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The tanning salon environment and services provided often involves soft lighting, minimal clothing, and close contact between staff and customers. These characteristics that help create a serene environment can also create an increased risk for abuse.
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By incorporating the following best practices, salons can create a safer environment.
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Step 1. Develop policies and procedures that define appropriate and inappropriate interactions between personnel and customers.
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When personnel are left to decide which conversations are appropriate with customers, or whether they can touch customers on various parts of the body (custom spray-tanning sessions, etc.), there is no standard definition of appropriate behavior.
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Be proactive – develop policies that define your salon’s bandwidth of acceptable behavior with customers. Clarify the following:
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• Conversations that are off-limits between personnel and customers
• Areas of the body that are off-limits for touching, and how to professionally manage situations involving minimal attire and physical contact near private areas of the body
• Defined policies regarding the level of nudity and undress allowed during services
• How to respond when a customer engages in inappropriate behavior during a service
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Step 2. Incorporate techniques to screen for abuse risk within your hiring process.
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This can start with your job posting, in which you can include your Code of Conduct and a statement about your zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior. Your hiring process should include:
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• An application that makes it easy to spot red flags, such as short stints with previous employers, questionable reasons for leaving previous jobs, and omitted information.
• Behavioral-based interviewing techniques that require the applicant to tell you how they have handled situations in the past.
• Criminal background checks that include a multi-state criminal search, including an alias search and Social Security number trace; a National Sex Offender Registry search; and searches in counties of residence.
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Step 3. Train personnel on written policies and rationales behind policies.
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Many offenders search for jobs that offer them access to and privacy with their preferred type of victim. Over time, they begin to push the limits related to physical and emotional boundaries. Some offenders do not have deep-rooted plans to abuse, but they struggle with maintaining appropriate boundaries with certain customers. This might lead to an incident of inappropriate behavior or a false allegation about questionable behavior.
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Your salon staff should receive training on how offenders operate and why policies governing interactions with customers exist. When personnel understand the rationales behind policies, they are more likely to follow and respond to violations of the policies.
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Step 4. Educate customers on your policies and how to report concerns.
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Empowering customers with policies further communicates your salon’s commitment to their protection. You may choose to include an abbreviated Code of Conduct within the waiver they sign, or at least have a copy available for their review. After a customer has received a treatment, solicit their feedback.
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Step 5. Implement a reporting procedure.
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Your policies should include procedures for how to respond to violations or inappropriate behaviors, as well as how to respond to incidents or suspicion of abuse. The policies should make it clear that not only should personnel report actual incidents of abuse, but also behaviors that do not quite rise to that level.
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Step 6. Address the increased risk of providing services to minors within policies.
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If you provide services to minors, ensure your policies clarify any exceptions to general practices for these individuals, such as minimum age requirements. Also, determine whether parental waivers might be required. Policies should also include any additional precautions that staff should take with minors, whether different minimal clothing specifications exist, or whether services can be provided alone and behind closed doors.
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Tanning salons are not immune to the risk of sexual abuse, and it is time to evaluate existing practices to protect your customers, your staff, and your business.
