Massage & Bodywork

November/December 2013

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ADDING EMPLOYEES to discipline or terminate an employee. Working with a professional is your best bet to make sure it is thorough and compliant with employment laws. In addition to handbooks, Manning also suggests you have job descriptions with expectations for each position. If you expect that employees will devote a portion of their time to answering phones, cleaning, marketing, and performing maintenance, that must be spelled out in their job descriptions. Clinics differ widely in what employees are required to do, and outlining expectations up front can help you avoid the "that's not my job" argument later. Before hiring, you need to research worker's compensation insurance plans to find one that suits your needs, and understand the costs of taxes such as Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment. Also look into the cost of benefits you may wish to offer, such as health insurance or education reimbursement. Manning says this information will help you determine the actual cost of your employee and develop a compensation plan you can afford. Compensation One of the most important decisions you'll make prior to hiring is how you will pay employees. Thoroughly research your options in advance, because if you choose a compensation structure that is too generous or does not offer performance incentives for your employees, it can be difficult to change later. The three common types of compensation structures are commission, fee for service, and hourly rate. Some businesses combine more than one type of +2 Read These Now! Business Mastery, by Cherie Sohnen-Moe (SohnenMoe Associates, 2008). Who: The A Method for Hiring, by Geoff Smart and Randy Street (Ballantine, 2008). compensation. Gratuities, bonuses, and benefits—such as health insurance or continuing-education reimbursement— also factor into the overall compensation of your employees. In addition to a base compensation, you should also have a plan for pay increases and bonuses as a way to encourage employees, rewarding those who strive for excellence and represent your business well. These can coincide with quarterly, semi-annual, or annual evaluations; I prefer smaller but more frequent incentives to offer encouragement. For employees who see clients, bonuses can be based on rebookings, client-satisfaction surveys, the number of clients seen, and overall job performance. Administrative employees can add value to your business by reminding clients of appointments, suggesting rebookings and upgrades to treatments, and helping you manage supply costs, and can earn bonuses on their performance in these areas, as well as overall performance. Commission One benefit of using a commission model is that it is simple. If you decide to primarily hire massage therapists who perform treatments that do not include expensive products, this could be a good option. You will need to consider whether you are paying commission on the regular price of service or the final price. For example, if a treatment is $100, but the customer has a $25-off coupon, will your employee receive commission on $100 or $75? You also need to decide if the products therapists use are included, or if you will deduct a product fee from their commission. This is typically only done if products are costly. A mistake that employers sometimes make in implementing a commission model is placing too much importance on the percentage another practice in the area pays. If you think, "The spas in our area all pay 50 percent, so I have to pay 50 percent," you could be creating a problem. If another practice pays 50 percent of the final cost of service after discounts, or frequently discounts services, subtracts product fees, and does not offer the benefits you plan to offer, its 50 percent could actually look like your 35 percent in an employee's paycheck. 56% of organizations are currently using social media as a tool to recruit potential job candidates. http://bit.ly/15WlBgQ 100 massage & bodywork november/december 2013 Fee for Service A fee-for-service approach works well when you are offering services that have a higher overhead cost. For example, if you compare a $100 body

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