title: "Schedule a Great Pre-Holiday Salon Staff Meeting with the 5 W’s" date: "2020-11-04" coverImage: "adam-winger-fI-TKWjKYls-unsplash.jpg"
The 2020 holiday season is approaching faster than you might think! Although the rush might play out differently this year – make no mistake, you’ll still be balancing a customer rush! In any kind of job environment, the key to a successful team is your communication. Scheduling pre-holiday team meetings can help your holidays go off without a hitch. In order to do this, let’s use the 5 W’s: who, what, where, when, and why. Then, we’ll show you the final step – the one “H” that makes scheduling your staff pre-holiday meeting a snap: how.
Who Should Be Included in Salon Pre-Holiday Staff Meetings?
The first step to scheduling a pre-holiday meeting for your salon staff is who should be involved. For a season as important as the winter holidays – the whole staff should be there. If your salon employs booth renters instead of (or in addition to) direct employees, holding a mandatory meeting might take a few extra steps. This is because booth renters are they’re their own bosses, who lease spots in your salon. To ensure attendance from all staff members, booth rental contracts must include a clause stating that staff meetings are a contract requirement. If you don’t have such a clause written into booth rental contracts, then it’s time for an update!
What Should You Cover in Pre-Holiday Salon Meetings?
Go into the meeting with a list of topics you’d like to address written out. This helps you stay on-track and ensures you don’t miss something important while you have everyone together and can answer their questions. Here are some topics to cover in your meeting.
Procedures – Review everything from appointment booking and how to ring up deposits and discounts to sanitation protocols.
Scheduling – Announce if you’re extending hours for the holidays, or hiring seasonal staff for help with retail, scheduling, or sanitation. Make sure to cover schedule changes for employees as well as booth renters. This is especially important if you have part-time employees and want a full house for the holidays.
Updates – Go over new products, new practices, introduce new hires, and talk about any new holiday protocols.
Sales – Talk about what sales, discounts, and promotions will be running, for how long, and how to ring them up. For booth renters, it’s important to review salon discounts like Daily Deals or Groupons, and how they’ll be compensated for these services. Make sure to include special instructions for online purchases vs in-store sales.
Retail – Discuss how you’ll handle in-store product sales with proper social distancing measures, and who’s in charge of packing online and curbside pickup orders.
Inventory – Make sure your hottest sellers stay stocked and avoid overstock by reviewing inventory. Compare last year’s sales and plan out your orders for this season.
Brainstorming session – You know who’s got great ideas when it comes to handling the holidays? Your staff! Open up the floor for brainstorming – your ticket to big holiday sales might just come from a new suggestion!
Motivation – It’s been a hard year for everyone. This is a great time to praise your staff’s hard work, listen to their ideas, inspire and to reward them for their loyalty and dedication.
Where Should You Hold Salon Staff Meetings Before the Holidays?
Most years, the question is to hold the holiday meeting in the salon vs offsite, usually at a place like a restaurant. This year, the question becomes, “In the salon, or via live stream?” If your salon is large enough to safely host your whole staff, having in-person time with your crew can be a great teambuilder. However, with this option, you’ll be working around their personal commitments and your usual business hours. Scheduling a live stream pre-holiday meeting – with or without a virtual happy hour – easily ensures safe social distancing and honor everyone’s outside commitments. You might even find that sharing your screen is a more effective way to review sales reports and upcoming deals!
When Is the Best Time to Schedule Holiday Salon Staff Meetings?
This year, your holiday sales are more important than ever, so schedule your meeting well ahead of time. If you’re planning Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday sales, you should schedule pre-holiday staff meetings for the end of October or first week of November. That allows enough time for products and gift card to arrive, stocking your online store, and scheduling your marketing emails and texts in advance. Then, you can focus exclusively on customer service and the client experience!
Why Is a Holiday Salon Staff Meeting Important?
Not only do pre-holiday staff meetings get everyone on the same page, they’re also a way for you to bond with your team. During a year that’s been especially difficult, it’s critical to have an engaged, motivated team that’s not just ready to work, but excited about it. Your customers have had a rough year too, and part of your job is to make sure that they have a great experience.
Getting ready for the seasonal winter holiday rush is always important, and for many, this year is a “make-or-break” season. We’ll handle the reports, inventory, and booking. You add the products to your online store – we’ll make shoppers check out with ease and security.
Header Image: Photo by Adam Winger on Unsplash
Body Images: Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash