Pulse March 2020 | Page 68

MONEY MATTERS BY DR. MICHELA HENKE-CILENTI, CPLP The Psychology of Recommending Homecare I HAVE SPENT MY CAREER HELPING TEAMS become personally accountable for their psychology when rec- ommending products, homecare or add-ons to clients; to connect more deeply and authentically with the guest every time. This article will share a few of those insights, plus best practices on how you too can lead and coach your teams to seamlessly recommending, every time. There are two seismic changes I have experienced with my spa clients this year that affect how teams view rec- ommending. Firstly, a shortage of labor and talent con- tinues to tip the power balance toward therapists, allowing comfortable and convenient habits to prevail. Secondly, fiscal pressures, more sophisticated technology and survey techniques have led to hospitality executives 56 PULSE ■ MARCH 2020 weighing employee satisfaction scores and guest satisfac- tion scores perhaps too heavily, especially since they might not accurately depict reality. Teams subconsciously pick up on the power held by the scores and use that power to control the working environment. Structures, processes and cultures are being shaped around the col- lection of these scores, which is concerning. There are two factors that seriously affect guest rec- ommending. One is the huge increase in corporate vulner- ability felt by spa directors due to the pressure of maintaining the scores from the previous quarter or year at all costs. The second is that the pursuit of high scores can also be subconsciously used by a spa director to avoid vigorously tackling the continuous conundrum of getting