Spa therapists commit their time and services to looking after clients’ physical and emotional needs, but who’s looking after them? With staff working hard to support clients on an emotional level, day-in and day-out, it’s easy to see why burnout occurs so quickly for those in the spa industry. That’s where Low Ears comes in to help look after your staff.
Created by Sam Pearce, founder of The Potting Shed Spa, Low Ears is an initiative that provides a powerful safeguarding tool, training educational scheme and online resource with access to professional services and solutions to help protect the emotional wellbeing of spa workers.
Such is the importance of Low Ears that it inspired our own #TheCoreofWellbeing campaign, highlighting the importance of maintaining a positive state of mental health for those in the beauty industry. In support of mental wellbeing, our software will link with the Low Ears website to offer clients support were needed.
The Low Ears website will feature a mood barometer. When users log in, they will receive a request for how they’re feeling in order to measure their mood. This works by using an ingenious DOG icon, whereby users position its ears from high – a great mood, middle – doing okay, to low – not so good.
The idea of the Low Ears dog icon is to monitor how long the staff member’s ears have been in a certain position, such as a consisent period of flunctuating mood that’s either too high or too low. This helps users identify any lasting feelings and if they’re in need of mental support, as it’s not always so obvious until it’s far too late. This can then lead to them getting the support they need.
Sometimes, trying to find the words to describe how you are feeling can be overwhelming. This allows for registration without any explanation (there is a facility for journaling on your ‘moody board’) if you feel the need to communicate or diarise your thoughts and feelings without judgement.
Sam, having undergone burnout herself, realised salon and spa workers had no one to turn to when facing the pressures of the beauty industry. “I couldn’t explain to anyone how I was feeling,” says Sam, as she recalls her own low period. “The only comparison I could give was my dachshund puppy who, when confused, unhappy or sad, couldn’t vocalise it – she showed me – her ears went low, so I knew she needed me to help her. This is where this initiative was born. Sometimes things are just too hard to explain – a symbol or sign can be enough”.
With the Low Ears campaign set to launch in September, keep an ‘ear’ out for more details on how Sam and her team can help you. In preparation, the Low Ears dog icon will be added to Core by Premier Software® in the near future.