KEEPING EMPLOYEES ENGAGED AND ENERGIZED leads to lower staff turnover rates and a positive work environment . During a midsummer ISPA Town Hall , panelists Christina Cabrera , Gigi Guiette , Cassie Sampson and John VanEron shared how they celebrate and incentivize employee success .

Creative ways to keep employees engaged ( and avoid burnout ) “ We started a new initiative this year called the welcome committee ,” Cassie Sampson related .“ We ’ ve selected a few of our outgoing and natural leaders to help head the committee . They make sure we celebrate important dates , birthdays , breakroom parties , etc . They have been taking that on , and it ’ s been amazing .”

Christina Cabrera said ,“ We start with a daily pre-shift and really connect with our team about what is going on for the day . We also do monthly potlucks . It ’ s casual and everyone brings their own dish . We talk about a lot of

employee incentives , recognize team members of the month , add-on sales , etc . We keep it really lively and informal for employees .”

“ One-on-one meetings are the best way to sense what is going on with an employee ,” John VanEron shared .“ I always start with How are things outside of work ? to see how they are doing . I try to make it more about that as opposed to their performance , because performance is going to come up .”

“ We like to remind people to take time off , even if they aren ’ t going anywhere ,” said Sampson .“ We keep their stats and records and see when someone hasn ’ t been doing well , and we see

that downward trend . At that point , you sometimes notice the change before the employee does . That allows us to go ahead and sit down with them and address the problem . We ’ ve asked employees what excites them , what kind of training have you always wanted . We gave one of our massage therapists a massage to remind them how important their work is .”

Processes for guest recognition and employee rewards Cabrera shared ,“ We have physical comment cards that we provide to guests after treatments , and they are also available in the locker rooms and relax-

52 PULSE n OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2024