How To Find The Perfect Pole Dancing Teacher
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I’m looking for an instructor for my studio. Do you have any suggestions for how to find good pole dance teachers?
~ Question submitted by Jemmi
If you're looking to hire a a new instructor for your pole studio like Jemmi is, but you aren't having any success, read on! Your Pole Pal will help you assess your needs, plan your campaign, and hire the perfect pole teacher for your studio.
Step 1: Assess Your Needs
Once you know that you need to add an instructor to your team, it's a good idea to take a few minutes to assess your specific needs in terms of complementing the rest of your teaching staff. Yes, even if you're the only staff you currently have! After all, if you're not clear about what you need in an instructor, it's going to be harder to hire the right person.
Keep in mind that there are a number of skill sets you'll probably want in your future staff member.
For example, one instructor might be an excellent technician (she can execute the moves flawlessly) but may not be very good at communicating to students exactly how to accomplish what she just demonstrated. Students in her class may initially be impressed, but this may turn to frustration as the communication gap becomes more and more apparent.
Another potential pole dancing teacher may be super friendly and have great people skills one-on-one, but her group facilitation skills may leave a little to be desired.
This type of instructor often does great with private lessons. However, she may have a hard time leading a group class if she finds it difficult to establish her role as a leader. She may also have difficulty being assertive when required.
This is why it's helpful to make a list of the skill sets you'd like to see in your ideal pole dancing teacher. Keep in mind that your list may differ from another studio owner's list, depending on the staff you already have in place.
Going back to the above examples, the friendly instructor who has great one-on-one rapport with students might be an ideal fit for a studio in need of someone to do private lessons or coaching. The studio owner who is looking for a pole dancing teacher to lead advanced group classes may not find this to be such a good match however.
When thinking about what your pole studio requires in your
next instructor, you may wish to consider the importance of:
- Training
- Certification
- Fitness background
- Safety awareness
- Teaching experience
- Technical skill and ability
- Fit with your current staff
- Personality
- Facilitation skills
- Ability to motivate others
Of course, you should add any other criteria that are relevant to the needs of your specific studio.
Now rank the criteria you've chosen from most important to least. Of course, your ideal will be to find a pole dancing teacher who embodies all of the qualities and characteristics you've listed.
Keep in mind as you rank the importance of the various factors, that you may not find someone with all the qualities you desire. However, once you have a prioritized list, you can evaluate each potential candidate against this list, which should give you a pretty good idea of whether or not they're a good match.
Once you've prioritized what you need in an instructor, it's time to start your search!
Step 2: Get the Word Out
Back in the old days, you would have relied on word of mouth and a newspaper ad (remember those?) to advertise the position you're hiring for. Thankfully, these days, you have a lot more options, and most of them are free!
Let's start close to home. If you already have a studio up and running, your most likely source for future pole dancing teachers will be among your own student base. If you've got an enthusiastic and outgoing student who's been coming to classes regularly, talks about your studio to all their friends, and is progressing well in class, s/he may just be the ideal candidate.
Of course, you may have additional requirements that a student would have to fulfil, such as taking a fitness certification course, or apprenticing with you for a certain length of time. Nevertheless, training up a talented and enthusiastic student is often an ideal solution.
On the other hand, maybe you're opening up a new studio and don't have a student base to draw from yet. In that case, you'll need to cast a wider net by utilizing some or all of these modern day methods...
- Social Media: Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can help you reach a wide audience quickly, especially if you're already using one or more of these to promote your studio. To increase the chances of your posts being seen, be sure to make them visually appealing with the addition of a good photo and/or video clip. Include engaging content about the job opportunity, focusing on things like the perks and benefits. And don't just rely on luck to spread the word; ask your followers to share the post to increase its visibility.
- Collaboration: Connect with local fitness communities, both online and offline. Reach out to locally-based fitness influencers or bloggers who may have an interest in pole dancing or alternative fitness. Social media influences are always looking for new and useful content to share with their followers, so they may be very happy to help spread the word about your job opportunity. Who knows...they may even apply themselves! Offline, you can go retro by posting flyers or job advertisements on bulletin boards in local gyms and fitness centers. This can help extend your reach to individuals who may not be actively searching for jobs online, but who may become curious once they see your flyer.
- Online Platforms: Although there may be a cost involved, posting on the most popular job search platforms such as Indeed, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn can generate a signifiant number of high-quality inquiries. That's because people visit these sites when they are actively seeking a job in a specific industry. For best results in terms of attracting quality applicants, be sure to write a detailed job description that highlights the unique aspects of your studio and the benefits of working for you.
Of course, old-school methods like placing
help wanted ads on Kijiji, Craigslist, or other online classified sites
in your area can yield great results at little to no cost. And nothing beats word of mouth for an easy, cheap and effective way of getting the news out that you're hiring.
Step 3: Hire The Perfect Pole Dancing Teacher!
Once you've assessed your needs and advertised the position, hopefully you'll have a few applications and in hand. Now it's time to turn your attention to the actual hiring process.
No matter what the subject matter, being a good instructor involves both hard and soft skills. You'll want your new hire to be good at pole dancing of course, but you'll also want them to be a good pole dancing teacher. For this reason, it can be a good idea to include a practical component to your hiring process.
Definitely start by interviewing the most promising candidates, using whatever format fits best with your studio's vibe. Typically a more relaxed setting is preferred, though of course you'll still be looking for your candidate to project professionalism. After the interview process you'll likely be ready to short list a few candidates. So what comes next? And how do you decide which candidate to hire, expecially if two or more ranked very highly in the interview process?
This is where the practical component comes in. In the same way that a candidate for a receptionist's position may be required to take a keyboarding skills test (we used to call this a typing test in the old days!), you may want to have your potential instructors teach a class so you can assess their teaching and dancing skills, as well as their teaching style.
Since your new pole dancing teacher will be expected to inspire and encourage your students while leading them through safe and effective classes, it's a very good idea to observe your potential candidates in action. This way you can see how they interact with students, how comfortable they are in their role as a teacher/leader, and perhaps most importantly, how your students respond. You might even ask your students to provide feedback on how they enjoyed the class. This can help you make a final hiring decision, especially if it's a close call between two equally qualified candidates.
A great way to ensure you have a
good turnout for these "practicums" is to advertise them as free
classes. Make sure the students know this is an audition for the
potential instructor, and do make it clear ahead of time if you expect students to fill out an evaluation after the class.
This is also a great way to promote your studio by piggybacking on your hiring process. By offering a couple of free classes, you can reach out to potential new students who may be curious but unsure about what's involved in taking a pole dance class. Think of it as a free trial offer that doesn't cost you anything!
After you've decided which candidate to hire for the position, it's a good idea to write up a contract that spells out the terms and conditions of employment. Of course you'll want to make sure you comply with your local laws regarding employment. Also keep in mind that most jurisdictions allow employers to specify a probationary period, so be sure to write this into your contract if you decide to use this option.
A probationary period gives you an "out" in case things don't work out with your new hire. Let's say she misrepresented her skill level and you discover that she's not able to teach to the level you require. Or perhaps she's just not fitting in with your studio's culture. If your contact specified a 3 month probationary period, you would have the option to let the employee go without notice anytime in the first 3 months.
Of course, your hope and expectation is that everything will go just fine, especially after all the effort you've put into preparing for the hiring process and promoting the job opening. But specifying a probationary period will give you a fallback plan just in case things go sideways. Which is never a bad thing!
Summary
Not many business owners look forward to the hiring process, but if you prepare by doing an honest needs assessment, get creative about getting the word out, and take the time to interview and audition potential candidates, you'll stand a much better chance of hiring the right person for the job the first time around.
Hopefully, you won't have to repeat the process anytime soon. Unless your business keeps growing of course, in which case hiring more new staff would be a really good thing!
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