Reaching qualified candidates who are highly experienced in makeup, esthetics and wellness practices can be difficult, due to the number of hours industry professionals spend being hands-on with their clients. The spa leaders and decision-makers who are trying to recruit top talent may find themselves in a hiring rut caused by a lack of candidate responsiveness to emails and phone calls. Massage therapists have multiple massage and intensive treatments filling their days and managers are anxious to fill roles that will allow for team growth. Amazing cosmetic and wellness talent are out there, ready to lend their skills to the hottest establishment in town, but there’s one catch; they’re all this busy.
New recruiting methods and technologies can help spa owners and managers connect more efficiently with busy, on-the-go industry talent. Below are a few tips for transforming recruiting efforts, from hanging up the phone on traditional interviews to posting job openings on social media and screening candidates via text.
Stay Ahead of the Competition
As hiring demands shift, it’s important for spa owners and managers to understand how the changing times in today’s workforce are impacting traditional interviewing techniques. With unemployment in America continuing to decline, the job market is becoming increasingly competitive. It’s not simply due to a mismatch in skills, but there are actually less employees available overall, especially in industries that most need the support.
Expedite Hiring
Through text-based recruiting platforms, spa leaders can connect with potential candidates within minutes of receiving their application or resume. Before taking the time to conduct a formal interview, screening questions can instead be sent to the candidate’s mobile device with the simple click of a button, saving valuable time and resources. In fact, screening talent via text takes an average of 4.4 minutes.
Spa leaders can ask questions like: “What hours are you available?” “What licenses and certifications do you have?” and “How soon can you get started?” Talent can respond in a matter of seconds and also share their own set of questions, such as: “What pay range and benefits can I expect?” “Do you offer part-time employment opportunities?” and “What education and trainings do you provide your staff?”
By screening candidates via text message, three to five times the number of candidates can be reached than what’s possible using traditional recruiting methods. Additionally, through text-based platforms, candidates who aren’t the right fit can be disqualified in less than one minute.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Imagine how much better the employee acquisition process could be if spa hiring managers were able to focus solely on qualified candidates. Text-based recruiting platforms can identify the best candidates for the job while weeding out the flood of other resumes.
Text interviews aren’t designed to entirely replace in-person and phone interviews. Rather, they should be utilized to begin a dialogue early in the screening process. Consider it a “get-to-know-you” tool, similar to how people engage with a potential partner on a dating app. Once the spa owner or manager deems the candidate a good fit, they can further the conversation over the phone or in-person.
Texting also provides a unique opportunity to strip away the formality of traditional interviews. With text-based screens, spa leaders can opt to use emojis and Bitmojis in the conversation, which can put the applicant at ease and allow them to showcase their personality.
Target Top Talent
Young spa professionals may be sending videos via Snapchat or getting breaking news updates on Twitter, but it’s not likely that they’ll answer a phone call from an unknown number. Which is why spa owners and managers today must meet the new talent generation where they are: on the internet. An increasing number of companies are turning to social media platforms, like LinkedIn, Facebook groups, Twitter, and Instagram, as recruitment channels.
Social professional networks are the leading source of quality hires followed by internet job boards and employee referrals, according to a LinkedIn Talent Solutions study. Hanging up the phone and stepping outside of the traditional recruiting box may be the best way to hire top talent for spas of all sizes.
About the Author: Aman Brar is CEO of Canvas, the first text-based interviewing platform that enables recruiters to screen more job candidates and market employment brands. With Canvas, companies have transformed their reach and engagement with talent by designing their recruitment strategies in a way that aligns with the communication preferences of today’s workforce.
RELATED STORIES
The Benefits of Hiring an Interim Spa Director
Understanding the Ever-Growing Massage-Spa Divide
Study Shows Spa Industry Filled with Loyal Employees and Meaningful Careers