As any business owner in the world will know, choosing the right staff for your company will always be a difficult process. And unsurprisingly, it’s no different in the salon industry.

In order to ensure that a business is successful, it’s vital for owners to employ staff that are dedicated in doing what’s best for their company. Although it can be a tough call deciding who will fit your team best, it’s also one of the most important.

In order to help you in your search for the perfect employees for your salon, we’ve pulled together our top tips on what you should be looking for.

Qualifications

One of the most obvious aspects of looking for employees is their education, ensuring they have all the correct and up to date qualifications for the role. As there’s a wide range of different hair and beauty courses available, make sure that they can actually carry out each service you offer.

Your salon might attract attention from young, talented college graduates who are now looking for a job. Although you might be able to pay them a lower wage than an experienced member of staff, you’d have to dedicate time to supervise them until they are confident in carrying out these services competently on their own.

If you do interview someone who you think would be a great addition to your team, but perhaps haven’t got a specific qualification (for example, they aren’t qualified to carry out massage therapy), you could always see if they are interested in training up at college while they are employed by you.

Salon image

The styling and image of your salon is one of the biggest determining factors of the audience you want to attract. So, it’s important that you are hiring people that have the same interests, styles and creativeness as you.

If you are looking to open a hot, new salon in a city centre that specialises in bright hair colourings, make sure that any potential employees like this look and are happy carrying out these funky ‘dos.

They should also have a genuine passion for trying out the latest trends and be able to give advice when customers ask for it. Always opt for a member of staff that can relate to your audience.

Personality

A key factor when choosing an employee is someone that has a personality that staff and customers can both relate to. They should be bubbly, polite and easy to engage in conversation with. Many customers will be putting their trust into these staff members and it’s important that they are likeable and will suit your team. They should be able to provide advice to customers and tell them what will work best for them, along with being able to be subtle and discreet for the more private issues clients might be embarrassed about.

Career goals

Usually in interviews, many employees will ask the famous question; ‘where do you see yourself in five years time?’ We’d recommend questioning your candidates with this too.

Their responses will provide you with an opportunity to see if they have career goals, and a strong work ethic to go out and achieve these. Positive replies will include answers such as them wanting to continue studying at a higher level, or them wanting to work their way up to head stylist or head beautician.

However, be wary if they reply saying that they’d want to be running their own business by then; they might be looking at leaving your salon before they’ve even begun working for you!

Previous work

You could also ask staff to provide you with a portfolio of work that they have carried out during their career. This will provide you with a clear indication of styles of work they are capable of and what they like doing.

Requirements

Before taking on any staff, ensure that you’ve explained in detail any requirements for the role in your salon. Take the time to discuss your HR system, working hours, holidays, salary and informing them of your rules regarding freelance work outside of your salon.

Make sure you ask candidates for feedback on the role’s requirements as if they aren’t happy from the outset, chances are they will not be happy further down the line.

The effect of an employee leaving

Like all businesses, when any employee leaves it can have a massive impact on your company. Stylists and beauticians resign for a number of reasons, but one of the most common is for staff to become self-employed, as they may believe they will make more money this way.

Consequently, you and your salon will lose a qualified member of staff which may leave you panicking about finding a replacement who is just as good at short notice. Chances are that you’ll have a diary filled for the next couple of weeks so will need someone new to start immediately.

You might even lose a few clients who are loyal to this therapist and will remain as their customer, so be prepared for this.

Remember to check back next week for our next post on the different types of roles that you’ll need to employ for your salon.

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