Business psychology training company Evolution-U Spa Academy has unveiled new online spa business training blending core spa team skills with corporate-level business psychology.

Evolution-U is helmed by Neil Orvay – CEO of Hong Kong day spa chain Sense of Touch and 20-year spa industry veteran – and delivers soft skills training to corporate clients and senior executives from an array of sectors.

The new on-demand course package includes the following training:

• Running a top-performing spa team – designed for spa managers (US$499, £367, €440).• How to be a top-earning spa therapist – designed for spa therapists (US$79, £58, €70).

• How to run a stand-out spa reception – designed for spa receptionists (US$129, £95, €114).

“This training takes the corporate level communication skills I teach to investment banks and MNCs, and applies them to the spa sector,” explained Orvay.

“I realised from the operations of my spas that there was a training gap, as although my team were well trained in treatment protocols and retail product knowledge, they didn’t know how to sell themselves and build long term client relationships.

“So, I wanted to have a repository of best practises where the information would always be available so staff could review skills, managers could retrain teams and new team members could be brought up to speed.”

The courses are sold as a package deal with a minimum purchase of US$779 (£573, €687), covering one manager, one receptionist and three therapist licenses.

With volume discounts, average pricing can be as low as US$100 (£74, €88) per user.

Participants can complete the training between 10-14 days via daily 15-minute video sessions covering different topics.

Each video is supplemented by top tips and/or an article that expands on the information given in the video.

In the case of the spa manager training, each topic also comes with bespoke exercises and/or role-plays for the spa manager to run with their team over the months following training.

“All our teams have had such a challenging time over the past two years so it’s more important than ever to bring people back together, and team training and information sharing is a great way to do this,” said Orvay.

Orvay initially created the training for internal use at his Sense of Touch spas, but his colleague and founder of World Wellness Weekend (WWW) Jean-Guy de Gabriac encouraged him to extend the offer to other operators.

Orvay has since partnered with de Gabriac and WWW to promote the course globally.

He also plans to launch a French-language version of the training during Q1 2022 as well as a Spanish version later on in the year.