Pulse November 2015 | Page 56

VOICES Risk Management Understanding the Four Important Parts HAL KALKSTEIN is the president of Spa-Risk Management, a New York-based insurance service company for the beauty and spa industry. He recently completed the ISPA Spa Risk Management program. In this Voices feature, he shares some key risk management insights he learned from the online course. For more about the company, email hal@spa-riskmanagement.com or visit spa-riskmanagement.com. Pulse welcomes contributions for Voices. Do you have relevant tips or pressing industry topics or issues to tackle? Email ispa@ispastaff.com to pitch an article or share your expert insights. 54 PULSE ■ November 2015 B y the ISPA Spa Risk Management course definition, risk management is the process of identifying and analyzing exposure to risk and determining and planning how to best handle such exposure. To help minimize risky situations, everyone working at the spa should be involved in identifying what plans and protocols are needed to avoid, minimize or manage work-related risks. Traditionally, when talking about limiting risk for the spa and beauty industry, insurance coverage is often a topic of discussion. General and excess liability as well as professional liability insurance coverage is an important part of managing risk for the beauty industry. Having a risk management program in place can provide the spa industry with tools and techniques that can help prevent or reduce the impact of hazards and conditions that would otherwise lead to an insurance claim. Likewise, the spa can absorb some of the impact of certain losses. Risk management has four parts: (1) Risk Prevention or Avoidance (2) Risk Reduction (3) Risk Assumption or Absorption (4) Risk Transfer (purchase of insurance). Here’s a closer look at each of these parts: 1. Risk Prevention or Avoidance: Accidents and injuries and the resulting claims and lawsuits can be prevented and avoided by being aware of the underlying conditions that can give rise to these claims. WHAT CAN BE DONE: HR policies: Pre-employment screening can help the spa or salon avoid hiring an employee with a history of abusing patients. Training: Employee training can improve the quality of the services provided as well as educate staff on topics of abuse, molestation and harassment in the work place. (CONTINUED ON PAGE 56)