There’s nothing more exciting as the owner of your spa or massage practice than having your business move to the next level. Yet periods of growth also may be accompanied by growing pains, especially if growth comes rapidly. During these times, a number of things can happen that begin to affect your team’s morale and ultimately productivity. Common growing pains signs to watch for include:
- Your constantly putting out fires
- Communication breaks down between you and your team and among team members
- Your team begins to feel insecure about their roles
- It’s not longer to clear to your team where your spa or massage practice is heading
Another consequence of growing pains is that team may begin to feel insecure about their status and even capabilities. They may be reluctant to make independent decisions and constantly seek your approval before acting. Not only does team doubt impact your time, it ultimately will affect productivity – and in turn profitability – of your spa or massage practice.
Retain Employee Loyalty while you are Growing
Get their Input
Your team will feel more confident about their role in your spa or massage practice when you ask for their input. After all, they are on the front lines with clients providing services and consulting on retail offerings for at home use, which provides them with great insight into client needs. Encourage your team to share what they hear from clients and to offer recommendations on how you can improve your business. By asking for recommendations, you also avoid having input sessions turn into unproductive gripe sessions.
Help them Get Ahead
One of the best ways to show your team how much you value their contribution is to provide training that helps them improve their skills. You can contribute to their ongoing CE classes – on site or online - or attendance at industry seminars offered by professional associations. Training is a win/win since you are preparing your team to take on more responsibilities as your spa or massage practice continues to grow. It also makes promoting from within easier than seeking more talent outside.
Offer Rewards
In addition to telling employees how much you value their efforts, show your appreciation with rewards Even small rewards, such as a gift card, a day off or tickets to a play or movie, can boost morale and help instill loyalty.
Have Fun
Don’t make it all about work. Make an effort to have some fun as a team by planning an activity away from work or taking a break together at the end of the week in your spa or massage practice. Whatever you plan doesn’t have to be costly; the goal should be to build stronger ties between the team by enabling them to interact on a more personal level. By planning some fun, you also convey the message that you believe in work/life balance.
Growing pains come with your success. Be aware of them and work with your team to get through them. It will make your business stronger.