Coaching is not limited to sports. Over 80% of Fortune 500 companies provide professional coaching to their management team. Through coaching, companies and individuals increase profits, grow market share, and achieve greater success! If you want to succeed in your Spa or Medi Spa business and build a high-performance team, your organization will need a coach. The next time you are watching a basketball or a football game, notice the similarity between the responsibilities of a Sports head coach and a spa director/head coach. Spa professionals can learn many useful strategies from the Sports coaching model. Behind every great team, is a great coach! Who is the spa coach for your organization? Professional Sports spend millions of dollars developing their coaching business models. They are time tested and have proven to be effective. Let’s explore the Sports coaching model and discover which components can be applied into your spa business. 1. TEAM – Sports Coaching Model
The first thing you should notice about a sports organization is that they call their personnel a “TEAM”. An acronym for TEAM is “Together Everyone Achieves More.” TEAM – Spa Coaching Model
In the spa industry, most spa operators call their personnel ”STAFF.” It is time to replace the word staff with TEAM! Become a TEAM with a name and an identity. Instill unity, promote teamwork and purpose within your team; and together everyone will achieve more! 2. Structure – Sports Coaching Model
Now that you have a team, it is time for team structure. The sports model has players, team leaders, assistant coaches, support personnel, a marketing and sales team, operations team, and of course, a head coach. Each person has a clear position description & definition, responsibilities and accountabilities with a goal and a mission to win games. Structure – Spa Coaching Model
The spa head coach must detail the spa team structure and define each team member’s role and responsibilities, purpose and goals. The objective of the spa is to deliver a memorable spa experience and increase volume per guest, while improving guest retention rate. Within the spa team structure, the coaching team is responsible to provide clarity and guidelines on how to accomplish goals and maximize performance. 3. Recruiting – Sports Coaching Model
Team building is all about recruiting and getting the right people on the bus. (Jim Collins, Good to Great) Each sports team has starters and back ups. Starters are the stars. They account for most of the team’s production per game. This is where the 80/20 rule generally applies; 80% of your business is normally generated by 20% of your team. Professional teams focus highly on recruiting and scouting; continuously searching for new stars. The head coach is constantly evaluating and managing team members in order to identify the best players and maximize team results. Are you? Recruiting – Spa Coaching Model
A spa head coach must focus on the utilization of the starting team and the recruitment of new players. Refrain from giving your team members equal guest rotation. Identify the starters and assign more guests to them. This will increase the spa’s performance exponentially.
In the book Top Grading, Bradford Smart grades the players by A, B, C. The goal is to recruit A and B players, and elevate C players performance. Do not prolong poor performance or “C players“ if they are not the right fit for your team. 4. Head Coach – Coaching Sports Model
In Sports, the head coach is ultimately responsible for team performance.
The coach provides mental and physical workouts to stay fit and maximize performance in order to stay competitive. They never stop training… During the game, where do you find the coach? On the sideline: watching, supporting, motivating, strategizing… not in the office, or in the locker room.
They actively watch the team’s performance. Coaches call a “time-out” when they need to refocus the team or change the team’s game plan. They are continuously planning, strategizing and making adjustments to win the game. Head Coach – Spa Coaching Model
The spa head coach is responsible for the team’s performance and skill. The coach’s decisions influence the team’s ability to win or lose the guest. In order to stay in business and generate profits, the spa head coach is responsible for the continuous improvement of the guest experience and for maximizing retail & service opportunities. 5. Performance Measures – Sports Coaching Model
In Professional Sports, performance is everything. During every game, members of the organization track every statistic possible. They track points scored, blocks, steals, fumbles, turnovers and much more…
In addition to tracking statistics, players and coaches designate time to watch game videos to evaluate effort and identify areas of improvement. After the coaching team reviews all statistics and game videos, they adjust their team’s strategy accordingly. Why all the focus on tracking statistics and measuring performance? Without tracking and identifying what is broken or weak; it is very hard, if not impossible, to make improvements. Performance Measures – Spa Coaching Model
Track the team’s performance on a daily basis. Establish daily, weekly and monthly targets and goals. Compare actual performance vs. targets. Make adjustments to keep the team focused and aimed towards success. Below are Key Performance Indicators:
Volume Per Guest for Service and Retail
Guest Retention Rate
Up-grade Treatment Opportunities
Cross-team Marketing
Training Participation
Guest Experience, Protocols and Rituals
Attitude, Attendance, Work Ethic 6. Team Recognition – Sports Coaching Model
In Sports, achievers are frequently recognized by their head coach. When a player is a super star, they are asked to endorse products and services, invited to play in the all-star game, have personalized merchandise, etc. Being recognized for small or large accomplishments is a very valuable and necessary coaching function to maximize motivation and achievements. Team Recognition – Spa Coaching Model
People today are looking for a lot more than a paycheck. They want to be valued and recognized! Implementing an awards program and recognizing the spa team for their efforts and achievements is essential to the spa’s continuous success. Recognition provides the team with a sense of appreciation. It drives the team to excel and enhance their performance. In addition, the team’s positive morale will elevate productivity and profits.
Positive focused teams produce positive results! |