To see is to believe! To live it is to believe it! When I first started going to trade meetings and local events with other Spa Directors; everyone would comment on how lucky I was that I did not need to hire any Nail Techs; they were jealous, that I was lucky to have as many as I did working at the Spa, etc. they would talk about how hard it was for them to find any and how they let the ones they had get away with murder for fear of loosing them. I really thought everyone was just exaggerating. My luck ran out after my first year anniversary.
We decided to expand the Salon; we added a great custom built Pedicure sofa (just like in the episode of Sex and the City where they are getting pedicure's together). On top of that we decided to add more great feet and hand treatments to our menu thinking, "Why not jazz it up a little?" As I am forecasting labor and creating the next few months' schedule I realized I just don't have enough techs to cover everything we had plus everything we added. I knew I had to hire at least two new techs but then one of my full-time Nail Technicians resigned to relocate to another State (her husband's fault) which meant now I needed 3! Being a planner I thought, "I better start the process at least 2 months out just in case it is as hard as they say to find candidates." When Human Resources first posted the position I did not worry too much since I figured I had plenty of time, but after one month passed and they had not been able to provide me with one single candidate I started to panic.
I took matters into my own hands and (with HRs blessing) visited all the Cosmetology schools within a 30 mile radius. Sadly, they didn't have any students about to graduate, half the schools eliminated the program because they can't get people to want to be Nail Techs. The cosmetology students do not want to do nails not even with the promise that they can get promoted. I created a referral program at my Spa in the hopes that my existing team members might know someone that knows someone that wants to work with us, but so far "nada". I learned that next time we expand anything I better make sure I have the staff to cover it or that I can at least find the staff to cover it. I tried convincing my boss and HR to sponsor staff into a nail program, it does not take that long and I thought maybe someone in another department with less pay would be interested. But no way, they thought I was crazy, so instead the boss told me not to worry to let HR do their job and he ordered HR to find people. Ha, ha! When we left his office the HR Director and I laughed all the way back, like we can really just make candidates appear by magic. But it is not funny.
How is it possible that we cannot find even one Nail Tech? I've made calls, talked to colleagues, contacted schools, trade organizations and everyone's response is, "Welcome to the crisis, are you crazy? You need how many? No way, you won't find them. "Nail techs are an extinct species."
With no solution in sight and no sleep for a week trying to figure out what to do, I decided to have a staff meeting to go over the plans on the "unveiling" and the tragedy of no new Nail Techs. Yes, a little dramatic but I am dramatic. I knew I had existing staff members with Cosmetology licenses (they can do Nails) and a couple of Estheticians that had started as Nail Techs and still had valid licenses. So I had a plan.......I enjoy convincing people to help out, I don't like forcing them to help by ordering them to do something they are not really required to do. I figured desperate times required desperate measures and it was time to do some serious convincing but in a group setting not one-on-one. I had a feeling that one-on-one was going to be too hard and they would not feel the pain the Spa was going through. So I used the meeting to create a little peer pressure while explaining the super-need the Spa had to get everyone to pull together as a team, and how we sometimes had to do things we don't necessarily enjoy tremendously but for the good of the bigger picture we would do them for a little while, how because this was so important they would get some rewards for saving the day (yes I used money). I asked for volunteers to cover the shifts we needed to be able to unveil our fabulous new pedi area and I made sure the group knew that we did have team members that had the licenses and experience to do this for us. It worked! We got volunteers to add shifts as Nail Techs, enough to cover the immediate need for a month.
Yes, it is a Band-Aid and I still don't know how I will solve this problem on a more permanent basis. I do believe that my idea of sending some Spa Attendants, Housekeepers or other Hotel employees to train as Nail Techs and then have them work at the Spa is the ideal solution. My plan is to go back to the drawing board and put together a proposal with expenses and potential revenue to present this idea to my boss. In the meantime I am throwing a party for my staff as a Thank You for being so nice and wanting to fix this, they saved the day and my sanity for the time being!
Stay tuned!
Important Note: "Between the Sheets-A Spa Director's Diary" is Copyright 2005-2007 by Zahira J Coll. All rights reserved. No part of these stories shall be reproduced in any form or by any means, without written permission by the author. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of information contained herein. The stories are autobiographical; however names, characters, places and incidents have been changed to protect identities.
Our intrepid Spa Director admits that her solution was a “Band-Aid” at best and she is right! And the problem she outlines is common throughout the US, as many Spa Directors/Owners tell me every day the difficulties they have in recruiting Nail Techs.
While we can all get creative in how we solve this problem you have to ask yourself if it is worth solving. In the example that our Between the Sheets Spa Director outlines for us, you will note that her solution was to throw money at the problem and indeed that is what most of us do myself included. I’ve been suggesting that we pay Nail Techs the same (not percentage, instead the same dollars) as Estheticians and Massage Therapists as we have a simple economic “supply and demand” problem.
But one has to wonder, why would I pay the same labor costs for less revenue potential? Nail Services tend to be at least $20-$30 less per hour of service delivered than Massage and Esthetics. Therefore lately I have been recommending to my Start-Up Clients to not put Nail Services on their menu.
When suggesting such heresy many have repeated the myth that I’ve heard a hundred times; “But Nails is what get Clients through the door and then we sell them the more expensive services.” Later as we do the analysis, we find that very few Nail Clients are utilizing the other services and that instead (if anything) the high end Clients are buying nails as a convenience, but most Clients are getting their nails done elsewhere.
Many Spas should continue to perform nail services, but many out there should at least consider and analyze if is worth the time aggravation and money needed to sell a service that often loses money and at best makes very little.
It would simplify your operation, and allow you to possibly network with the dozens of Nail Salons in your area to feed each other business.
Anecdotally, I have two quick stories; The first is an end user that loves to go to the Spa and hang out all day drinking tea, using the steam room, and any other amenities that the Spa may offer. She tells me that she can not afford the prices of facial or bodywork, so she buys the cheapest pedicure on the menu and then enjoys the “good life” for hours just hanging out, and sometimes takes one or two of her girlfriends into doing it with her. I love her dearly, but what a drain on the Spa’s limited resources.
The second is a Spa Owner who was doing Nail Services at a loss, for the reason I mentioned above and having a tough time recruiting Nail Techs. When we did the analysis, we found that the fact was most of her Nail Clients did not buy other services, so my recommendation was to eliminate the service and replace it with more “high value” treatment space. She thought this was a great idea and then remembered that in her state her Spa/Salon license required that she provide Nail Services, else she would be in violation and possibly get into trouble. So my new advice was to jack the pricing up to close to what a basic massage or facial would be so that they would be on the menu but she would not sell them. Two months later she calls me to tell me, that she is at least twenty dollars higher for her Nail services than anyone else in town and she only lost 10% of her nail business. The Clients told her that they loved the way they were done here, it was convenient, and they would not think of going anywhere else.
Even though I was mistaken and Clients still come to her Spa for Nail Services, and she still has the same problem recruiting Nail Techs, at least she now makes money with those services and she is getting paid for the headaches, “go figure!”.
Best Wishes & Healthy Profits
Skip Williams
Resources & Development
Posted by: Skip Williams | August 08, 2007 at 04:43 PM