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Challenges facing spa recruiters in the Middle East

At the recent Spa Management Summit at Beauty World Middle East in Dubai I was asked to speak about some of the challenges facing recruiters within the spa industry in this region. Without repeating the entire talk I would like to share a few key points in this latest Blog.

As the “middle man” between job seekers and employers we often receive feedback from both sides concerning specific difficulties when offering or accepting jobs. Employers most commonly ask why their job offers have been turned down, while Job seekers come to us for advice on a range of issues. Jobs are sometimes offered via email without any attempt to interview, some employers expecting acceptance without putting forward contracts or job specifications… Salaries range from approximately $400 a month to $1800 a month (for therapists) while some contracts have severe financial penalty clauses for early termination but others don’t. Good therapists will pick and choose who they work for – though operating globally, SpaStaff alone has over 600 registered employers in the Middle East!

I would urge employers to consider carefully three key elements when recruiting new staff: Trust, Lifestyle and Competition. Over the last 10 years the world has opened up for migrant workers and so Middle East employers have to work a little harder now to encourage applicants to work for them. They need to get across that, contrary to some stories heard by job seekers, they are a fair and caring employer. Lifestyle is now an issue and it is vital to give applicants the confidence that they will be living in decent accommodation and that their basic salaries are enough to be able enjoy the good life which the region has to offer on their days off. Commission is always an incentive but too heavy an emphasis on this, with no guarantee that enough work will be there even for the excellent therapist, makes this a risk factor for job seekers. Migrant workers can now head off to countries with emerging spa markets such Russia and China and Eastern Europeans who are now members of the EU can head over to the UK or any other member country of their choice.

This is just a taster of what was said at the talk which was received very well by those who attended the summit. Though SpaStaff is a self-service automated system, we are human behind the scenes and happy to help - so email us if you have any questions!