When you’re busy running your salon, taking responsibility for sourcing and developing your staff, meeting retail targets and retaining your clients, you can soon find your mind focusing purely on the important tasks in front of you without paying attention to what you can’t see – the magic that is the culture of your salon environment.

The atmosphere within your salon is very influential over whether or not you successfully retain your staff and of course your prized clients. The feel of your salon also dictates the mood of your business, whether it is relaxed and casual or a more serious environment.

If you feel your salon culture is lacking, perhaps you want to focus more on this area of your business, or discover a new approach towards altering your salon culture. Here at Salons Direct, we have honed in on the most important attributes that make a huge difference when it comes to the mood of your salon.

Related Post: How to make clients feel welcomed within your salon

It starts with your values…

As a salon owner, ask yourself what are your core principles when it comes to the way you like your business to run. Ensure that all of your employees are aware of the standards and values that you set; this way there is no confusion from the outset over the kind of business that your salon is.

It is vital to keep all channels of communications open, allowing people to voice their thoughts in a positive and respectful environment. When communication flows effectively, any underlying issues that may be brought to the salon floor in front of clients can be dealt with, without it having an impact on the work environment.

Educate and innovate…

Everybody within your salon is constantly learning, including yourself. Of course things don’t always run smoothly and important lessons are only learned through the process of doing.

As a salon owner, ensure that your staff are continually developed professionally to push your salon forward as an innovative business remaining at the cutting edge of the industry. Not only will these changes in specialism and expertise evolve your business, but also that all important culture.

Think about the look of your salon…

Your salon interior can make a big difference towards the feel of your business and how your staff and clients will view it. We have previously touched upon how to create the perfect salon interior where we highlighted how your interior decor can influence the mood of your salon as well as your location.

Think about your salon.  Are you a creative inner city establishment aimed at a young target market? Or a smaller village salon serving an older demographic? All of these attributes affect the mood, atmosphere and culture of your business.

Ensure all of your values are streamlined…

Once you have established the ‘voice’ of your salon, it is extremely important to communicate this through every channel, whether that’s an online presence, advertising, your salon marketing and branding, and, in particular, your staff presence.

You should communicate your salon culture in everything you do, how you behave and how your employees act, consistently, every day.

Set the example…

By leading with example, you are setting a standard and benchmark that your staff will naturally follow. Model the behaviour you want to see and don’t be afraid to act firmly by managing underperforming staff who may be affecting your salon culture.

Quite simply, the culture of your salon is how you attract and retain customers, and what makes you and your staff excited to come to work on a morning. Building your salon culture is fully adaptable and it’s fun to experiment.

Head over to our FACEBOOK and TWITTER pages for more useful #SALONMANAGEMENT hints and tips on setting up a salon.

Other posts in the Salon Management series: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OPENING YOUR OWN SALON | HOW TO BUILD LOYALTY WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS | The importance of hygiene within your salon