The interesting thing about our industry is that every salon owner has the same challenges, whether they have thirty-five employees or five employees. Every business owner offers a different perspective. Staffing is a recurring theme with hundreds of different opinions and solutions. Are you wondering how to keep employees and clients in your salon or spa?
Start a Career Path For Employees
One of the strategies for stopping the flow of high-level staff loss is to create a specific career path program for your employees. Like anything else in the salon this program has to be in writing. It becomes part of your salon process. Every stylist at some point hits a glass ceiling, and many stylists leave the salon to open their own salon and earn their own riches (ha!ha!ha!). If only they could foresee the future and know what the reality really is. They probably haven’t been informed that only 5% of salon owners are profitable!
The career path program you create for your stylists should include all the expectations you have of that stylist at each level; technical abilities, attitude, education, pay structure, etc. Where most salon owners really miss the boat is not offering their top stylists shares in the company. Whether you are ready to put an exit strategy in place or use it just as a strategy to keep those top stylists, start planning now! You have already invested time, energy and money to grow those stylists within your salon structure. It is in your best interest to create a reason for them to stay.
Training On Site
Do you hire stylists from another salon or do you train on the premises? Our philosophy continues to be that whenever possible, train your own stars rather than hire someone else’s. Sometimes stylists leave a salon for valid reasons, but we often find that the transition is fickle and the stylist arrives at the new salon carrying all their old baggage. This creates the same scenario and problems that caused them to leave their old salon. A lot of owners are intimidated by setting up their own training programs, but the rewards for initiating them into your salon culture at an early stage is very gratifying. There are several ways to create a training program within the salon:
- Develop an apprentice program for new hires
- Hire new stylists right out of school
- Develop an associate program or training/work program
Client Retention After Employees Leave
But there is always the staff member that isn’t going to stay no matter what you offer, or plan for them and they leave. What do you do? The first thing we recommend that you do is to craft a letter that will go out to each and every one of their clients, informing them that:
- the staff member is leaving
- you wish that stylist well
- they are a valuable asset that client has been during their time with you
- how much you have valued their business over the years
The very next thing that needs to be in this letter is an OFFER to remain in the salon with another stylist.
We have seen this scenario happen many times. Many salon owners recoil in horror over the idea of asking to clients to stay with the salon; but let’s be honest –this is your business and your client list. The salon owner pays for the client acquisition so the clients belong to the salon.
However, I also have a very successful salon that celebrates the stylists that leave. We share their new information readily. as well. We are still swamped with stylists and clients who have no desire to leave. The salon also offers clients reasons to stay when their stylist leaves - true heroes on both sides!
What To Offer Clients
What should that offer look like? It could be a $20-$50 gift voucher for their next service, or their next hair cut is free, but our favorite is a gift voucher. If it is a salon client it should be a salon service, if it is a spa client it should be a spa service. The industry average to acquire a new client is approximately $80-$100 per client. After all the investment you have made in that client why would you let them just walk away without an invitation to return?
We would love to have your views on staffing! Please leave a comment; we'd love to hear from you.
