Human Resources

In order to be of service to transgender spa guests in a manner that is as welcoming and comforting as it is safe and legal, certain action steps need to be taken. Before action steps can be taken, spa directors and managers need to educate themselves and their staff to reach new levels of understanding concerning the non-discriminatory treatment of transgender individuals with the inclusion of two main components: (1) Best ways to serve and accommodate transgender individuals considering their comfortability in spa’s communal areas (2) Ensuring non-transgender clients feel safe and comfortable from the service and accommodation delivered to transgender guests. 

As many employers recognize, adopting proactive measures may prevent harassment from occurring or minimize the risk to the organization in the event that harassment does occur.

Please keep in mind the following is a “Best Practices” guide compiled from voluntary member organization feedback to aid you in creating your own, unique policy that works best for your business.

These recommendations are based only on United States federal law and are provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice or even fully legally-compliant for your business. ISPA recommends spa owners consult with their attorney to confirm they are meeting the laws within their jurisdiction as they differ based on location, including for international spas and on a state-by-state basis within the United States.

With companies competing to attract rock star employees to their team, it can be challenging to win in the war of talents. It is even more difficult in the spa industry due to the shortage of qualified spa professionals currently in demand. 

A large majority of all spas also responded yes to having written job descriptions for the following positions: esthetician (98 percent), spa manager (93 percent), spa director (92 percent), spa attendant and nail technician (90 percent). In regards to having a written description for the role of hair stylist, only 65 percent of day spas responded yes compared to 80 percent of resort/hotel spas.

In discussing what areas are included within a company’s job description, one hundred percent of all spas require the duties/tasks for which the position is responsible for. Other popular responses include experience requirements, supervisory responsibilities, physical demands, education requirements and the company’s core values that must be honored. The least popular answer among both day and resort/hotel spas was the type of equipment the employee would be responsible for operating.

The large majority of spa member respondents, 97 percent, offer in-house hands-on vendor training to employees.  Four out of every ten spa respondents indicated they provide off-site training for their employees allowing them to visit vendors at their office or training facility.   Customer service training and retail sales training are also provided by a significant number of spa members (80 percent and 72 percent respectively).

Sixty-eight percent of spa respondents offer customer service training to their employees at least once per quarter, compared to only 45 percent of resource partner members.  Role-playing exercises and hands-on training were identified as two of the most effective types of customer service training.  Vendors are also serving as key partners for both customer service and retail sales training with the large majority, 94 percent, offering training opportunities to their clients.  Sixty-five percent of resource partner respondents offer complimentary hands-on training at their clients’ spas and 63 percent offer web-based training.  Vendors also help spas measure their staff’s product knowledge through hands-on evaluations and on-site testing at the conclusion of a training session (offered by 46 percent and 27 percent respectively).

By a considerable margin the most common cut-off point between the hours someone must work before being considered full-time is 30 per week among all ISPA spa members. In day spas, 42 percent of respondents consider an employee to be full-time at that point, just ahead of the 40 percent of resort spas that agreed. At day spas, the second most common cut-off point is 35 hours per week – still somewhat below the traditional 40-hour working week. For vendors, 59 percent expect a minimum of 40 hours per week from full-time staff.

Staffing at spas appears to be fairly evenly split between full-time and part-time staff. In day spas, part-time and full-time staff are split 48 percent to 46 percent, while at resorts 49 percent are part-time and 43 percent are full-time. Contract employees form less than 10 percent of spa staff.