Medical Spas Review

Set Up A Win-Win Company Culture

Set Up A Win-Win Company Culture

by Jenny Hogan

While no one really wants to spend time thinking about topics like pricing structure worksheets or employee accident reports, setting up established policies and procedures in your spa business will ultimately free you to spend time on more stimulating activities – like chatting with your clients or catching up on the next big beauty trends!  Lauren Gartland is the founder of Inspiring Champions, a business training and coaching company working in the professional beauty industry. Gartland regularly instructs salon and spa owners and managers on how to create a no fail process for setting up policies and procedure guidelines for their businesses.

Establish A Code Of Honor
Gartland shares, “Established policies and procedures are designed to provide your employees with a better understanding of the culture of your business.  These policies are guidelines for your employees to follow, so that they have clarity of what they can expect from you and what is expected from them. In this way, both employee and employer are set up to win!”  Through the Inspiring Champions training programs, Gartland offers standardized policy and procedure forms that address every basic need of salon and spa industry employers and managers.

To begin, employers or managers should clearly state their company mission, purpose, core values and philosophy.  Gartland notes, “Clearly define who your company is and what you stand for.  Let your team members know that they are a valuable member of your team. Let them know that they supply a vital link in your client service chain to provide extraordinary service, conducted under the highest standards.”  Create a powerful and cohesive team through the use of shared values such as trust, respect, integrity and excellence.  At your team meetings, review the guiding principles that your business adheres to and treat them as a code of honor.  They should include things like treating others as you wish to be treated, not gossiping or making excuses, being responsible, striving for excellence and upholding the values of the business.  Much like the Marine code, establishing this kind of system holds team members accountable, holds them to a team standard and gives other members permission to call them out if they fail to honor it.

Create Your Culture
Every business has its own culture, with its own value set and distinctive way of operating and your policies have to consider these specific elements.  Gartland says, “By thoroughly identifying the culture of your spa and creating open communication for all the team members, you discover any roadblocks the business is encountering and can work to resolve and remove them.”  Those roadblocks can include everything from common challenges like implementing spa systems on retailing, booking appointments, front desk operation and customer service to communication skills and interpersonal problems within the business.  

Involve your entire team in collectively creating your culture.  People will support what they create!  Have your team members describe, in a perfect world, how they would like the business to be? Ask them to list the benefits of things like better communication and teamwork.  Have them identify their individual as well as group responsibilities.   What they are really doing is creating their own work culture, one they will feel ownership and pride in.  Gartland shares, “The idea isn’t necessarily to compromise, but rather to synergize. In science there is a saying that there is no wrong or right, only what works or what doesn’t work.  Now add, ‘what works better?’ Ask yourself what is working and not working in your business and what could work better.”  By creating a strong vision and culture and involving and empowering your team, you not only ensure clarity in your policies but also offer a transformational experience!

Document Your Procedures
Your company handbook of policies and procedures should include your core values and code of honor and they should also be posted in your business where employees can regularly review them.  Your handbook should include the basics of your employer-employee agreement, explaining workplace rules and regulations, sanitation and safety policies, emergency procedures, client preparation and confidentially responsibilities. Your payment compensation structures should be thoroughly documented as well as your company coverage of health insurance, disability, holiday, vacation and sick leave, maternity leave and any continuing education and training programs.  

Document your policies on harassment, equal opportunity, drug use, absenteeism, disciplinary action and termination procedures.  If you have a dress code or expectations of your employee’s image, carefully detail what you expect.  Explain your procedure for performance appraisals and create employee job descriptions for all of your positions.  Finally, have standardized forms for employee applications, interviews, employment agreements, accident reports, performance evaluation forms, education agreements and termination notices. Before implementing your policies and procedures manual, you should carefully review your manual with legal counsel in your area, to ensure that your local laws that govern employment and the beauty industry are honored.  

Remain Flexible
Your manual will always serve as a general guideline and should be as complete as reasonably possible, yet it will be necessary to regularly review and revise your policies to remain flexible to new circumstances as they arise.  “Your policies and procedures should help to build a synergistic and positive relationship with your employees.  Encourage your team to share their thoughts and ideas, since your continued success depends on you working together to achieve your planned goals and objectives!” Gartland says.