“ Most massage therapists who are going to resign do so within the first 90 days . So , the focus should be on building training and outreach to ensure they are onboarded positively . If you keep them past 90 days , you ’ re more than likely to keep them two years plus .”
Insights to recruit , engage and retain spa industry professionals
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“ Most massage therapists who are going to resign do so within the first 90 days . So , the focus should be on building training and outreach to ensure they are onboarded positively . If you keep them past 90 days , you ’ re more than likely to keep them two years plus .”
— CG FUNK
ABOUT CG FUNK
CG Funk recently became the chief therapeutic experience officer for Massage Heights Franchising after serving as the company ’ s senior vice president of culture and industry relations . She has been an ISPA Board director since May 2022 . Below , CG shares her career background in the spa industry .
that . At the time , I didn ’ t know there were schools for massage therapy .
I came into the spa industry as a massage therapist 30 years ago when I decided to leave a career in sales and marketing for ski resorts . Several years prior , a friend had bought me a gift certificate for a massage . This is in the ‘ 80s and massage was definitely not mainstream . The therapist I saw was a Hawaiian healer and worked on me for three hours . When I got off the table I thought , I want to learn to do
When I decided to go to massage school , my whole family expressed concern . I attended school because I was drawn to the work . It was a calling .
When I graduated school and got my license , one of my first positions as a massage therapist was working for the Cliff Spa at Snowbird Ski Resort . Those jobs were seasonal back then so , to make a living , a therapist had to have other gigs as well . I was approached by the owner of the massage therapy college that I attended about becoming an instructor . I taught several courses for eight or nine years at the school while building my own practice and creating an onsite massage company for conventions .
In the late 1990s , the school owner had this crazy idea to open campuses in multiple states . I was brought on to help with the school expansion . After five years , we had seven campuses in four states . We were one of the first chains of massage schools at that time .
Then , in 2005 , I was approached by a start-up franchise called Massage Envy . They offered me a position that would add focus to the brand on cultivating the key labor source : massage therapists . When I joined them , they had 30 locations open . When I left in 2016 , there were 1,100 locations . I had this unique opportunity to enter a business model that was
first to market . I brought deep knowledge to massage , massage education and massage therapists in my leadership role . And , I learned a lot about franchising .
KRISTINE HUFFMAN LICSW , formerly a partner with Hutchinson Consulting , is a semi-retired hospitality consultant and former ISPA Board member . She brings more than 30 years of experience in hospitality and human services , including providing leadership , psychotherapeutic services , staff training , program development and brand direction for the award-winning Canyon Ranch , Miraval and Travaasa Resorts .
42 PULSE n JULY 2023