Human Resources
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Insights to recruit, engage and retain fitness program leaders
KRISTINE HUFFMAN for Pulse: How did you find yourself in the resort world?
DAVID CHESWORTH: My interest in fitness started in my junior year of high school. I asked for a weight set for Christmas and I ended up getting hooked on working out. At that same time, my dad had a rotator cuff injury and after surgery went through physical therapy. I discovered a passion for working out, and I saw a real-world application to help people.
Then, with my degree in exercise science, we had to do two internships. First, I got to experience work in a strength and conditioning gym at Bowling Green. For my second internship I discovered Hilton Head Health and I fell in love with wellness tourism.
I’ve been here now for 10 years. I started out leading a variety of classes: fitness classes, personalized stretching, recovery sessions, personal training. I got a look at how the marketing department did things, guest services. I’m now in a place where I am bringing in specialists who are truly better than me at certain things to create the programs. But I can always go back and do the things I’ve done before as a fill-in.
Insights to recruit, engage and retain massage therapists
Staff recruitment and retention are perennial headaches for spa owners and directors. Spas have the typical hurdle of most service industries—work hours that fall outside of 9 to 5, Monday through Friday—as well as sometimes intense physical demands on practitioners. Anyone observing the industry for more than a few years knows an additional obstacle is tied to spa culture: the itinerant nature of spa specialists, who tend to move frequently not only locally between spas, but even across the country or around the world. Adding to the staffing challenge for employers are the unique requirements of the spa world’s many specialist positions. Each role has its own training and certifications and position responsibilities. And career trajectories vary widely, meaning it could be a big benefit to understand how staffers in different positions may evolve professionally. Recently, former ISPA Board member Kristine Huffman spoke with Karen Rutschmann, who shared wisdom about massage therapists gained from a lifetime in the field.
Insights to recruit, engage and retain spa industry professionals
KRISTINE HUFFMAN for Pulse: You started out in the industry as a nail technician. How did you decide to take that as a pathway?
KERRI MIGNEAULT: When I graduated from high school, I wasn’t 100 percent sure what I wanted to do for college. I had a friend who was in cosmetology school, and I was her model for her state boards. That introduced me to that world. I didn’t want to go to school for hair, finger waves and perms. So, I opted to go to school for nails.
Pulse: How did your career evolve from there?
KM: When I was in school, my instructor was adamant about having goals. He always said if you don’t have goals, you’re never going to move forward. I got the amazing opportunity to work at the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa & Salon. There, I decided that I was going to take every opportunity that came my way. My answer was always Yes! Next, I was offered an opportunity to work in Miami at The Noble House as part of the opening team.
Insights to recruit, engage and retain spa industry professionals
Kristine Huffman for Pulse: The industry seems to be really struggling with therapist recruitment. Do you experience that too?
CG Funk: We have about a thousand massage programs in the United States today, so we have enough schools. What we don’t have is enough students. I think that’s mainly because we have not marketed and promoted it as a 21st-century career. When people think about massage as a job, folks still think about it as kind of a hippie thing. We’ve done an amazing job in the spa industry of promoting the benefits of our serv[1]ices to consumers. We have more consumers than ever before. And after Covid, it’s grown exponentially. But what we haven’t done is change the mindset what a massage career is. I also believe, as an industry, we are falling short on helping massage therapists create sustainable, long-term careers.
We haven’t approached this thing as a marketing and PR issue. The school I worked with had this ace marketing officer and he created an all-inclusive marketing campaign. We had ads running on radio, late[1]night television, print and social. We started the first online admissions department. The marketing was so strong that it pushed thousands of students to our campuses on an annual basis. I haven’t seen a strong campaign since then.
Interstate Licensure Compacts Gain Ground
Keith Buckhout, policy analyst for the Council of State Governments, provides the following update on the 2024 year-end status of two spa industry interstate licensure compacts and outlines expected progress for 2025:
Interview Questions
Looking for new ways to learn more about job candidates during the interview process? ISPA members shared their favorite interview questions in a previous ISPA Snapshot Survey. You are sure to find some thought-provoking conversation starters for your next interview here.
Investigating New Hires
With 250 employees and a fair amount of turnover, Colin MacCrimmon has a lot of jobs to fill and several ways to gather enough information to judge the suitability of a job candidate. When hiring new employees, the human resources manager for Oak Bay Beach Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia, relies primarily on reference checks from previous employers and managers, as well as personal references.
Using a set of standard questions, MacCrimmon probes job candidates and their references for red flags. “It’s important not to be suggestive,” he said. “Follow a template and give people time to talk.” He has found vague answers to specific questions— like why they left a specific job—from either the job candidate or a reference can reveal potential issues in the candidate’s job history that warrant more probing questions.
Leading the Way Through Mentoring
SPA INDUSTRY LEADERS are often quick to point out all the ways in which their colleagues have supported their growth and played key roles in the success of their careers. Many can even cite a particular individual whose impact is greater than the rest. In some cases, these formative relationships happen by chance, but spa leaders seeking to foster growth in their teams, retain top employees and achieve their spas’ performance goals cannot simply place their trust in serendipity. Formal mentoring programs, though, can take luck out of the equation and help spas reach new heights.
Level Up Your Management Game with Dr. Bryan K. Williams
ISPA members are already familiar with Dr. Bryan K. Williams, a sought-after speaker known for his dynamic presentations at past Conferences and Town Halls. A recognized authority on leadership and service excellence, Williams brings his passion for helping others thrive to the spa industry through the Manager Skills Workshop, now available on iLearn for an ISPA member-exclusive price.
Log In and Level Up: Your New Learning Experience Awaits with iLearn
With ISPA celebrating its 35th anniversary and holding its Conference in a five-star resort in the unprecedented altitude of Colorado Springs, 2025 is shaping up to be a year of new heights—and iLearn, a powerful new tool exclusive to ISPA members, may just top everything.
iLearn is the latest member benefit from ISPA, and it will help revolutionize industry-wide learning, spa culture and employee engagement. A learning management system (LMS) at its core, iLearn will give spa management the ability to summon knowledge from industry leaders, experts and visionaries on a whim.