Is Flexible Working The Future Of The Spa Industry?

Is flexible working the future of the spa industry?

As pandemic restrictions continue to lift and those in the hospitality sector return to work, there’s a completely new mindset in place. Having been at home for so long, peoples’ priorities have shifted and work has become second place to managing family, friendships and health. This has led to a desire for more flexible working long-term, with businesses taking a holistic approach to ensure workers’ individual needs are being met.

The spa industry in particular relies on employees offering a high standard of customer care in an environment that is focused on wellness. In order to provide the best services, workers need to be in their best headspace.

While those that can work remotely talk about flexibility in terms of hybrid-working between office and home, it can also take the form of more flexible hours and locations; career breaks, secondments and sabbaticals for those in hospitality.

This is especially important when we look at the fact the spa industry is overwhelmingly female. A 2020 study by The Professional Beauty Association found that 74% of all salon and spa businesses are owned by women and 83% of individuals in personal appearance occupations are women.

While gender equality has come a long way, it’s got many hurdles to overcome – especially in the workplace. There’s still a huge pressure on women to run their household alongside their job, meeting deadlines while feeding their newborn baby at 2am. Even with the help of a supportive partner, work flexibility allows for women to plan ahead and find equilibrium in the chaos of life. By accommodating your workers’ needs, they can better accommodate yours, bringing focus, enthusiasm, creativity and loyalty.

A happy worker is good for revenue, too. “Flexible workers are more likely to be engaged, which yields significant advantages for employers – potentially generating 43% more revenue and improving performance by 20%, compared to disengaged employees,” says a study by CIPD. This goes to show that fostering valuable relationships with employees is as important (and lucrative) as those with clients.

Implementing more flexible working not only means your staff are less likely to leave, but it also makes recruiting new staff easier. If you can provide more optional hours, shifts and locations, you’re more likely to find the perfect fit for your spa.

Looking ahead to the brave new world of (dare we say it) post-Covid, industries everywhere are trying to navigate the balance between before and after: Can things go back to the way they were, and should they? What have we learnt throughout managing a business or a team during each lockdown? How can we implement the best parts of that?

Ways in which the spa industry can encourage more flexible working include offering split and short shifts that allow therapists to work around other commitments. Employers should also consider dynamic pay rates or commission during high season to enable spa teams to maximise wages when the business is busy, while a keener focus on yield management and reservation training can minimise therapist downtime and make way for more flexible yet productive hours.

Have you implemented more flexible working within your spa teams? If so, what are your thoughts on it? We'd love to discuss the topic further in the comments.