Building Spa Policies and Procedures with Heart

Policy and Procedures: Your Blue Print for Spa Success

In the few years since selling my highly successful Spa, I have had the honour of being welcomed as an advisor into many Spas, some fledgling start-ups, some struggling and some of Australiaís finest. The main difference I see between the Spas that are successful and those that are struggling is the insight and commitment of the Spa Operators leaders to building strong foundations within their businesses.

Spa Operators that have strong foundations in place through effective policies and procedures minimize the time wasted troubleshooting and worrying about the day-to-day issues. The daily operations of the Spa are being taken care of by their committed and positive team. With this extra energy and time these Operators can:

Support their team to shine and deepen their professional relationship by effective performance coaching. This makes leading a team far more enjoyable and rewarding for all involved;
Give their guests the experience they promised they would consistently and through this making a positive impact on their guests lives encouraging them to be healthier and happier;
Spend time on being creative and growing the business and enjoying their life

My intention in sharing these valuable insights and tools with you is clear I am passionate about the Australasian Spa Industry being professional, profitable, rewarding and above all enjoyable.

I know, developing and implementing policies and procedures into your business is not the easiest thing you could be doing with your spare time but you can see from above that the results can be outstanding; success; peace of mind; time; holidays; lifestyle; freedom; satisfaction

The complexity of Spa Operations

Operating Spas is a complex business; there are so many situations that can occur within a guest's experience that can create a positive or negative outcome for them; the tea is cold, a therapist makes an unprofessional comment, a therapist doesnít turn up for the appointment, an appointment is not in the computer, the floor is slippery, the room cold, a guest feels "cared for" the list goes on an on; and can and will happen at some time in most Spas - even the best Spas.

The question is:

How do we prevent these situations (creating a smooth and seamless experience for our guests and our therapists) and;
If they do happen to occur (and from time to time they will, as we are in a very "human" industry) how to we minimise the negative impact and even better turn the negative into a positive.

Constant trouble shooting is draining - draining on your energy. Many Spa owners talk about the fun going out of their dream because they are exhausted from working so hard and carrying the daily responsibility of the Spa on their shoulders. We all know that what we focus on we create, so if all our time and energy is spent on the endless challenges in the business, then this is what we continue to create and endure.

In the industry today, many Spa Operators are expanding to multi-site businesses, often without having the essential systems in place required to support the complexity of their operations - systems that would ensure consistency of service and standards are maintained across the sites. The challenge is that without these strong foundations a fragile business model is created and can be vulnerable to outside threats. We are all lucky now as the Australasian industry is growing, however as it matures it will be the strategic and solid businesses that continue to flourish.

We have a choice

So as Spa Operators, we have the choice; we can either continue to trouble shoot, continually "fixing" and feeling frustrated and worried about our long-term business.

If we choose this trouble-shooting path:

Our guests may stop returning to us. We all promise a certain standard of experience to our guests, and they deserve to be given this consistently If we don't provide this experience there are plenty of other Spas and Treatment Centres popping up that can and will deliver.
Our best therapists may choose not to stay in an unprofessional environment. Let's face it; there is so much demand for excellent therapists that we need to become an employer of choice to retain them.
With high turn over and lower revenues our focus will turn to survival mode rather than prosperity. And this is such a vicious and dangerous circle.

As the aim of our business is to be successful, abundant and fun, how do we stop being reactive and start creating the success that we deserve?

Building Foundations with Heart

We need to build the foundations of our business - build them with strength and conviction - but also with love and respect for all those people that are affected by them. I believe that we need to build our policies and procedures with people at the "heart". Our team are the heart of our business, without them we don't have a business. They can be your greatest challenge or your greatest joy - the choice is yours.

I find that team members in our industry want to:

Be treated with respect;
Have clarity of communication;
Know their boundaries;
Be given the tools to do their work with ease and grace;
Be accountable;
Feel cared for and have opportunities to shine

Building a spa team and defining how they will consistently deliver the businesses vision is the biggest challenge that Spa operators face. If we want stable teams that are working in alignment with the goals of our business then we need to create the culture that supports this.

Effective policies and procedures support you to create an environment that gives your team members clarity over what ís expected of them in their role and also what they can expect from you in your professional relationship. Having clear and defined work conditions by way of an Employment Agreement is a wonderful way to start a respectful working relationship with your team members. Also by giving your team members valuable skills and achievement oriented coaching they can take responsibility for their own career and also be inspired to contribute to the success of your business. In short, effective policies and procedures lay the foundation for your team to succeed so that the business can thrive.

I strongly believe we have a responsibility to the people who join our teams to make a positive impact on them as a person and as a professional. We may not keep our Spa therapist forever, as this is the nature of the flow of the industry, however we do have a responsibility to continue to fill our current team members tool boxes with skills, training, professionalism and growth opportunities; if we all do this then we won't lose so many of our exceptional therapists to burn out and negative professional experiences. Instead we will be deepening their professional satisfaction and making them more valuable team members. We will all be inputting to the future of our industry.

Reviewing our Systems

Most Spas have some form of systems in place; however these may have been developed when you opened your business and not frequently revisited and updated. If they are updated and current, that's fantastic.

Following is a checklist for you to ensure your systems are current and appropriate:

Some general questions:

How many constructive guest comments are you receiving? I directly relate guest comments to training and coaching. Whenever a guest comment comes through, I can see where a training issue has arisen and immediately action the necessary steps. For a behavioural issue, coaching is immediately undertaken, which is supported by the professional behaviour policy that team members have committed to uphold on employment.
How is your team turn over? Do you feel that you are loosing team members unnecessarily? It is such a waste to loose valuable team members and vital corporate history.
How is your team performance? With some motivation, inspiration and retraining could your team be kicking some bigger goalsÖ and supporting your business to grow.
Could you be operating more efficiently? Hence decreasing your overheads and increasing your potential profit.

Some questions in relation your manual:

Does your policies and procedure manual adequately represent your company vision and values? It is essential that your manual is a complimentary reflection of the walking, talking breathing essence of why you exist as a business.
Is it written in a thorough step-by-step format, giving structure and direction to your team? Team members want clarity and direction but also enough flexibility to account for different operational issues that will arise (and also enough freedom to allow their magic to shine).
Is it easy to implement and easy to find - i.e. not hidden up the top of the office cupboard collecting dust? Business systems are only as effective as the Operators commitment and drive to implement them, consistently and with passion. They are best viewed as an asset to your business rather than a cost. They can give you freedom and success or they can give you not much
If you operate multiple sites - are they customised for each sites unique operational needs? If not they can loose their relevancy and team members will stop referring to them.
Is the manual referred to when a team member asks a question? This is a vital ingredient to implementing successful systems. If we refer to the operations manual when asked a question i.e. "l;Sure let's look up the answer to that together in the manual" instead of simply giving the answer, then you give empowerment to your team to find their own solutions rather than relying on you. This simple technique can give you an extra few hours in your day, every day! It is up to you to create the culture of personal responsibility within your team.
Is your business culture and hence your manual been thoroughly trained to new team members? The induction training I complete takes approximately 2 weeks and thoroughly inducts new team members into the culture, systems and processes. It also has checks and measures to ensure new team members are fully prepared and trained to go and care for guests professionally, ensuring all standards of excellence are upheld.
Do you refer to the systems consistently when conducting training? This again empowers team members to refer to the manual rather than yourself when they are not sure on a process.
Do you commit to updating your manual each year with revisions and new systems that evolve with your business and the latest industry trends? This investment can help keep you as an innovative business leader and an employer of choice.
Do you communicate to and train your team members on any changes and are your team members re-oriented each year? This can clarify any areas that have become grey as well as reignite commitment and passion for your business.
Do your employment agreements reflect the changes to the work choices legislation? As we all know a major over haul has recently been undertaken with regards to our Industrial Relations Legislation. To ensure best practice and also to comply legally it is imperative to ensure your agreements reflect these changes.
Is you manual updated to reflect any changes in Occupational Health and Safety legislation and are your OH and S systems updated with each new piece of equipment implemented? Very important in this litigious world we live in.

If you feel your business systems can be improved, then its time for a revision or development.

Creating or Updating

The hardest part of the process of revising your manual is starting - the first step is always the most difficult. There is always so much that sits above this is the priority list. I know, I have been there; here is a quick checklist for creating or updating your manual:

Analyse - Assess where your business is at; your vision, your position in the market; your layout and facilities and any external requirements.
Benchmark - Write down what your business does on a daily basis, which processes do and donít work in your business, and how they could be improved.
Plan - Analyse your findings and prioritise with realistic time frames.
Implement - Write or update the first draft and have it reviewed and tested by appropriate team members.
Trial - Trial the systems with training. Itís been found to implement for 6 months without constant changing is a good amount of time to develop consistency. Keep a spare manual to write what changes you would like to make in the next revision.
Review - Review the procedures, test with training and sign off your manual.
Celebrate - ensure you celebrate with your team your commitment to becoming more professional and an employer of choice.

It sounds quite simple; however it is a long term and complex commitment. When I undertook the enormous task of creating manuals and agreements for my business so many people asked me to template them so they could learn from my mistakes and make the process so much simpler for them. The reality is there are 1,000's of hours in developing an effective manual and so many more profit generating ways you can invest your time and money to create stellar success in your business.

So, if you are too busy, overwhelmed, under resourced or feel your skill set is not in alignment with creating these essential business systems then you will be pleased to know there are some fantastic pre templated options and advisors now available in the market place.

My understanding is that all these manuals are licensed, which means the creator always retains ownership over the intellectual property. This is similar to how we deal with software like Microsoft. When purchasing a manual ensure you understand the terms and conditions of use and what you receive under each licence option. It is also vital to ensure you can easily customise the systems to suit your operational needs.

Some of our key Spa Specific Business Systems available are:

Spa Policy and Procedure Manual Template
Skin and Body Treatment Centre Manual Template
Team Member Employment Agreement Template
Manager Employment Agreement Template
Sub Contracting Agreement Template
Australian Workplace Agreement Template

I wish you all the success in building the business you have always dreamed of - developing your business to be one with a loyal clientele, having an enviable reputation, having a committed and passionate team and most importantly allowing you more time to enjoy your life.