Spa industry conference SPATEC Europe was held earlier this month in Rhodes, and was attended by more than 150 spa businesses. You can read more about the conference here.
Courtesy of www.leisureopportunities.co.uk
A seminar led by Berni Hawkins has highlighted what we already knew; that spa businesses that engage with their employees are more successful.
As the article explains, focussing on recruiting the staff with the right attitude and providing company-specific training is a more fruitful use of time than weeding out and getting rid of ineffective individuals, which takes time and can make companies fall foul of local employment regulations.
Finding staff with a can-do attitude and who have a welcoming character and then training and motivating them is always a good idea. Helicoptering in staff with the right skills to plug a hole with little regard to their attitude, and how they will fit in with company culture can be a recipe for disaster.
Recruitment should not just be about filling gaps, it should be about investing in your business’ future. But to combat transience, it all starts before that.
But how to engage your staff in the right manner?
To effectively engage your staff, you need to get the culture right. That means creating an environment in which people feel committed and dedicated to shared goals and you can’t do that without the right people to start with. It’s a bit chicken and egg!!
The most successful companies tend to incentivize and engage their staff through carrots rather than scare them with sticks. We’re working with a number of very recognizable brands to help create a culture in which people can buy into concepts and other people by mobilizing great leadership. It cultivates an ethos of following people that staff trust and believe in rather than doing what they’re instructed to do by someone in charge. Great businesses have proven that better results can be extracted from teams who want to perform well.
As a result of an engaged team, staff retention improves, the business is more confident in investing in their teams and it creates and upward rather than a downward spiral.
The biggest obstacle that this sector faces however, is getting the employers to change their cultures. And it’s not just about enabling the changes. Quite often it’s about the level of self-awareness a business has. Do they know what their culture is and how it is viewed? And if they do, are they motivated to change? If you own a business that needs a cultural shift or help finding great leaders, get in touch.