What United’s “Aisle Drag” Can Teach the Spa Industry
Tess Taylor’s article “Is soft skills development the answer to better customer treatment?” is applicable across many businesses. With retail sales and customer retention always top of mind for the spa and wellness industry I found the title to be particularly poignant.
The whole world watched in disbelief as YouTube videos surfaced showing passengers being forcibly dragged off United flight 3411 at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Much has already been written about the importance of training in regards to such situations, but its true: Employee training may have been able to prevent some, if not all, of the issues at hand.
In many establishments, the notions of customer service and compassion for others get mixed, as sometimes policy clashes with what may seem like “common sense.” Soft skills may often be forgotten by learning leaders — but that may need to change.
The role of soft skills in employee training and organizational success
Experts have increasingly emphasized how important soft skills are for career success. This component should be part of an holistic approach to employee training and development. Companies can no longer take a passive stance on soft skills training. All managers must identify development needs for each role in the organization, including the daily opportunities that employees have to demonstrate the corporate brand to customers.
Soft skills harder to find in talent pool, so they must be taught
Realizing the growing need to address this soft skills gap, job-training and apprentice programs are increasingly factoring soft skills into their technical training curriculum.
Linda Harding-Bond
