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Career in Spa ManagementSpa Management as a ProfessionThe Spa and Esthetic industry in Canada is experiencing tremendous growth. According to the ISPA 2004 Spa Industry Study it was estimated that there were approximately 2,100 individual spas in Canada. Over 40% of Canada’s spas are located in Ontario, followed by 19% of the spas located in British Columbia. The Canadian spa industry generated an estimated $1.5 billion CDN in revenues for 2003 and the average number of spa visits was 20.2 million. In 2003, the Canadian spa industry employed an estimated 33,200 people; 20,442 full time, 7,075 part-time and 5,673 contract staff. The driving force behind the tremendous growth is raising consumer demand. Primarily the aging “Baby Boomers,” the largest single generation in the history of mankind is driving this growth. The Boomers are now entering their 40s and 50s and are willing to spend whatever it takes to preserve their youthful looks and to prevent premature aging. As a result skilled, reliable, well-educated Spa Management Personnel are in high demand, not just in North America but also worldwide. Today’s market demands a more creative, highly skilled and well-rounded Spa Management Personnel who has the ability to educate and empower both clients and staff. It has expanded and evolved into a sophisticated and well-respected profession with a variety of specializations. The excitement surrounding the future of this industry and its ever-increasing demand for Spa Management Personnel presents endless opportunities for well-trained individuals. Imagine working in a Day Spa, destination resort or even on a cruise ship – or maybe own your own Spa! As Canada’s top institute for Spa training programs, Elmcrest College prepares students to become the qualified, highly skilled, job-ready Spa Management Personnel in demand by the premier Spas in the industry today. Forecasts predict continued robust growth in the industry. Spa Director Income PotentialThe income potential for a Spa Director will be reflected by the responsibility, organizational structure, experience, financial responsibility and type of spa. On an average our research found the following ranges for Spa Director Compensation.
All of the spas, no matter how big or small, are looking for the best professionals they can find and afford. If a candidate is new to the profession, he/she needs to have excelled at school. There are a variety of ways that a Spa Director can be paid. Some are paid by a combination of salary and commissions; others may be on a salary alone. Behind every successful spa is a Spa Director who is driven and passionate about understanding and exceeding guest expectations – whether it is décor or design, the menu of services, product development or the staff who work in the spa. The Spa Directors in the field who are financially successful and happy are those who got into the field out of a sincere desire to help other people, who have excellent interpersonal skills and who have the determination necessary to achieve success. Your income potential in this field depends on your goals, skills, and initiative. There are many compelling reasons to become a Spa Director:
As we head into the future, career opportunities for Spa Directors continues to expand and evolve into a sophisticated and well-respected profession with a variety of specializations. A successful Spa Director combines exceptional leadership and personal traits along with management, finance and spa therapy knowledge to promote and successfulyl run his/her spa business on a daily basis. Spa Management Personnel ProfileVirtual Spa Career SurveyVirtual Spa recently conducted a survey to determine what personality characteristics predicted high performers in three spa personnel categories: Esthetician, Massage Therapist and Spa Director. The candidates participating in the survey were derived from three types of Spas including Day Spas, Destination Spas and Fitness Spas. Two types of data were collected. All respondents (i.e. representing the three above categories), were given a standard questionnaire which provided scores for sixteen personality traits. Each of the respondents was rated by their immediate supervisor based on actual performance. Respondents were divided into two groups, high performers and average performers. The following is a list of a few of the crucial personality traits and how they apply to the spa industry. The results were scored on a high – low scale. WarmthHigh Score: Warm, Outgoing, Attentive to Others Interpersonal warmth was rated by participants as one of the most consistently important traits for effective job performance in all three categories. High scores would tend to be warm-hearted individuals who are generous and flexible in their interpersonal relationships. They tend to be team players and have a high degree of empathy with others. The study shows that low scores in this area, the cool and reserved individuals tend to be much less successful in a spa environment. These individuals expressed being less comfortable talking about or showing feelings of affection for others. They are likely to shy away from extensive interpersonal contact and prefer to work alone. Emotional StabilityHigh Score: Emotionally Stable, Adaptive, Mature Emotionally sensitive people tend to rely on empathy and intuitive awareness whereas low scores are very practical and utilitarian, not taking peoples vulnerabilities into consideration. The study shows this quality as the single most important trait for successful massage therapists. Like on the warmth scale, its important for the spa director to complement the common personality traits found in caregivers. Because caregivers tend to be highly intuitive individuals they are very emotionally sensitive – and they are easily upset. The survey revealed that a majority of Spa Directors had high scores here. This way they can provide their caregivers with steady support an otherwise busy, chaotic environment with an atmosphere of serenity and calm. If the spa director doesn’t get ruffled, then the chances that the staff won’t either is greater so that guests can experience a serene and peaceful environment. DominanceHigh Score: Dominant, Forceful, Assertive One trait which clearly distinguished successful massage therapists and aestheticians from spa directors was dominance. Dominance refers to confidently assertive individuals who enjoy group activities and leadership roles. Lower scores describe people who are more deferential and cooperative and are conflict avoidance. More dominant individuals want to exert influence over others. Successful spa directors are relatively high on this trait, whereas effective technical staff tends to score average to low average, especially massage therapists. LivelinessHigh Score: Lively, Fun Loving, Spontaneous Often times, sales people are high scorers here while people with low scores have a high toleration for monotonous work and dislike change. Spa directors scored moderately high on this trait in order to motivate people and keep the spa perking along. A spa director who is a low scorer in this area and a low scorer on the emotional stability scale would be too dour to empathize and relate to the care givers. Rule-ConsciousnessHigh Score: Rule-oriented, Dutiful This trait was clearly predictive of success in both the massage therapist, aesthetician, and spa director. High scores tend to follow rules and principles. They are conscientious, persevering individuals who take on responsibility driven by a sense of duty and adherence to exacting standards. Lower scores will tend to be expedient and may be nonconforming and lack self control. Some of the data suggests that this trait is not given enough focus during selection. Social BoldnessHigh Score: Socially Bold, Thick-skinned, Talkative Making outrageous comments is a common way a high social boldness score manifests itself in social situations. While Richard Simmons has built his reputation on saying outrageous things in most work settings, boldness is frowned upon. Yes, thick skin is needed because there’s a lot of emotional wear and tear that comes with the job of being a spa director, but an overly bold day spa director making blunt comments to guests may not help the guest replenish their emotional reserves. In situations where a spa director has frequent contact with the public and guests, a moderate score revealed a more successful spa director. Emotional SensitivityHigh Score: Intuitive, Feelings-oriented Once again, spa directors and caregivers are typically at opposite ends of this trait’s spectrum. The best therapists tend to be the most sensitive, but they can also be the most troublesome to manage. But what happens when you are a low scorer working for a high scorer? Or, when you find yourself working for another high scorer like yourself, or considering a job offer from a spa owner who appears to be a high scorer? VigilanceHigh Score: Skeptical, Wary, Suspicious Another distinguishing trait was vigilance. Higher scores tend to not take others people’s motives at face value and understand that people can be taken advantage of. Lower scores expect fair treatment and good intentions from others and are generally trusting and forgiving. Successful spa directors tended toward somewhat higher scores. Effective massage therapists and aestheticians tended to score quite low on this trait. AbstractednessHigh Score: Imaginative, Focused on Big Picture Many times scientists and conceptual thinkers have a high score here. Low scorers tend to be frustrated by working in groups for long periods of time. In a day spa setting where the spa director reports directly to the owner, or is the owner, and has many direct reports, as well as responsibilities in sales and marketing and finance, a high score was revealed as desirable since complex decisions are made on an on-going basis. ApprehensionHigh Score: Worried, Insecure, Apprehensive To a large extent, this personality trait measures self-esteem. Within any spa setting, it is desirable that the Spa Directors have a healthy amount of self-esteem. Fortunately, low self-esteem can be moderated if an individual puts their mind to it. Leverage Our Strengths, Minimize Our WeaknessesThese brief summary of how these personality traits manifest themselves in the workplace and in a spa setting in particular, provides you with a solid foundation for understanding how people function in the workplace. The challenge of a manager is to take that information and use it in a constructive way to make the work environment productive and harmonious – not to try to turn everybody’s personality profile score into straight 5s! This is especially true for Spa Directors who are not only managing sensitive, caring employees, but who are also dealing with guests who are patronizing the spa to rejuvenate not only their bodies, but their own emotionally depleted, spiritually exhausted souls as well. The Spa Director must be keenly aware of others’ emotions and personalities in order to be “truly present” for guests and employees so that the spa can be financially successful. How can you leverage your own strengths and weaknesses – as well as those of your employees and superiors – to be a really successful Spa Director? Source; Caren Thornburgh, Virtual Spa, Inc. ISPA – Spa Director Profile and Survey ResultsForty-five Spa Director surveys and forty Spa Technician surveys were returned in the first round of this survey. We received more destination and resort Spa surveys than Day Spas. The Committee feels we need to further target the Day Spa category as it represents different needs and a large percentage of our membership. The average years in the field for respondents was 11 years. Participants of the ISPA – Spa Director Profile Survey were asked to rate how important they felt each of the following areas of knowledge and skills were to becoming a successful Spa Director. A five-point scale was used, where “1” was “not at all important” and “5” was “extremely important.” It is important to note that the majority of respondents rated most of the questions above 4.0. The following results are ranked in order of their importance from those surveyed. Leadership and Personal Traits
Spa Management
Finance
Spa Therapy Knowledge Base
Education
Comments from Survey ParticipantsWhat is the most important skill or trait a Spa Director must possess?
Is there any extremely important skill or trait we left out?
Can you describe your main passion for this business in approximately 10 words?
What do you like most about your job?
What do you like least about your job?
Reference: October 2001: ISPA Conference, Palm Springs CA |
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