Massage & Bodywork

SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2021

Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1402696

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 76 of 101

74 m a s s a g e & b o d y wo r k s e p te m b e r/o c to b e r 2 0 2 1 provide this service for spas and massage practices, as well as verifying an applicant's massage license, for a reasonable price. LICENSING Check with the appropriate city or state agency to verify that the therapist is licensed; this information is generally available online and takes only a few moments to verify. Licensing boards often keep records of complaints about therapists, so call the board to check if this information is available. If you do hire the therapist, keep a copy of their license as well as their liability insurance document for their file until three years after employment ends. Also, be sure to check your state licensing board's requirements, as some require individual licenses to be visibly displayed on the premises. ONLINE PRESENCE In addition to your background and reference check, it should be standard practice to check prospective therapists' activities online and on social media platforms. Training is available on how to scour for this information, although you can often find out a lot with a quick search of Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and possibly other heavily trafficked, specific-interest platforms such as Parler, Reddit, and Twitch. A search like this would have saved one business a lot of grief in one case I worked on as an expert witness. This particular business did not include this investigative step during the hiring process of a prospective employee. Had they done so, they would have discovered (with a Google search) an arrest for rape just three years earlier on this man's record. Because of this oversight, the man was hired, and as a result, the business was sued after he sexually abused several women. (Additional resource: see "How to Conduct an Online Search for Prospective Employees" at abmp.com/keeping-clients-safe.) PRACTICAL INTERVIEW An experienced, senior massage therapist should conduct the practical interview with each applicant. This means a hands- on demonstration of the prospective therapist's work, with criteria specific to skill, knowledge, and your business needs and expectations. The interviewer needs to be very knowledgeable about the massage therapy profession, not just whoever is available at the time. They should ask to receive a massage from the prospective therapist as if they were giving it to your clientele. It is imperative that they are well- versed in technique and appropriate client interaction. Ideal interviewer candidates include a previous instructor at a massage therapy school or the lead therapist on staff. If the interview is done by the business owner or manager, they should have years of experience within the environment and/ or have received countless massages, giving them good sensing and perceptual skills. Owners and managers should watch a skilled therapist do the practical interviews over at least a period of a year before doing it themselves. If an owner or manager is not familiar with the terms and criteria that should be used in a practical interview and are not able to recognize the nuances of the hands-on techniques, they are not the appropriate person to be doing the practical interview. (Additional resource: see "Practical Hands-On Interview Checklist" at abmp.com/keeping-clients-safe.) BACKGROUND CHECKS Most states include a criminal background check as part of the licensing process. However, they do not usually include a sex offender check, so it's always safer to do your own background check, especially if it has been six months or more since the therapist was licensed. Be sure to include a National Criminal Background check, an Unlimited County Background search, and a search of the National Sex Offender Registry. Crimcheck and other companies REFERENCE CHECKS Always request and check at least three references for the applicant. The best ones are from previous employers or clients, not friends or family. If there is not a long employment history, ask the applicant to supply contact information for the school they attended and at least two of their teachers. Directly ask the employer if they would hire the applicant again. If a previous employer is not forthcoming, analyzing the tone of their voice may give answers. Sometimes you have to be persistent to get someone on the phone who will talk to you. It's worth the extra effort. Document your calls and the responses you get in the employee's file. Additionally, review the school the student graduated from and the number of training hours they completed to earn their diploma. (Most state licensing boards require a minimum number of hours.) The absolute minimum should be 500 hours, but 650–1,000 hours is better. Additionally, find out if the school curriculum included at least 90 total hours of education in ethics, communication, and business courses combined. Many of today's corporate schools have eliminated these important courses, which means you will likely have to do some extra training with this new therapist. Also, ask if the therapist has taken continuing education courses and what they were; this shows an interest in developing and increasing their skills. CODE OF ETHICS Adopt a code of ethics that includes explicit statements that no sexual contact of any kind can occur between the practitioner and the client, and include it in your new-hire training manuals. Each therapist should read and sign a copy to be kept in their employment file. Also display the code of ethics so that it is visible to both therapists and clients. This establishes safety and acts as a deterrent, as well as being a signal to employees and customers that your business values and

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Massage & Bodywork - SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2021