Core qualities apply to all spa staff, including spa directors, assistant spa directors, front desk staff, therapists and technicians.
Recruiting high-quality staff is essential to the success of your fitness center spa. The "right" employees breathe life into your spa, making it the revenue generator it was meant to be. So, who are the "right" employees? A resume only tells an employer half of what they should be looking for. Assuming you have already eliminated the unrealistic resumes, the more telling half of the hiring process is evaluating what is called the "core" qualities of a candidate. The following core qualities apply to all spa staff, including spa directors, assistant spa directors, front desk staff, therapists and technicians.
Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm is about the personality of your candidates. Are they excited about the spa industry? Have they researched your company prior to speaking or meeting with you? Do they still feel they have things to learn about the industry? And do they see the glass as half-full? Enthusiasm has a domino effect. When people exude enthusiasm, they create a natural buzz around them that rubs off on others. True enthusiasm is not fleeting. To find out if your potential candidate has an innate "glass is half-full" attitude, ask probing questions such as the following: 1. Can you tell me about a time when you were not successful in your job? 2. Can you describe a time when you had to deal with a dissatisfied client? 3. How do you deal with disappointment? 4. How do you define success? How do you measure it?Communication skills
Communication skills are crucial for the successful operation of any facility. This core quality focuses on candidates' abilities to work together with their colleagues, and is a predictor of their customer service skills. Can the spa director candidate clearly communicate to staff the mission and goals of the spa? Can they communicate the duties and the responsibilities expected of each staff member? How do they promote teamwork? An effective spa director is able to make every staff member feel like an integral part of the team. Happy staff members know what is expected of them, and feel that they've been given the necessary guidance and leadership from their spa director. In turn, they are able to provide better customer service to their clientele. To find out if your potential candidates possess this core quality, try asking questions such as the following: 1. Can you describe what your first week on the job would look like as it relates to staff? 2. Can you describe what traits you think are important to be an effective leader? 3. How do you discipline/reward staff behavior? 4. How do you manage your staff?Work ethic
Work ethic focuses on a candidate's value system. How responsible do they feel for the spa? Work ethic is probably the hardest quality to decipher in candidates, and yet it can make or break a spa. A spa director can possess other important traits and still not have the work ethic you're looking for. They might seem like the perfect candidate until they mention work schedule. Perhaps they feel a work week is always only 40 hours. Maybe they prefer not to work nights. Successful spas have staff members who feel responsible for the facility and take pride in it. Effective employees will go above and beyond their job description because their spa is a direct reflection on them. Below are a few questions to help define the work ethic of your candidates: 1. What are the most important factors for a spa to be successful? 2. How have you made your previous spas unique? 3. What have been your biggest challenges in managing a spa? Taking these core qualities into account with the technical experience listed on a potential candidate's resum? will help you make better, more informed, selections of your staff, and further ensure the success of your spa.Read Next
