2 . Unify the Team Through Financial Transparency l Can an understanding of finances really unify my team ? This is where the oft-discussed balancing act of transparency comes into play . In Slack ’ s 2018 Future of Work study , 80 percent of workers surveyed wanted insights into how decisions were made at their organization and 87 percent said they hoped their next job would be transparent . More recently , a Place Technology survey of 600 full-time employees from December 2020 showed more than half of all respondents ( 54 percent ) say the frequency of their company ’ s financial updates had not increased since the COVID-19 outbreak , yet 65 percent said they could make a more effective contribution if they had greater visibility into financial performance . Fostering transparency and clearly communicating financial outlooks and goals will build trust and loyalty among your team , involving them in the financial journey and turning them into invested stakeholders . l How do I get my team to care about the numbers ? Storyboarding will do more than motivate your team to see value in the daily grind . If executed intentionally and thoughtfully , the practice of storyboarding should illustrate how each department and team member contributes to the spa ’ s success story . By creating a sense of shared purpose and encouraging cross-departmental collaboration , you will empower team members with an understanding of the spa ’ s broader financial landscape and add fuel to your team ’ s fire . With a view of the financial implications behind cordial interactions with guests or maintaining a perfectly ordered retail space , your team will suddenly be infused with a new degree of meaning , which feeds into our next step .
3 . Unlock Talent Retention Through Financial Engagement l Convincing my team to engage with finances is not easy . Is it worth my time in the long run ? When your employees are actively engaging with financial goals and striving collectively toward benchmarks , their job ceases to be solely about operations and shifts to a more holistic understanding of spa as a business model — potentially awakening a newfound appreciation for and nourishing a budding career in the spa industry . Followed up with being respected as valued
By humanizing finance and creatively communicating financial goals and forecasts , spa directors can unite their teams in a shared commitment to the spa ’ s mission , transforming employees into stakeholders ….
Should spa leaders emphasize finances over the guest experience ?
As spa professionals know better than anyone , a spa ’ s overarching goal is double-sided : to create the most rejuvenating and restorative experiences possible while operating profitably . Rather than emphasizing one side or the other , the best operators learn how to balance the two — or better yet , to create and embody a fusion that benefits both . QUICK TAKES FOR LEADERS : l
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When you embody an enthusiastic fusion of financial and experiential priorities and communicate them transparently , that same enthusiasm will permeate your team . Once your team also embodies the fusion of priorities , it will serve to deepen their admiration for an industry that doesn ’ t just seek a profit but seeks to share the value of spa experiences with every guest at every turn . l Framing your spa ’ s experiential mission as the main fi- nancial goal-achieving tool will motivate your team to uphold the highest standards of operational excellence with the bottom line in mind .
OCTOBER 2023 n PULSE 33