9 Big Reasons Why You Should Avoid Staff Training in Your Salon

Training your staff could have a serious impact on your bank balance

When I speak to my clients about the need for ongoing staff training, I often hear "I hate spending the money to hold staff training, because eventually they will leave and I have wasted my money"

While this may sound like valid reasoning to some, I wonder if much thought has been given to the repercussions of continuing to think along these lines.


So, here are my (tongue in cheek) 9 TOP reasons why you should never train your staff:

9. Well trained staff generate substantially more income through effective, relationship building retail sales.  I can certainly understand why you wouldn't want that! All those extra retail sales mean you will never be off the phone, ordering more stock...now that's a pain!

8. Well trained staff generate substantially more income through up-selling of services and elimination of gaps in the appointment book.  That's a real problem.  When will there be time for coffee and chatting in the lunch room?       

7. Well trained staff deliver substantially better customer service.  That's just scary.  Now all those customers you have spent so much money on attracting will actually want to come back and spend more money!

6. Well trained staff stay longer in their jobs. This is a real problem for those of you who love spending time and money on recruitment and new employee training and indoctrination.  Not to mention having to keep all those customers who leave when their personal technician leaves your salon.

5. Well trained staff are happier and more motivated in their jobs.  This can be downright depressing if you enjoy working in a tense and moody environment every day! Happy people can be so depressing to be around.

4. Well trained staff retain more clients.  So what are you supposed to do with all those cash generating, extra clients coming in? Sounds like a problem to me.

3. Well trained staff get more personal referrals.  That's a problem too - even more clients wanting to spend their money in your business.  Where will it all end?

2. Well trained staff get better rebooking percentages.  If those clients keep coming back regularly, you are going to be forced to hire more staff and you know what that means!

And last but not least

1. Well trained staff work more efficiently.  You know what this means.  More work, more money and then. in the blink of an eye, you have a tax problem to deal with!

I hope you enjoyed my tongue in cheek list of why you should never train your staff and would like to finish this post by sharing one of my favourite quotes with you.

"There is only one thing worse than training staff and having them leave and this is it..... NOT TRAINING THEM AND HAVING THEM STAY!"

Wishing you prosperity and success
Pam
Photo by Idea Go

35 Strategies for a Happier Team

 Every employer knows that when you have your staff on board 100% and sharing your vision, then day to day activities just seem to go a whole lot smoother. Not only do you want your valuable staff to turn up to work everyday but you need them to love to come to work.

Illustration by REnjith Krishnan

Why is that so important?

It’s because when your staff love their job, it’s going to show in lots of different ways. It will most assuredly affect every facet of your business from customer service right through to improved quality of production and services and what that inevitably results in is higher profitability for your business. More satisfied customers generally always results in better business through repurchasing and referrals.
So, what can you do to make your staff feel this way? It’s very simple really but you do have to make the effort initially to introduce some of these truly simple concepts into your workplace. The results will be well worth the effort.
So, when was the last time you really thought about what your staff have to do in their jobs. When did you last put yourself in their shoes and try to understand what their life is really like?
Here are some really simple and exceptionally inexpensive ways for you to let your staff know that they are truly appreciated and part of your special team. Start implementing them today and watch the transformation happen in your team!

1. Get to know your staff and what excites them
2. Ask your staff about their aspirations and expectations.  Be interested in what matters to them.
3. Make sure your staff know what is expected of them.  Communicate well and often.
4. Find out what kind of training your staff would like to undertake and make it happen if you can. There is nothing worse than a staff member who is not trained and decides to stay in your employ.
5. Make sure your staff have all the tools that they need to do a really great job.  Poor tools results in poor results.
6. Ensure that their work is as interesting as possible by providing variety, increased responsibility, involvement in special projects or cross-training.
7. Never make a promise you cannot or will not keep. You will destroy the trust in your relationship.
8. Really listen (that means shutting upfor a minute) when they are speaking and ask good questions to show that you heard what they said.
9. Make team meetings fun and ask your staff to bring along some good ideas. Have team members chair the meetings and provide some team training.
10. Don’t make team meetings a time to dread for staff. Stay positive and never publicly criticise
11. Say “yes” as often as possible. Be receptive to new ideas and be enthusiastic
12. Encourage humour, laughter and an atmosphere of success in the work place.
13. Ask for their ideas and input across all aspects of salon management. Staff who have ownership of new ideas will embrace them with enthusiasm
14. Never criticise one staff member in front of another. Always encourage positive comments. This is team building not team destruction.
15. If staff are underperforming, find out what the real problem is and fix it
16. Say hello every morning when they arrive at work.
17. Say thankyou every day before they go home.
18. When staff bring you a problem, ask them to come up with their own solutions to overcome dependence
19. Reward staff performance with something that matters to them
20. Empower your staff to make great decisions. Train them in how to do this.
21. Send a birthday card to their home and include a handwritten message.
22. Organise a small birthday celebration amongst their peers and provide a cake!
23. When they’re angry, let them vent. Ask them what they think could be done to make things right.
24. Develop a social club or regular get togethers outside of work ( there is always a staff member who will love to set up and run a social club)
25. Take every opportunity to tell them when they have done a great job. You team will want to live up to the higher standard that they have set.
26. Let them teach you something.  You’ll be surprised at what they know!
27. Respect them and their time
28. Be understanding when your staff are having a bad day.  After all, we are all human.
29. Ask your staff for their feedback as often as possible.  Make them feel like their thoughts matter
30. Stay flexible. No one is right all the time.
31. Ask for their opinion when there is a problem and don’t rubbish what they think
32. If you are wrong, always say “sorry”
33. Make yourself available to them at all times
34. Lead by example. If you want your staff to have integrity they must see it in you 100% of the time
35. Smile….it’s contagious!

A favourite quote….

“We must become the change we want to see” Mahatma Gandhi
Wishing you prosperity and success  in 2011
Pam

Have You Got a Minute?

Photo by Salvatore Vuono

May I ask you a very quick question?

What can you do in just 1 minute each day that will profoundly affect your business profitability?

Well you won't have the time to do your business plan, design a marketing promotion or even make a cup of coffee.   What you can do however, is take one minute to say "thank you, I appreciate your effort" to the people who are driving your business.

You know the people I am talking about.  They are the ones that come into the salon every day, greet your clients, provide fantastic services, sell your retail product, clean the salon rooms and floors, take the payments.....amongst many other things!

Yes, I am talking about your team members.  These are the people who can make or break your business and without their support and focussed effort, you could find yourself in deep doo doo.

I have yet to meet a single team member from any salon that does not appreciate being thanked for their effort and support.  When you take one minute to show your appreciation for the support that they give you, the team member who is receiving your thanks will feel valued and know that you have noticed their efforts. This in turn will result in that person making a greater effort so that the praise continues.  After all, who doesn't like  to feel appreciated and be thanked by their boss?

Recently, when I shared this thought with a salon owner, she said to me "But Pam, one of my girls is so terrible that I really haven't got any idea what I could thank her for".  After a few minutes of brainstorming the best she could come up with was to thank her for turning up each day...and so that is just what she did.  The funny thing is, that particular staff member was so surprised to be receiving a thank you instead of being scolded for doing things badly, that it had an even greater impact on her desire to improve. 

My point here is, by simply focussing on what is being done well, instead of only focussing on what is being done poorly, we encourage those around us to strive to reach higher personal standards.

So, think about taking a leaf out of this salon owners book, and find something every day to praise each of your team members for and see how this impacts on their productivity in your salon (even if it is simply turning up to work!)




Wishing you prosperity and success in 2011
Pam

Are You Paying Too Much For Staff You Don't Need?

Well, we are very close to the end of 2010.  A pretty disasterous year for many with not much happiness on the horizon for 2011.  Clients are still holding on tighly to their precious money and it is becoming harder than ever for many salons to increase sales or simply keep pace with previous years' income.  So, what can you do about making things better for your business?

The fact of the matter is that if you have exhausted at all the other ways to reduce expenses and increase income, it might be time to look at your roster.    No-one likes the idea of putting off loyal team members but the reality is that you have to have enough profit after the cost of providing your treatments to pay the rest of your bills.

Simon Howden

One of the biggest expenses in any service based business is in it's wages, so this is one area that needs to be monitored very closely to ensure that your wage to turnover ratio has not gone through the roof during these difficult times.  For instance if your wages to turnover (exc GST) used to be around 35% and has now crept up to over 40%, you need to take action to get this back under control.  Reducing rostered hours may be the only way to do this if you cannot increase your income.

Now is the time to prepare for 2011 and  for whatever it may bring.  Reducing expenses is one area that simply cannot be ignored for most salons.  This is a good time to evaluate your roster to ensure you are not paying staff to simply stand around.  Tighten up your appointment taking, get rid of those expensive gaps that have crept in between each service and make your employees time more valuable to your salon.

If you need help to get your expenses or roster under control for the new year, give me a call and let me help you improve this area of your business.

Salvatore Vuono

Wishing you prosperity and success in 2011
Pam


Season's Greetings from me and my family to you and yours.

Turning Your Ducks Into Swans

Just who’s running your business?
Most people would like to think that they were at the helm making all the important decisions in their business but in actual fact the people who have a big chunk of control are the ones who are dealing with your customers at the coalface each and every day. Yes – that would be your staff and they can make or break your business by the actions they take and the decisions they make on your behalf.
Most small business owners who have a team tell me it is one of their biggest ongoing challenges. Getting their staff to do what they want seems impossible to them and this leads to masses of stress and frustration. So the question I often have posed to me is “how can I make my staff do what I want them to?” The answer to this is very simple. You can’t make your staff do what you want them to unless they want to do it! And for that to happen your team have to feel that they are appreciated and valued by you and that you share a common goal.
Before your staff will come on board and follow your vision you need to put in some groundwork. You have to take the time to build a great employer employee relationship. You can never forget that your staff are simply human beings with emotions and wants that need to be addressed if they are going to be loyal and hardworking employees.
There is no such thing as the perfect boss as they too are human beings but there are many things that you, as an employer, can do to align the visions of your staff with yours.
5 Sure Fire Ways to Reduce Employee Commitment to your Business
1. Deny them their entitlements. Pay them late and forget about their superannuation contributions. After all, they don’t need to pay rent, mortgages or buy food and if they do that is their problem. They should feel honoured just to work for you.
2. Never give them a lunch break. They don’t need to eat! Eating and resting is highly overrated and not necessary to keep up stamina and enthusiasm.
3. Criticise or reprimand them in front of other people especially staff and customers. Everybody needs to be told when they are doing something wrong and what a better time to do it than when there is an audience.
4. Never provide positive feedback for work well done. Why should you? They get paid to do the job don’t they?
5. Never say good morning, good night or thank you - ever. If you start down this track they might begin to think you care about them as people.
5 Even Better Ways to Build Employee Loyalty and Support
1. Take the time out to get to know what makes your team tick. Spend some quality recreational time with your team and get to know them as individuals. Learn about what is important to them and develop ways to incorporate this into your business strategy.
2. Reward them for performance above and beyond the norm. Employees have a knack for doing just what they have to do to keep a job and the boss off their back. If you want “above and beyond” performance from then you need to find ways to reward it.
3. Share your vision and goals for your business. Everybody needs to know what path they are travelling on in their life. Your employees need to know and understand what your passion is so that they can appreciate why they are expected to do what you want from them.
4. Run regular team meetings. Encourage their input and reward great ideas. Some of the best ideas can be generated by your employees because they are usually the ones interacting with your clients and hearing their needs and concerns.
5. Tell your people when they have done a great job. Never pass up an opportunity to find an employee doing something right. People will nearly always live up to your expectations of them. If you tell them they are great, they will try always to be great whereas if you tell them they are terrible you have just set the benchmark for their future performance.
Managing people is without a doubt one of the hardest parts of business ownership but if you want this valuable asset to be working with you and not against you then you must begin to value them and to recognise that as normal human beings, they too need to feel valued for their work and given the recognition they deserve when they have performed above normal expectations.