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The following was the basis for a presentation Caren Thornburgh of Virtual Spa was scheduled to make at the ISPA 2000 Convention in Las Vegas in November. Unfortunately, another commitment made it necessary for her to leave the convention early and prevented her from making the presentation. For all of you who were looking forward to hearing about personalities in the spa industry, Caren has generously agreed to share her presentation here. Be sure to join Caren and myself in the Spa Site Chat Room January 24 at 9 pm ET. See details at right.
Julie
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Personality Profile of the Spa Industry
By Caren Thornburgh
There
are many valuable personality assessment tools available. Identifying different
personalities will help you to work in harmony and examine how to leverage your
personality's strengths and weaknesses, so that you hire a successful team.
Different types of spas place different demands upon personalities.
According
to Dr. Ken Kraft, a psychologist who is an expert in personality profiling and a
recognized expert in organizational behavior, most people make career decisions
in a reactive rather than pro-active mood. They take a new job because of
contingent circumstances such as a friend is hiring, or a family member
recommended them. Many times, reports Dr. Kraft, it is a crisis that propels a
career change such as a company going out of business, a termination, or being
passed over for a promotion. Observes Kraft, "Many people base career
decisions on whether or not it's what their parents did because that's all they
know. They don't base it upon real possibilities of what's out their and what
matches their needs."
Usually,
career development is not thought of in conscious terms of what motivates an
individual to excel and what kind of organization and culture is a good fit for
a person. As an individual's needs change their careers often change. With a
baby on the way, many men and women look for higher paying jobs in order to be
good providers. That instinct to provide for the family is a strong one;
however, all too often, money plays an overly important role in a person's
decision to take a job and the results are often disastrous for both the
employer and employee.
Virtual
Spa recently conducted a survey to determine what personality characteristics
predicted high performers in three spa personnel categories: esthetician,
massage therapist and spa director.
The candidates participating in the survey were derived from three types
of Spas including Day Spas, Destination Spas and Fitness Spas.
Two
types of data were collected.
All respondents, i.e. representing the three above categories, were given
a standard questionnaire which provided scores for sixteen personality traits.
Each of the respondents was rated by their immediate supervisor based on
actual performance.
Respondents were divided into two groups, high performers and average
performers.
Through
the findings of the survey, we intend to offer tools to spa management for
hiring personnel accurately and efficiently.
Through the recognition of personality traits that are specific to the
particular position management wishes to fill and factoring in the type of Spa
facility they operate (day, destination, fitness), the process of hiring will be
simplified.
The
following is a list of a few of the crucial personality traits and how they
apply to the spa industry.
PERSONALITY PROFILE SCALE
Low
Score
High Score
WARMTH
Reserved,
Impersonal, Distant…Warm, Outgoing, Attentive to Others
Interpersonal
warmth was rated by participants as one of the most consistently important
traits for effective job performance in all three categories. High scores would
tend to be warmhearted individuals who are generous and flexible in their
interpersonal relationships. They tend to be team players and have a high degree
of empathy with others. The study shows that low scores in this area, the cool
and reserved individuals tend to be much less successful in a spa environment.
These individuals expressed being less comfortable talking about or showing
feelings of affection for others. They are likely to shy away from extensive
interpersonal contact and prefer to work alone.
EMOTIONAL
STABILITY
Reactive,
Emotionally Changeable...Emotionally Stable, Adaptive, Mature
Emotionally
sensitive people tend to rely on empathy and intuitive awareness whereas low
scores are very practical and utilitarian, not taking peoples vulnerabilities
into consideration. The study shows this quality as the single most important
trait for successful massage therapists.
Like
on the warmth scale, its important for the spa director to complement the common
personality traits found in caregivers. Because caregivers tend to be highly
intuitive individuals they are very emotionally sensitive--and they are easily
upset. The survey revealed that a majority of Spa Directors had high scores
here. This way they can provide their caregivers with steady support an
otherwise busy, chaotic environment with an atmosphere of serenity and calm. If
the spa director doesn’t get ruffled, then the chances that the staff won’t
either is greater so that guests can experience a serene and peaceful
environment.
DOMINANCE
Cooperative,
Avoids Conflict...Dominant, Forceful, Assertive
One
trait which clearly distinguished successful massage therapists and
aestheticians from spa directors was dominance. Dominance refers to confidently
assertive individuals who enjoy group activities and leadership roles. Lower
scores describe people who are more deferential and cooperative and are conflict
avoidance. More dominant individuals want to exert influence over others.
Successful spa directors are relatively high on this trait, whereas effective
technical staff tends to score average to low average, especially massage
therapists.
LIVELINESS
Serious,
Restrained, Cautious...Lively, Fun Loving, Spontaneous
Often
times, sales people are high scorers here while people with low scores have a
high toleration for monotonous work and dislike change. Spa directors scored
moderately high on this trait in order to motivate people and keep the spa
perking along. A spa director who is a low scorer in this area and a low scorer
on the emotional stability scale would be too dour to empathize and relate to
the care givers.
RULE-CONSCIOUSNESS
Flexible
with rules, Nonconforming….Rule-oriented, Dutiful
This
trait was clearly predictive of success in both the massage therapist,
aesthetician, and spa director. High scores tend to follow rules and principles.
They are conscientious, persevering individuals who take on responsibility
driven by a sense of duty and adherence to exacting standards. Lower scores will
tend to be expedient and may be nonconforming and lack self control. Some of the
data suggests that this trait is not given enough focus during selection.
SOCIAL
BOLDNESS
Shy,
Threat Sensitive, Timid…Socially Bold, Thick-skinned, Talkative
Making
outrageous comments is a common way a high social boldness score manifests
itself in social situations. While Richard Simmons has built his reputation on
saying outrageous things in most work settings, boldness is frowned upon.
Yes, thick skin is needed because there’s a lot of emotional wear and tear
that comes with the job of being a spa director, but an overly bold day spa
director making blunt comments to guests may not help the guest replenish their
emotional reserves. In situations where a spa director has frequent contact with
the public and guests, a moderate score revealed a more successful spa director.
EMOTIONAL
SENSITIVITY
Logical,
Objective, Unsentimental...Intuitive, Feelings-oriented
Once
again, spa directors and caregivers are typically at opposite ends of this
trait’s spectrum. The best therapists tend to be the most sensitive, but they
can also be the most troublesome to manage. But what happens when you are a low
scorer working for a high scorer? Or, when you find yourself working for another
high scorer like yourself, or considering a job offer from a spa owner who
appears to be a high scorer?
VIGILANCE
Trusting,
Unsuspecting, Accepting…Skeptical, Wary, Suspicious
Another
distinguishing trait was vigilance. Higher scores tend to not take others
people's motives at face value and understand that people can be taken advantage
of. Lower scores expect fair treatment and good intentions from others and are
generally trusting and forgiving. Successful spa directors tended toward
somewhat higher scores. Effective massage therapists and aestheticians tended to
score quite low on this trait.
ABSTRACTEDNESS
Practical, Focused on details...Imaginative, Focused on Big Picture
Many
times scientists and conceptual thinkers have a high score here. Low scorers
tend to be frustrated by working in groups for long periods of time. In a day
spa setting where the spa director reports directly to the owner, or is the
owner, and has many direct reports, as well as responsibilities in sales and
marketing and finance, a high score was revealed as desirable since complex
decisions are made on an on-going basis.
APPREHENSION
Self-assured,
Unworried, Complacent...Worried, Insecure, Apprehensive
To
a large extent, this personality trait measures self-esteem. Within any spa
setting, it is desirable that the spa director have a healthy amount of
self-esteem. Fortunately, low self-esteem can be moderated if an individual puts
their mind to it.
LEVERAGE OUR STRENGTHS, MINIMIZE OUR WEAKNESSES
These
brief summary of how these personality traits manifest themselves in the
workplace and in a spa setting in particular, provides you with a solid
foundation for understanding how people function in the workplace. The challenge
of a manager is to take that information and use it in a constructive way to
make the work environment productive and harmonious--not to try to turn
everybody's personality profile score into straight 5's!
This
is especially true for spa directors who are not only managing sensitive, caring
employees, but who are also dealing with guests who are patronizing the spa to
rejuvenate not only their bodies, but their own emotionally depleted,
spiritually exhausted souls as well. The spa director must be keenly aware of
others' emotions and personalities in order to be "truly present" for
guests and employees so that the spa can be financially successful. How can you
leverage your own strengths and weaknesses--as well as those of your employees
and superiors--to be a really successful spa director?
Caren Thornburgh, founder of Virtual Spa, Inc. (www.virtualspa.net ), a Web gateway site serving the
needs of spa owners and managers with consulting, training programs, and spa career
services. She can be reached at (978) 356-0824 or caren@virtualspa.net.
photo and graphics courtesy of Caren Thornburgh
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