Pulse June 2017 | Page 41

In guest-facing areas of Spa Anjali, employees are prohibited from using their cell phones in order to ensure guests remain a priority. “So many people are influenced by what they read online, whether it’s true or false. It’s important to protect the reputation of your business.” — INGRID MIDDAUGH, Spa Director Spa Anjali at The Westin Riverfront Beaver Creek • Avon, Colorado Julie Pankey, managing partner at JMPankey Partners, specializes in helping her spa clients formulate social media policies. She notes that “there are two reasons we have developed a social media policy for our spa clients: to prevent associates from being distracted when their primary focus should on the guest, and to encourage associates to engage in social media, when appropriate, to act as brand ambassadors.” Social media policies can be as simple or as detailed as you see fit, but they should address these two main topics. Social Media at Work If you’re asking guests to lose their phones during treatments, your employees should do the same. Asking employees to refrain from even carrying their cell phones in guest-facing areas is essential to portraying the kind of relaxing and unwinding environment you want. Your employees should understand that customer service is their priority while at work, and there is no reason they should need to commu- nicate with anyone else. June 2017 ■ PULSE 39