BY NELSON LANE

SEPTEMBER ’ S ISPA TOWN HALL session marked an important pivotal moment in the conversation around employment in the spa industry . Shifting the discussion from the doldrums of the Great Resignation to a much more hopeful Great Renaissance , panelists Liz Correa ( The Ritz-Carlton South Beach ), Ella Kent ( Sea Island Resort ), Ludmila Milic ( Hotel Washington , D . C .) and Jessie Valdez ( Pendry Park City ) joined ISPA Chair Patrick Huey to unveil current methods and mindsets needed to make workplaces as attractive as possible for prospective and existing employees .

CONVERSATION VS . INTERVIEW With fewer and fewer candidates coming into the spa industry with experience in a potentially imposing luxury

setting , leaders are striving to make the interview process inviting and casual . One panelist discussed her spa ’ s efforts to do just that on the very day of the Town Hall .

“ We are having a career festival today ,” said Pendry ’ s Jessie Valdez .“ We are holding it at Disco Pizza , which is one of our lovely dining outlets . We are doing ‘ Careers & Beers ’ so [ candidates ] can come in , grab a slice and have a soda or a beer . We try to keep the interview process a little bit less formal until they get further into it . We don ’ t want them to feel intimidated . Luxury hotels , if you haven ’ t worked in this environment , can be intimidating for newcomers . We want it to be approachable , we want it to be friendly and we want it to be kind … [ We try to create ] a setting that feels more like a conversation versus an interview .”

34 PULSE ⁿ NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2022