Our medical systems are failing to keep people healthy by focusing solely on those already sick and as a result the spa and wellness industry have the exciting opportunity to bridge this gap by offering enhanced health in a preventative and sustainable framework.

In the aftermath of the recent financial crisis we have seen the spa business evolve from championing pampering and luxury to focusing on wellness and results. In addition, the spa consumer has become more demanding as value for money is crucial now more than ever.

2 happy graduates, Camilla and Sara

The people ready to step up to the plate and lead this change are the new generation of Spa Managers and Directors and Raison d’Etre’s Spa Management course together with Yrkeshögskolan för Spa & Skönhet in Stockholm, provides the opportunity for talented professionals striving for more knowledge and tools to grow in this industry. A common weakness in the spa industry is that often gifted therapists are placed to manage a spa without any education or experience in managing staff, finance or increasing value for their owners.

“The leaders in a spa must be equipped with the right tools. Every spa should have a Business plan, Human Capital Management Plan and Marketing Plan and understand how to use these proactively and efficiently. I believe that maybe 1% of the spas actually have these tools”.

In addition to a Business Plan, spas – where consumers chose from word of mouth – also need a Human Capital Management Plan (HCM). We already know why good human resource management matters but until Spa managers know how to manage talent, knowing why does not help. HCM is a strategic approach to people management that focuses on the issues that are critical to the organization’s success. It treats people management as a high-level strategic issue and seeks systematically to analyze, measure and evaluate how people policies and practices create value.

Raison d’Etre has developed a HCM plan especially for spas, with the five corner stones
1. Business Objectives and Organizational design (mainly from the business plan)
2. Leadership
3. Talent
4. Culture
5. Market

The key to the HCM plan is that every initiative must be measurable. If a spa invests in training, there must be a strategy to see how successful this training was through staff questionnaires and shop percentage (goal and actual) or average sales.

“The HCM plan may be one the most important tools that a spa can have, where growing people is the key to grow business. It requires an initial investment in time, to set up all measurements, but once done, the spa has a very proactive approach to keep down staff retention and develop their staff.”

Over the past five years, Raison d’Etre has conducted 1-2 spa manger’s courses per year and sees the need for more targeted education, courses and networks for spa managers and will the coming year be launching several new initiatives to meet these needs. Soon, a new spa management course including a base module and then add on modules with for example Finance, Sales & Marketing etc. can be chosen, will be launched. Stay tuned for more news the next couple of weeks!

//Anna