Managing a salon is not a simple task!
There is always a need to strike a balance between operating competitive logistics and engaging and retaining customers in competing industries.
However, there is another area that poses special challenges for salon and spa owners: effectively managing staff and keeping them encouraged.
You might have notable salon facilities and ambience; however, what’s the point if you have trouble managing staff? The salon’s success depends almost solely on the perseverance of your staff. As a salon owner, the staff is your superpower if you can cultivate a supportive workplace culture.
What is salon staff management?
At the core level, the management position demands that you be ahead of your team. This implies assuring that the staff members possess everything they require to do the tasks. Additionally, it further indicates knowing how to nurture and motivate your salon staff. You must be the leader who encourages others to support your vision.
Effective salon staff management assures that all should be managed or handled at the same level through collective goals, basic objectives, communication tools, and business flow. As a salon owner, you should support your staff to remain passionate and motivated about their job. It is said that the recognition of cosmetologists, hairdressers, and barbers is anticipated to grow by 7% from 2018 to 2028.
How Effective is Salon Staff Management?
The salon business is truly people-oriented. Even when communicating with customers, staff, or external suppliers, the business must have excellent, effective management and interpersonal skills.
When the salon’s colorists, stylists, and other members are content and satisfied, the salon will benefit in the following ways:
Satisfied clients
Motivated salon staff member delivers services adequately. It points towards a stabler business experience that eventually leads to a higher customer retention rate and revenue.
Less staff turnover
Employees who are satisfied and happy with their job are more likely to stay longer. The approximate staff exit costs the salon 33% of its yearly salary because of the money and time it takes to hire a new one. If you can grasp the experience and knowledge for a long time, then this is one of the best ways to improve the profitability of your salon.
Smooth day-to-day experience
Encouraging the staff gives better salon conditions for the customer, team, and yourself. The right customer and employee environment inspires the users to be back, and surely, it is a win-win for all.
How to encourage your staff & drive Results
#1. Rewarding staff members
The salon staff are more likely to work hard to meet your expectations when they get motivated. This is a good approach to improving their confidence and encouraging them to work harder. Sometimes, some members of the team will exceed the customer’s needs.
Those who shine with unusual dedication should be rewarded. Rewards do not necessarily have to be money. Oral appreciation can also be entertained. Make the stylist know that they are doing the right job with their respective tasks, and let them feel valued.
It also goes a long way toward actively enhancing their value in your salon business. By including a commission model in the business, you can specify and design commission profiles in the salon software.
You can build a profile for all staff members and add the number of sales and appointments they complete each month. When they reach a specific goal, you can provide them with a specific percentage of commissions that exceed the fixed allowance. Doing so can encourage them to work harder.
#2. Monthly performance evaluations
Staff reviews are essential to the salon and should be carried out on a regular basis. The salon manager must carry out one-on-one sessions with staff members and evaluate their performance.
The stylist must know their weaknesses and strengths. At this point, the customer’s feedback has a crucial role to play. The salon management software provides you with a comprehensive report of the customer’s reviews of your team. When you find that there are more customers who have an issue with a specific stylist, then interact with them and tell them where the improvement is required. Now you can Improve Salon Operations With Software.
#3. Invest in practice
Giving powerful training has to be the priority for effective salon management. Each salon may adopt different methods in terms of customer relations and service; therefore, it is essential that the new salon staff adapt to the operations as quickly as possible.
As a salon owner, consistency is the main key. It is easier to maintain the quality of service by training salon staff members, in the way they work adequately, which makes your brand unique.
In addition, doing everything with the same internal program will help to create a friendly atmosphere between your staff members and build a favorable environment for support. Below are the other training types that you must offer:
Brand training
Tell your story and brand values.
Interfacing with customers
Explain to them what the key aspects are to follow when customers visit your salon; train them on the appealing points to make, etc.
Managing your services
If there are particular methods or processes for styling or cutting hair, then you must train the staff members. Ensure that multiple training methods are used. Follow a mixture of instructional videos, face-to-face meetings, text-oriented tutorials, and on-the-job training to assure that every team member knows and grasps the fundamental skills and knowledge.
#4. Carry out staff meetings regularly
Effective staff interaction is the foundation of efficient salon management. If your salon staff are uncertain of their role or how to ask for help when dealing with problems, it will be tough for them to feel competent.
To keep communication open, you have to carry out the meetings on a regular basis. Now, it’s easy to find an excuse to avoid meetings—there are no new topics to talk about, they are not productive, and you will spend some time waiting when you may meet with customers. However, the meeting is a necessary point of contact for the entire team. They provide a uniform space for staff members to express their concerns, share ideas, or ask inquiries about procedures on how to promote the salon process. Not setting aside time to attract the attention of employees can influence well-being and motivation in the workplace.
#5. Connected to staff to your Salon
As we all know, dedicated staff members invest in the progress of the salon and go beyond their position to play their role. Regrettably, many employers do not do sufficient work to keep in touch with their stylists. A Gallup poll discovered that just 34% of staff members feel involved in work, which results in lower job satisfaction and productivity. With the below steps, you can prevent odd circumstances:
Ask for review
The important thing is that if salon employees think there are unresolved issues, they have the right to speak up. Through constant one-on-one feedback meetings, they become more dedicated to the business as they know their opinions are worthy.
Involve in proper goal-oriented initiatives
It is highly unmotivating if your job has indefinite KPIs or objectives related to it. If there is nothing to fight for, how feasible is it to get the most benefit from staff members? Setting goals for individuals and teams is the best way to stay motivated and build more rapport with team members.
#6. Communicate with your staff— inside and outside of the salon
Facts have proven that recognition and praise can grow performance and motivation, especially among employees. It has been observed that 82% of staff members are more satisfied when they get recognition at work. Considering this, below are amazing salon management tips to identify and motivate salon staff members.
Be explicit when acknowledging that the job is imposing
Common compliments like “Great job!” will get old. They are also very prevalent and can be said to be deceitful. Show appreciation for your employees’ hard work. This is a more efficient way to express your compliments. So instead of maintaining “good job today!” get insight into the actions taken by the team members. A compliment like the one above shows your team that you recognize their work, and they are likely to repeat this positive behavior.
Foster peer-to-peer appreciation
Inspire the staff members to recognize their colleagues. Despite offering active reinforcement, the one-to-one appreciation builds a strong bond among the staff members that boosts overall performance.
Focus on team members in social media content
Give your staff members admiration on social media. Recommend them in your posts and praise them for their excellent work. If the stylist’s done the best hairdo, then, click a photo and label it. With this, you can improve their image and morale. In addition, this is the best way to attract the most customers!
#7. Carry out team building activities
In terms of personnel structure, the beauty industry is very unique. Due to different shift patterns and increased rents for salon booths, it may be a challenge for the management of salons to let everyone know that they belong to the related unit.
Some employees rarely or never cross the road, which influences the cohesion of the entire team. For salon and spa business owners, this may be the main difficulty for the business. Many people say that they have contemplated resigning in the past because of negative team dynamics. Employee satisfaction is a must, otherwise, it will influence business efficiency.
Most of us flinch when we hear the term “team-building,” as it reminds us of embarrassing group exercises. However, after effective planning and consultation with your employees, these actions can do miracles for the company culture and team members. Activities that encourage collaboration and productive problem-solving are a great way to increase the power of positive connections (both inside and outside of work).
Team brunches or dinners
Take your team outside the workplace. It enables your employees to communicate mostly in a professional way. When the salon staff know each other instead of being like colleagues, this will create a more friendly working environment.
Volunteering
For many companies and their staff members, discovering ways to give back to the local community is indeed a refreshing job. This is an outstanding opportunity for the team members to participate in common activities, and it also helps to enhance the salon’s brand and value.
#8. Provide learning and development possibilities
Offering learning and improvement opportunities is effortless for salon management. A team of skilled experts means you can charge higher fees for your services, which is the best way to increase profits. It is something that most of the staff members are intended for. The reports from the ITA group say that 76% of the staff members consider career growth opportunities as an essential metric for job content.
This is because investing in employees in this way is a definite sign of how much you appreciate them, which stimulates your loyalty to the company. In addition, development opportunities give employees space to upgrade their skills, which makes your organization an ideal place for new staff. Below are the career opportunities that you must provide at your spa or salon:
- Carry out weekly or bi-weekly meetings to concentrate on specific skills, such as managing customer queries or complaints.
- Let your employees take turns hosting their preferred technology/therapeutic meetings.
- Ask a trainer/representative from the brand of the product you used to host the conference.
Concluding Remarks
Managing the Salon staff is not as appealing as a strawberry on the cheesecake. It demands nurturing and supporting their well-being internally. This way, you can engage and retain the staff members.
By using these effective staff management tips in your culture, you can create a supportive workplace culture. Give them a try and encourage your staff with the passion to work harder!!
In a related manner, if you need more information on improving the salon’s profitability, then, let us know. We are here to assist you!
Thanks for reading!
