We have all kinds of promotions going on this month in preparation for the Holidays. The Spa smells of cinnamon, pumpkin and spice and we decorated with Christmas wreaths and lights and red candles everywhere. I love it! However, my desk is inundated with requests for days off, change of shifts, vacations and all for the same days; it is either Dec 25th, the 24th & 25th or the 31st and 1st of Jan. Unfortunately the days close to the 25th we are open extended hours because of the Holiday Spa Packages we created and the Gift Certificate sales. I had what I thought was the brilliant idea of extending the hours until midnight for the week prior to Dec 24th. I was so carried away in my enthusiasm and in beating my sales numbers from last year, that I did not take into account that everyone would want time off.
I was not having a lot of success with getting the technicians to volunteer for extra hours, I don't have enough staff to cover all the shifts, and I had no luck finding temporary staff. The thing is, I understand what my staff is feeling and complaining about. I feel as tired and frustrated as they do from having to work so hard during the Holidays, and I too wish I could take time off and spend it with family. Seasons like this make me wonder why I am not at a 9 to 5 Monday to Friday kind of job, and then I remember that I would be completely bored with a job like that and that I enjoy this industry with all its craziness too much to give it up.
This is actually the most difficult time of the year to maintain balance between family and professional obligations and to stay sane, for everyone in the staff. So I came up with a solution that everyone seems to love. I created shorter shifts for the most important days like the 24th, 25th, 31st and 1st; the shifts are 4-6 hours max. I do need more staff to cover all the appointment slots but the staff is more willing to work a completely booked 6 hr shift than an 8 hr one. I wrote all the shifts on little papers, like a raffle. In addition I included a few days off with those dates on them, just 2 per special date. I also added some prizes such as Starbucks gift cards, nice retail products and movie tickets. I had a mandatory staff meeting today and everyone pulled out a shift per date and a prize. (I have more than 75 staff members, creating the chart for shifts took a full day!) Those that got the Day off tickets were so thrilled they willingly picked up extra shifts. Those that got the shifts were still happy because they felt it was fair and fun for all. The prizes were a nice little extra. It felt good to be able to do this and it added to our Holiday Spirit. To finalize the meeting I announced that I am hosting a Spa Holiday Party at my house on the 28th and we are doing it after we close, so that everyone can come, plus that way my kids will be part of the fun and hopefully it will make us feel better about having to work this hard during the season. This is not a company event, so everyone will bring food. I also have tons of products and gifts sent by the vendors so I convinced Mr. R. to let me raffle them off amongst the Spa staff. Everyone is happy, tired, but willing to make it work and we are looking forward to a great, record breaking Holiday Season for the Spa.
I can not wait to see what the New Year brings in experiences, lessons and life!
Happy Holidays!!!!
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.
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