TRAINING & EDUCATION
Leading from behind
The spa industry is being held back by a lack of experienced spa managers. To move forward, we need to clearly defi ne the spa manager’s role and communicate more effectively with educational institutes and training providers
Anna Bjurstam, owner, Raison d’Etre Spas T
he emphasis on experience makes spas different from many other businesses. In most businesses there is a lead-time between the
point of creation of the product such as a garment, food item or a piece of furniture and when the actual product is consumed. Sitting on the chair, you don’t feel the hands of the carpenter nor what he smells like. When you put on your new shirt, you do not see the designer in action or feel the seam- stress sewing your shirt together. In a spa, however, there is no lead-time.
The product is essentially a direct one-on- one experience, with the guest paying for the therapist’s ability to translate their tac- tile skill into a personalised service. To use a phrase coined by Pine & Gilmore in the late 90s, spas epitomise the ‘experience economy’ – where businesses orchestrate memorable events for customers and then commoditise that memory. The intensely personal and experien-
tial nature of the spa business provides a great challenge for spa managers. Yet they must not only understand the basics behind the spa experience, and the requirements for operating a highly personal serv-
102 spa business handbook 2012
ice-oriented business, they also need to understand the fundamentals of leadership and business management and possess the skills necessary to perform fi nancial, mar- keting and human resource functions. The ideal manager should be conversant
with the principles behind the experience economy – such as emotional and spirit- ual intelligence – while understanding human resource management and organ- isational dynamics such as the stages of group development, principles of motiva- tion theory, confl ict resolution and business and fi nances if they are to achieve a bot- tom line result. They also need to grasp and apply the principles of market analy- sis, budgeting, key performance indicators and yield management, while being able to communicate with owners, investors and directors in standard business language. The perfect spa manager has a com- bination of management and therapist experience. Many call it a ‘right-brain/left- brain’ issue, and it is diffi cult to fi nd people with both skill sets. Currently, the most effective spa managers have either a ther- apist background and obtain a spa-related business education, or possess a business
background and gain therapist experience by attending a massage course. Spa man- agers with experience in both therapy and management are in extremely high demand and can enjoy escalating pay scales and accelerated career opportunities. Despite the demand for spa managers
with both therapist and business experi- ence and the opportunities available to them, serious challenges in training and developing qualified managers remain. So although the spa industry is growing in terms of number of spas, it is being held back by a lack of experienced leadership.
AN EDUCATIONAL ISSUE
Most spa management education pro- grammes are relatively nascent and have developed in response to the rapid growth of the spa industry over the last 10-15 years. Existing programmes range from fully-fl edged master’s degrees to shorter certifi cate and diploma courses, and they vary widely in terms of their curricular con- tent. A few institutions offer a dedicated programme for spa management, while for others the spa management coursework
www.spahandbook.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213 |
Page 214 |
Page 215 |
Page 216 |
Page 217 |
Page 218 |
Page 219 |
Page 220 |
Page 221 |
Page 222 |
Page 223 |
Page 224 |
Page 225 |
Page 226 |
Page 227 |
Page 228 |
Page 229 |
Page 230 |
Page 231 |
Page 232 |
Page 233 |
Page 234 |
Page 235 |
Page 236 |
Page 237 |
Page 238 |
Page 239 |
Page 240 |
Page 241 |
Page 242 |
Page 243 |
Page 244 |
Page 245 |
Page 246 |
Page 247 |
Page 248 |
Page 249 |
Page 250 |
Page 251 |
Page 252 |
Page 253 |
Page 254 |
Page 255 |
Page 256 |
Page 257 |
Page 258 |
Page 259 |
Page 260 |
Page 261 |
Page 262 |
Page 263 |
Page 264 |
Page 265 |
Page 266 |
Page 267 |
Page 268