“The last piece of the puzzle is to participate in employer
panels. If your local school doesn’t have one, suggest to
the director that they have a panel once or twice a year.”
involved with the school, and they’ve hired every intern
after they’ve graduated. Many of the therapists prefer to
work part-time and maintain a private practice on the side,
which is encouraged by Woodstock Inn & Resort.
The last piece of the puzzle to establishing a recruiting
pipeline from a local school is to participate in employer
panels. If your local school has one, participate; if it
doesn’t, suggest to the director that they have a panel
once or twice a year. “They bring in people from different
businesses, and we’re able to tell them the benefits of
working for us,” says Smith. “After we sit on the panel, a
lot of the students connect with us.” After graduation,
Smith says that many of these students will “actually
reach out to us directly” rather than having to be
contacted by Woodstock Inn & Resort.
When it comes to establishing a pipeline with a local
school, the numbers speak for themselves: one-third of
the Woodstock Inn & Resort’s therapists are now from
the school. The retention rate is a staggering 100 percent.
Part of this, however, is because Woodstock allows thera-
pists to work part-time or on an on-call basis—the spa
has no full-time service providers.
How do you pitch working in a spa environment to
millennials who thrive in the ‘gig economy?’ Somerville
says that the key is to focus on the positives of working
for a spa instead of the negatives of not working at a spa.
“We stuck to what we offer,” she says, “and we kept
going to our resort benefits. They get access to a fitness
center and a golf course. They get complimentary meals
when they’re here. We have a bigger team, and that’s an
advantage because they can meet more therapists,
connect with them and practice with them. We are
confident that a strong workplace culture is the number
one way to retain your staff.” n