The demand for qualified staff is the number one challenge in the rapidly growing medical spa market. With dramatic changes taking place in the spa industry everyday owners find themselves facing difficult and complex employee situations making business operations and profitability a virtual roller coaster ride.

Often times you may feel over whelmed with little control over your business destiny. While it is possible to have key employees stay with you for many years the reality is you will have many employees come and go over the years and life time of your spa business.

Unfortunately there is no short cut or magic formula to being a great boss and manager but there are some basic business principles that when followed will make this awesome responsibility more fun and profitable.

With 28 years experience as a clinical skin care specialist and 17 years of experience as a business owner I’m often asked where do you find such great people to work for you and how do you get them to stay with you?

In this article I’ll try to share some of my insights about recruiting, hiring and training staff to deliver consistent quality client care essential for business success. One thing I have learned for sure is that without well trained service providers to support all aspects of the medical spa profits will suffer.

While the Medical spa staffing needs are unique to each individual business model the staff is generally made up of the following specialties:

Physician: usually sees patients and delivers care specific to their specialty as well as performs consultations, injectables, Laser, surgery, writes prescriptions and oversees all procedures

Physician’s Assistant: performs consultations and oversees all medical procedures with the exception of surgery with direction from the physician

Registered Nurse: performs consultations and limited medical procedures under the direct supervision of the physician

Esthetician: performs skin care services with in their scope of practice and limited medical procedures with direct supervision from the physician

Body Therapist: performs massage, body treatments
Nail Technician: performs services for the hands and feet

Spa Coordinator: books appointments and checks guests in and out

Spa Manager: oversees and is responsible for spa operations, profit/loss, human resource and marketing

Recruiting for your Medical Spa

Finding quality team oriented employees can be challenging not to mention frustrating because training for Medical Spa services is not readily available in most basic Esthetic schools yet. I recommend before you even begin the recruiting process first take time to analyze staffing needs by asking yourself a few questions then make a list of your requirements. Here are some good questions to help focus your vision.

1. What is the purpose or mission of my spa business?
2. What services are offered and what qualifications and licensing requirements needed to provide the services?
3. What are the personality traits I am looking for in an employee?
4. What are the hours of operation I will need service coverage for to optimize productivity and profitability?
5. Do I have enough client traffic flow to keep a full time employee busy or do I need a part time employee?
6. What are my management strengths and weaknesses
7. What can the business afford to pay an employee and is there a benefits package?
8. What are the benefits of working in the spa?

Understanding your business and personal needs, strengths and weaknesses will help give you a focus when recruiting and interviewing for spa staff. I never recommend starting the process of hiring without a clear vision of the qualifications and types of people I’m looking for.

Where are all the good people?

1. purchase a list of licenses from your state board and send a simple letter describing the positions available and the benefits.
2. go to the local schools and do a presentation on your medical spa.
3. post positions available at the schools
4. network with friends, neighbors, vendors.
5. advertise on Creigslist.com, careerbuilder.com, Monster.com, and I’ve even placed a small help wanted sign at my front desk.
6. create a reputation to be an outstanding place to work and applicants will find you.

I do a lot of recruiting at my local esthetic, massage and cosmetology schools and find this strategy to be perfect for finding spa staff. Recruiting for the medical staff is very different and have discovered Creig’s list to be the most effective for recruiting Nurses to perform Laser procedures. As an Esthetician owning a Medical Spa vs. a Physician owned facility I have found Physicians to perform services in my spa by networking with my attorney, dentist and accountant or just cold calling them to ask if they would be interested in having another location in which to market their services.

Weather you are a physician or non-physician owning and operating a Medical Spa it’s important to know your states rules, regulations and laws governing the employment for both spa and medical personal. Before beginning the recruiting process contact the state boards of Cosmetology and the Medical Board in order to understand your practice responsibilities and who can perform what procedures legally.

Interviewing prospects

This step can be a daunting task but it can also be fascinating and fun if you are well prepared and don’t feel pressured. The times I have hired out of desperation proved to be counter productive if not destructive. Allow time to talk to people and the process will reveal the best candidates. Your applicant should have given you a resume’ and a job application before you meet. In addition ask some good open ended questions like:

1. what is your perfect work situation?
2. What do you expect to gain from working here?
3. what will you bring to the position?
4. what steps do you plan to take to build your clientele?
5. what kind of work schedule do you expect?
6. Will you be available for early, late and Saturday appointments?
7. what does team work mean to you
8. what are your three strongest assets?
9. what did you like most about your last job?
10. what did you like least about your last job?
11. Why are you changing jobs?
12. how do you intend to continue your education?

Asking lots of questions and listening intently helps you analyze and gain insights into the prospect’s ability to perform the required service and of their ability to stay in the position long term. If the candidate is qualified to perform the task it’s often gut instinct that determines if a person will work out. Most certainly having a clear vision of your business needs and how this person matches those needs is the only way to determine if he or she is a good fit for your business image and mission.

There are specific things the applicant will need to know about the position he/she will be filling like performance expectations, compensation, benefits, hours required to work, and basic company standards, policies and procedures like dress code, employment agreements and customer service philosophies.

Along with gathering information from the prospect it’s very important to state your needs directly so a clear expectation is set from the beginning. I also recommend performing back ground checks and definitely checking references on key employees if not all employees.
My best picks were people I scrutinized carefully before making them an offer.

The first few weeks

Once a candidate has been selected and they accept your job offer the most critical time of their employment begins. In an existing facility I have found the buddy system to be the best way of introducing new hires. By assigning the new hire to an experienced staff member the senior staff member feels like they are a part of the new employes success.

In a new facility I recommend including new staff in some of the many decision that must be made to open the business. Especially decisions dealing directly with their department. Then the new employees have a vested interest in seeing the business succeed.

Building unity in the Medical Spa

Inspiring a team spirit is one of the most important factors in creating both client and employee loyality. I have found the best way to build a strong team is to keep the communication open. I listen to every employees concerns about their day to day work experience with an open mind that reminds me complaints are the highest form of caring. If no one complains nothing ever changes or improves. So while it is hard to hear sometimes I am committed to creating an environment in which different specialities can work together to provide a superior spa experience. I believe a Medical Spa must deliver procedures and services with the same or higher standard of customer service as a traditional day spa to be profitable and stay competitive.

The Leadership Concept

The owner and/or manager must hire good people but must also be a good leader and motivator to create a team oriented spirit. What you need to develop a united workforce is structure, organization and consistency between departments. Here are a few ideas that have worked for my Medical Spa:

1. establish standarads of operation that reflect your ideals, goals and values
2. have a business plan and share it with the staff
3. create a policies and procedures manual
4. hold regular staff meetings to keep everyone informed
5. don’t let meetings turn into gripe sessions
6. stress a team concept and the importance of working together
7. when you or anyone else makes a mistake be willing to admit it and discuss it to learn evolve and grow
8. make staff aware how important they are
9. provide on going training and always expect the best from your staff

` 10. reward and recognize staff performance
11.employees are like children and they will mimic behavior they see. Lead by example
12. exhibit pride in your work and the staff will be proud to work with you.

Mentors and Mission Guides

It is no wonder staffing for a Medical Spa can seem overwhelming with the unique challenges of operating two very different business models in one facility. When you consider the different levels of education, licensing and training of each staff member plus their individual personality traits some days it may seem like it requires an almost Herculean effort on the part of the owner and manger to recruit, hire, train and motivate spa staff.

The good news is every where you look resources are available. So please be encouraged to reach out and ask for what you want and need to learn about how to hire the best people possible to be successful. Manifesting your Medical Spa dream team can be an exciting journey.

For my personal list of the top 50 ways to motivate, inspire, and lead your team to quality care and business success Email me at lross@idermed.com