Everything You Need To Know About Improving Your Productivity Per Hour In Your Salon

If you are a salon owner, here is an overview of important aspects that will help you find ways to streamline your operational effectiveness and make your staff more productive.

Good Housekeeping

Do not let things get chaotic. In every business, good maintenance and record-keeping are key for smooth operation. Make sure daily schedules are fair, all roles are assigned, and tasks or responsibilities are clear for each staff member. Your employees may already be aware, or you might need to explain the main values and priorities for your salon so that they can follow those instructions easily.

You also need to set daily and monthly targets and spell out how the success will be measured. Introducing a system of incentives is a good way to keep your team motivated and encourage a spirit of high productivity.

So, remember to invite your staff to regular meetings to discuss things, make space for them to raise concerns, initiate new ideas, point to any loopholes and offer solutions.

Team-Work and High Spirit

A lot of business owners underestimate how important it is to motivate staff and help build connections within a company. When there is a feeling of belonging, and each member can relate to the company, that would have a direct impact on higher operational efficiency. This is particularly relevant for beauty salons where personal engagement with customers is very high.

Whether it is styling a customer's hair for a birthday party or doing a bride's nails, being the best beauty specialist is so much about engaging with clients, understanding their needs and making sure they leave the salon with a wide smile. Happy employees serve better.

There are many ways to make your staff feel part of the group and generally, enthusiastic. For example, you could organise a weekend nature trip, go to a pub for a relaxed evening, plan a party to celebrate the recent success together or visit escape gaming rooms for team-building. A good internal communications strategy and activities will serve well in this regard.

Hire The Best. Treat Them Well

Spend time finding and selecting the best hair stylists and other beauty specialists. Experienced team members can bring along a lot of expertise and efficiency to your salon. At the same time, be ready to recognise the potential and enthusiasm of a beginner and give them a chance. They might be happy to go the extra mile to please your customers.

Always keep an eye on your staff members to identify the best talent and skills and make sure they are put to good use. For example, you could come up with a scheme to allow top-functioning employees to serve your priority customers. Make it clear to them that their experience and dedication is being noticed and valued.

At the same time, look after more junior staff members by giving them frequent feedback and opportunities to shine.

Be Supportive

Are you perfectly happy with the team you have? It might be too early for self-complacency. The better people get with something the more ambitious they become about their pay, benefits or just overall, the future. Various research has shown that one single mistake many HR managers make is not investing in retaining their best talent.

For example, speaking with your successful employees about how they feel professionally, and what else they want to achieve might be a wise step to make. Sometimes people move away just in search of new challenges and opportunities, or for learning new skills. Why not give them such a chance at their current workplace? In the end, it is in your best interests to make sure the technical skills and theoretical knowledge of your employees are up to date and their knowledge is relevant to the current global and national trends.

Be both proactive to encourage your team to gain new skills and also support them if they approach you with ideas. Do support your staff's self-development goals.

Do Your Math

Without good accounting, no business can thrive. You will need to estimate very carefully the number of potential customers you need daily to cover your expenditures. This will help you figure out how many employees you need, and what portion of your budget can be made available for other necessary spending or re-investment such as office decorations, buying furniture, tools, products and promotional material.

While you are right to be demanding to your staff to provide the highest quality service for your loyal and new clients, it is your responsibility to provide a nice and positive space for your staff each day so that the team is proud of their job and confident when recommending it to colleagues to join or new to customers.

Self-Promotion

No matter small or big, having a brand identity and awareness has never been so important as today. Your salon needs to be searchable. It needs to have a strong presence on all main social media platforms and a website with an attractive interface and all useful information easily available.

Questions to consider in this respect are: Is your salon's name unique or memorable and easily identifiable? Is information about your salon easy to find? Do not hesitate to invest in kicking off new online campaigns, distributing leaflets, or offering discounts.

Do shout about the success of your company and the achievements of your employees. Such news keeps your social media pages engaging and interactive. You can also use your accounts to announce new products and services or just play with positive, uplifting photos and messages.

Be Self-Aware and Listen

Most importantly, never take things for granted. For example, ask yourself - are you good at identifying and appreciating the skills and talents of your team? If you are struggling to give a positive answer here, you might be too overwhelmed with all the challenges of running a business. No need to put too many things on your plate, hire a good manager, HR specialist, PR officer, accountant or whoever it takes to help you with the tasks and make it possible to delegate them to the professionals.

When you feel drained and are running out of ideas, one useful trick is to organise monthly meetings to brainstorm for fresh opinions, encourage the exchange of knowledge, experiences and professional passion among the team members. The idea is to keep everyone enthusiastic about their profession and workplace, including yourself.