Recognition of the requirement of properly trained staff has evolved as integral to the success of any professional tanning salon.
The first event dedicated to the UK tanning industry in more than ten years turned out to be a great success!
Not that I had any real doubts, of course … yeah, right! Why wouldn’t tanning salon operators turn up for an event dedicated to their business to listen, learn and exchange ideas? After all, you guys have this type of event on a regular basis in the States. But strange things can happen and the Brits can be a fickle bunch; so, you just never know.
As it turned out, the sun shone at SHINE and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive; everyone had a great time, learned a lot and look forward to the next event in 2017, which we very much hope will go on to grow stronger.
Topics discussed at SHINE ranged from business basics to social media, retailing, industry issues and insurance matters, and all were very well received. One topic, however, that has subsequently generated a lot of interest and follow-up, is salon operator training.
We are all aware of the importance of good staff training in a salon, covering such fundamentals as tanner screening and advice about responsible tanning, tanning bed operation, salon hygiene, lotions and other retail sales. I have always been a staunch advocator of staff training, and at a time when the industry offered no formal training for tanning services, I went ahead and wrote a bespoke training programme for our salon operator customers that I believe was, for many years, the most comprehensive programme in the marketplace.
Since those times, recognition of the requirement of properly trained staff has evolved as integral to the success of any professional tanning salon. This is absolutely and undoubtedly good news for the consumer, and also for the salon operator and staff who grow in confidence with training and can, therefore, ensure they are providing the best possible service and advice to their guests.
In Europe, a brand new, accredited training programme has been launched that sets a new standard, quite literally, as it is a new European Standard for Professional Indoor UV Exposure Services. This means it is recognised by the EU as the benchmark for best provision of content and level of knowledge to be acquired in the training of indoor tanning salon personnel. This is quite a coup for our industry in Europe, as it provides us with further evidence to demonstrate our industry’s professionalism.
In my role with the European Sunlight Association (ESA), the over-arching body of which all local European country tanning bed associations are members, I went through the process along with two fellow ESA colleagues, to become an auditor for this training programme. The process was verified by The Austrian Standards Institute, appointed by the EU to oversee the introduction of the Standard into the marketplace.
As auditors, our role is to ensure that an organisation looking to deliver the new EU Standard training programme has the required knowledge, materials and expertise to become an accredited training provider. As I have written about previously for IST, the UK’s Sunbed Association was chosen as the pilot project to undertake accreditation for the programme, which was successfully achieved in December. So, it was really quite a proud moment during the recent SHINE event, when we were able to officially present a group of successful learners with their certificates as the first ever European UV Exposure Consultants trained to European Standard requirements.
Talking to these learners, it was exceptionally rewarding to hear that even though some had worked in our industry for many years, the training had indeed presented some challenges and identified gaps in their knowledge; but at the end of the process, they had more confidence and felt empowered to provide an even better service to their customers and gained greater job satisfaction. A real win-win!
© Zhu Difeng / Dollar Photo Club
