6 Tips for better Employee & Client Retention

Author: Eyebrowzwholesale.com

Each amazing employees will contribute a piece towards making for a better work place & client experience. As a business owner running a successful wax center is impossible without help. Then trying to replace talented employees is expensive and negatively impacts client retention. Therefore, consider what means most to Your people to help improve their feeling of respect & appreciation.

Here are some simple suggestions.

Communicate Clearly

The beginnings of a toxic work environment stem from unclear expectations. An employee shouldn’t be scolded for breaking a rule they never knew about. As a business owner, it’s essential for you to communicate clearly to your employees. All employees should know basic salon rules.

Make sure employees also know your expectations. This means everyone should be trained equally and thoroughly. Not only does proper training even the playing field among all employees, but it will increase the quality of service at your salon.

Everyone should master the technique of brow sculpting that originally put you on the map. Create documentation on your process so everyone can replicate it. If someone is struggling, communicate that to them fairly and bring them up to speed.

Create a Positive Culture

Employees become disgruntled when they feel they have no say in their workplace. It’s one thing for a manager to communicate rules and expectations. But it’s much more effective to pair rules with a positive culture in your salon.

Make time to consider and write out your mission and values. Do you value trustworthiness, honesty, consistency? Pick an afternoon to take your employees out for lunch or happy hour. Whatever fits the culture you’re trying to create! Ask for their feedback on the values you drafted.

Jot down some notes on what your employees value and incorporate their thoughts into your final mission statement. You’ll learn more about what truly matters to your staff. When everyone in on the same page in creating a positive salon culture, they’re much more likely to maintain it.

Maintain a Transparent Work Environment

Creating and maintaining an honest work environment requires transparency from both parties. Encourage constant feedback from employees. All too often, employees don’t feel comfortable speaking their minds. Suppressed feelings breed resentment and toxicity among salon employees.

If you feel your employees are a bit shy, create opportunities for feedback. Hold regular one-on-one meetings with them every month or quarter to check-in. Ask them how things are going with their clients. You’ll receive a larger breadth of customer feedback by checking in with your employees. Encourage them to speak up if they notice an improvement can be made to the salon.

Some employees may have more feedback than others. It’s important to grow a thick skin as a business owner and take their ideas in stride. At the end of the day, it’s in your best interest as a business owner to encourage an honest feedback system. Your quiet employee may have an amazing promotion idea for selling shampoo. Their feedback can help you all grow together as a salon.

Recognize Top Talent

Say one of your employees is doing an absolute killer job. She’s retaining 95% of her clients through her incredible brow waxing technique. She’s upselling products when appropriate more and more each quarter. The Google reviews tell-all about her amazing service! You’ll know top talent when you see it. It’s up to you to reward them accordingly.

In this job market, top talent has options elsewhere. If your top salon employees don’t feel recognized or appreciated for their hard work, they may start to feel stagnant. Acknowledging their great work with a simple, “great job!” It will go a long way. Take your compliment a step further and highlight their work on your salon’s Instagram page.

Of course, adding on to compliments will help incentivize your employees more. Your budget will vary, so see what additional incentives you can try. Maybe a top performer can earn an extra vacation day if you can afford it. Or you can start an employee of the month program to inspire other team members.

Provide Growth Opportunities

Not all employees are motivated by the same incentives. After having consistent one-on-ones with your employees, you’ll start to learn what they want out of their careers. You may find that some top performers want growth opportunities. So it’s up to you to provide them! If you notice one salon employee is particularly good at mentoring new team members, consider promoting them to a team lead.

Your employees also want to learn. Everyone’s bound to grow bored with performing the same tasks day in and day out without learning something new. Find online resources relevant to your salon and encourage everyone to take a course together. The course can be a new trend for shaping eyebrows. Or maybe you’ll want everyone to take a basic sales course to improve their commission rates.

Learning can also take place during team meetings. Incorporate events and workshops into your weekly or monthly team meetings. Perhaps one employee is particularly skilled at a blunt bob haircut. Everyone can practice the new technique and give each other feedback during this session.

If your budget allows, you may also want to bring in outside specialists who can help your employees hone their skills as well. Get creative and create new opportunities for team collaboration!

Offer Commission

While recognition and growth are important, employees will find further motivation through compensation. Motivate your employees by paying a commission on their product sales. You know more than anyone at the salon that the budget is finite. Review your budget and set up your commission structure based on what is available.

Your commission strategy could be flat, tiered, or something else that works best for you. You’re probably most familiar with flat structures. An employee that makes a product sale gets a flat percentage of the profit. You can also preset tiers of product sales that an employee must reach to obtain a particular rate. Consider your product sales when choosing your commission structure.

Be sure to train your employees on each product you offer as well as their benefits. In your training session, offer an example elevator pitch that is both natural and compelling to the buyer. Your employees also can workshop their elevator pitches together and share examples of what helped them make the sale. Create realistic commission sale goals for your employees to foster some healthy competition. Keep your staff motivated and focused by helping them visualize their earning potential.

Conclusion

Salon employees are the backbone of your business. However, high turnover rates are a pain in your wallet. Take time to establish clear expectations and encourage feedback with your employees. Salon owners should also create growth opportunities. Top talent should also be recognized through acknowledgment and a product commission.

By creating a healthy work environment, your employees are much more likely to work with one another and grow your salon. Employees that feel they’re working towards something greater will remain happy and helpful at work. Creating a positive salon takes practice, but it will ultimately become infectious. Happy employees will create the happiest customers.