MEMBER PERSPECTIVES
paperwork is sent via email and completed ahead of the
first day; this removes any rote formality from the first-
day experience and makes for a more organic entry into
the spa. Every new hire also receives a welcome video
that features each one of Altitude’s 23 employees. In the
video, each employee provides a quick introduction about
who they are, what they do and what a few of their
interests are—for example, one might mention they’re a
football fan, while another discusses their love of baking.
This engenders instant connection between new hires
and current employees who might share similar interests, Spa swag, such as a branded metal water bottle. The
overall effect of the warm welcome, says Green, is the
best quality of Altitude Spa’s onboarding process.
Next, Green will show the new hire around the spa,
after which they receive the spa’s “pride book,” a
handbook with information on the spa’s protocols and
products. Depending on their position, the new hire will
then move directly into shadowing. Green prefers to
move quickly, especially with massage therapists: “they
pretty much start right away, because each massage
therapist has their own style.” After orientation, that new
in addition to “putting a face to a name even before a
new hire walks in the door,” according to Green.
Once the new hire arrives for their first day, a current
team member greets them in the spa’s lobby with their
preferred beverage from Tim Horton’s—the new hire is
asked about their preference ahead of time—and shown
to their locker. Inside the locker is a gift bag with Altitude therapist is booked with clients almost immediately. For
other positions, though, it’s typical for any new hires to
spend significant time shadowing existing service
providers first. Before they’re given free rein to work on
clients, the new hire has to perform a service on another
spa employee to their team leader’s satisfaction.
According to Green, this typically takes “a week or two.”
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milk + honey's apprenticeship program was overhauled,
resulting in a big boost to the bottom line.
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020