SiSpa at Fort Lauderdale Marriott Pompano Beach Resort & Spa (seen above) motivates employees to stay engaged at work by providing them coaching and
regular feedback.
it is essential that the therapist has
adequate time to regroup between
services, so that each and every guest
receives the therapist’s best,” she says.
When assessing what may be
causing work burnout for employees,
Mearns suggests that spa directors and
owners need to look at themselves first.
“Often the cause of burnout is poor
management. Let’s take the example of
low or inadequate staffing levels. If an
employee is asked to work extended
shifts to cover guest requests or a large
holiday weekend, most staff members
will be very accommodating to help the
team; however, if they are asked to
continually adjust their schedules to
help with demand, they will quickly lose
interest in helping—a sign of burnout
and fatigue.”
Stress Breaks
To help combat stress, Freeman suggests
giving the team member new and
challenging tasks to help them refocus
their attention and keep them motivated.
“We require our employees to take
Federal-mandated breaks. If this does
not work, we encourage them to take
time off to refocus,” she says.
Mitchell, on his part, believes that
cross-training in various aspects of the
operations could help keep things fresh
and interesting for an employee, helping
to combat any feelings of boredom or
exhaustion in the process.
“Cross-training allows the employee
to work in different areas rather than
face the tedium of constant repetition.
This keeps things interesting when the
employee is faced with a new and
stimulating challenge,” he says.
In addition, Mitchell says, as a
company, Primal Elements holds
monthly lunches to allow employees
from all departments to sit and dine
together as well as share their experiences. “We also provide our employees
with knowledge—this could be information about new and exciting
developments in the company, such as
“It is important to address burnout among employees
so that it doesn’t impact the customer and guest
experience in a negative way. It is always important
to keep staff in a positive and winning attitude.”
— FAITH FREEMAN
May 2016
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