Recently I conducted retail training for one of the best known Five-Star hotels in Bangkok.  The most successful training is always at least partially attended by management, but this organization of women was outstanding in their therapist support.

On the first day of class, the Group Spa Director for Asia took time out of her busy schedule to make an appearance. The trainees were surprised and thrilled. The next day the Regional Director of Operations attended the entire morning session and also participated in the exercises. She is Thai as were the students so she was able to offer them a more culturally nuanced perspective which I appreciated.

On the final day the Hotel Manager, (one of the few females I’ve met) paid us a visit. Oh, and did I mention that the Spa Manager attended all training sessions and provided translation when necessary? The Training Manager also attended each session to lend her support.

Was this flood of management over the top?

Absolutely not!  I know that time is money and these women could have been doing something else.

However their presence was impactful and needed to break the complacency. It served to reinforce the critical nature of the retail initiative.

There is no longer a doubt in the minds of the therapists of their importance and how critical their performance is to the organization’s success.

If you aren’t achieving your retail goals, just telling your therapists that they must “do better” isn’t enough. That’s never worked before – you need to do something different and it starts at the top.

If you’re not willing to invest the time to learn what your team will discover you can’t support them. So not much will change.

Alright fellas, it’s your turn.