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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For example, the environment can be manipulated by individuals seeking opportunities to engage in inappropriate interactions with vulnerable individuals. At the same time, uncertain boundaries may also create a higher likelihood of false allegations of inappropriate behaviors.
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By incorporating the following best practices, you can help to create a safer salon environment.
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Develop policies and procedures that define appropriate and inappropriate interactions between personnel and customers. Salon personnel should not be left to decide for themselves which conversations are appropriate with customers or whether they can touch clients on various parts of the body (manual spray- tanning sessions, etc.) Be proactive by developing policies that define acceptable behavior and interaction with customers.
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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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Incorporate techniques to screen for abuse risk within your hiring process. 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 county searches in counties of residence.
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Train personnel on written policies and rationale behind policies.
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Offenders often search for jobs where they have access to and privacy with their preferred type of victim. Over time, they begin to push the limits related to physical and emotional boundaries. This might take the form of gradually touching customers in ways and places that are outside of defined appropriate physical contact and then worsen over time.
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Personnel within your salon 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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Educate customers on your salon policies and how to report concerns.
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Empowering your customers with policies further communicates your salon’s commitment to customer protection. You may choose to include an abbreviated Code of Conduct within the waiver your customers sign before receiving services and have a copy available upon request by your customers. You should also consider conducting surveys to solicit feedback from the customer on their overall experiences in your salon.
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Implement a reporting procedure.
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Your policies should include procedures for responding to inappropriate behaviors, as well as how to respond to suspicions of abuse. The policies should make it clear that they should report any actual incidents of abuse. Supervisors and leadership should take these reports seriously and respond appropriately to minimize barriers to reporting.
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Address the increased risk of providing services to minors.
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If you provide services to those under the age of 18, ensure your policies clarify any exceptions to general practices for these individuals. For example, declare minimum age requirements for services, and whether there are deviations depending on the service. Also, determine whether parental waivers might be required before providing services to minors. Policies should also include any additional precautions that staff should take when providing services to minors, such as whether different minimal clothing specifications exist or whether services can be provided alone and behind closed doors.
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For more information on this subject, contact me directly at jennyb@uiprograms.com.
