“Create a place that you and your
employees love to be. It’s okay to like
to be at work!”
– CASSIE SAMPSON, East Village Spa
strengths, and Williams suggested
hiring people according to their natural
abilities. once the employee is
onboard, “build the strengths and
make the weaknesses irrelevant,”
Williams said. Lastly, it’s important to
give your employees—particularly the
younger ones—a sense of greater
purpose in their work by demon-
strating how it impacts their
community.
Insights from Industry Leaders
after concluding his own presentation,
Williams called up four industry
leaders to the stage:
l david chandler
massage therapist
canyon ranch spa + fitness at the
Venetian resort Las Vegas
l Jennifer holzworth
Director of Spa and retail
montage Kapalua Bay
l
l
Jeremy mccarthy
Group Director of Spa & Wellness
mandarin oriental hotel Group
cassie sampson
owner
east Village Spa
the four speakers represented all
facets of the industry and answered a
range of questions from multiple
angles. Jeremy mccarthy, a longtime
veteran of hotel spas, provided a
memorable answer early when he was
asked what his top tip for hiring was:
“Look for people who have been
promoted by someone else.” With job-
hopping becoming more and more
common, mccarthy said that seeing
someone who remained at once place
long enough to be promoted is often
the best proof of their talent.
David chandler has spent 25 years at
canyon ranch and offered his
employee-centric perspective
throughout the Q&a. What led him to
stay at one place for so long? canyon
ranch seeks his input on product and
treatment decisions, fosters a friendly
and helpful workplace, and has gone
out of its way to demonstrate that it is
grateful for its team.
the last question fielded from the
audience asked each panelist what his
or her most successful recruiting
practice is. cassie Sampson noted that
her spa has surmounted the
challenges of hiring in a small market
by teaching a local massage therapy
class. this helps her “see the talent”
and gets her spa’s name in front of
upcoming therapists. Jennifer
holzworth added that getting more
involved in her hawaii community—
and encouraging her employees to do
the same—has been a successful
recruiting tool. n
novEmbEr/dEcEmbEr
■
PULSE 2019
47