ I’ ve seen ] directors [ who ] were either hotel managers with no spa experience or with spa experience( i. e. former massage therapists) [ without the ] management [ background ]. Now, you see a wonderful combination. Spa directors are trained on business management and leadership. Service providers are also well-educated on customer service which has really helped to enhance the customer experience.”
“ Continued education classes for therapists. Webinar business training. Manufacturing classes.”
“ Higher incorporation of Information Technology( IT) to enhance learning. Use of wiki’ s, online group discussion, as well as [ the incorporation of ] social media, e. g. Twitter or Facebook, into curriculum. These tools help to address different learning needs and increase engagement in and outside the classroom. My experience has been positive with these types of learning aids from the standpoint of student enjoyment and improved evaluations.”
“ Higher level of expectation on business acumen. Etiquette training has become extremely important as well as problem-solving skills.”
“ Human resource( HR) knowledge is becoming more necessary than ever for spa managers, [ given today’ s ] complicated state laws and less budget for HR support.”
“ In Asia, we are seeing an increased need [ of staff fluent ] in the Mandarin language.”
“ Massage schools are doing much better preparing students on the business aspects of the industry, recognizing that graduates must have business acumen as well as extensive skills in the massage modalities.”
“ Mature students wanting to re-train to enter the spa industry.”
“ More advanced‘ retail’ sales training for massage therapists.”
“ More and more are trained in spa management or have at least taken coursework to that end.”
“ More people are educated to a certain extent before they visit a spa. That is why it is so important to keep up on trends and [ update ] services.”
“ Much stronger [ focus on ] retail sales, a lot more training about overall body wellness vs. spa being a luxury, and advanced technologies and research are in much higher demand.”
“ Regional training with skin-care products.”
“ The state we are located in is becoming more stringent in its requirements. I am seeing a number of schools beginning to offer Spa Management degrees.”
“ Vendor partners providing more return on investment [ ROI ] information to spas.”
September 2012 ■ PULSE 57