Spa Ownership Workshop: The Tricky Art of Staffing and Expansion

Knowing when to expand a business, or when to bring on additional staff is something that every spa owner or manager needs to consider. It can’t be done too soon or the expansion and additional staff will be a financial drain on the business and could lead to financial problems, cash flow shortages and failure. However, not expanding when needed, or adding additional staff when needed, can result in clients having to wait too long for appointments which will lead them to look elsewhere. This can lead to loss of client and loss of revenue. Take a look at your existing client base and the time lag from when an appointment is set to when a client is actually seen. If it is only a few days and your clients are staying with you, and you have adequate room to work, then you are probably in fine shape. But if clients are starting to complain or if the time lag is more than a week, and especially if it is more than ten days, and not by client choice then you may need to look at adding in additional help.

Take a look at your competition. How large are they? How many square feet of space? How many aestheticians and other clinicians are working there? Do they seem to be busy? Some spa managers have been known to send a trusted employee who is not known into the competition to have a treatment and check out the competition, sort of acting as a spy. Some people believe this is unethical and others disagree. Other managers have had someone observe the parking lot of the main competition to see how many clients they average per hour and how many per day. Other people just use common sense in trying to determine how busy the completion is. Make your own decision as to which method is best for you.

If you believe your business is reaching the point of expansion, consider this a good problem. All businesses either grow, or stagnate. You want your business to be one of the growing ones. Delegating some of your authority to an assistant manager or trusted employee as a shift leader will free up some of your time to find a new retail space and run advertising to acquire new employees. These are important duties, and indicative of success in  your field.