Well trained salon and spa employees are golden because they uphold and deliver your company’s promise (your brand identity) to your customers. When you find the right people to work with, your business seems to really click. Having a team of committed individuals all striving towards the same goal is a great feeling – and it doesn’t hurt that you’re making people look great along the way.
But as with everything else, stylists can hit a wall often by depending on their ‘go to’ favorites when providing your clients with services. There is always room for improvement. If you’re looking for the best way to improve your staff’s skills and inject some inspiration into their daily routine, more education is the route to take.
Education Needs to be Mandatory
Your clients’ expectations are very high, and you don’t want to disappoint them with a look that doesn’t work for them. For that reason, ensuring that your employees are well trained should be a top priority.
For years, the mantra for salons and education was “if you want training, I’ll pay half”. This doesn’t necessarily work for all employees. If they can’t pay half, or if you know they need that education in order to deliver quality work for your clients, then the mantra can’t be followed. If you want to be successful then education needs to be a company decision, not an employee option. That leads to the question….
How Can I Pay For It?
There are all sorts of strategies used to fund a salon education like using retail sales to prop up the education fund. But what if the stylist needs retail sales education? There has to be a better way!
So how can you build a company education fund?
Build It Into Your Budget
Committing to education sends a powerful message to your employees. You want to see them succeed. By building education into your budget and working backwards from that, you can plan your yearly expenses around that line item. Building education into your annual budget means your staff will be trained during the year.
Cut Costs Elsewhere
This is not a popular option, but it’s your business’ reputation on the line. You want your employees to be the best, so find where the company has excessive spending. It’s like going to the gym to meet your fitness goals – if you stop don’t cut out the excess ‘fat’ you can’t become a lean working machine! Whether it’s payroll, inventory, or something else, it’s up to you to cut the ‘fat’ from your spending to finance the education of your staff.
Distributor Education
Depending on who your distributor is, you may be able to schedule a sponsored on-site education session. The brands your distributor represent invest in education, so don’t be afraid to take advantage of that investment.
Train In-House
If you have the opportunity to train your employees at your own salon, you can save a lot of money. One way to accomplish this is to send one employee to a class and have him or her instruct the rest of your staff afterwards.
Create Your Own Classes
Your employees are amazing, and they have the skills needed to teach beginners how to do what they do. So why not capitalize on that? It will be time consuming to set this up, but by creating a training program within your salon you can utilize your staff’s inherent creativity to make mandatory education a win win for everyone.
So, who should pay for salon and spa education? You should. It’s important to keep your staff trained in the techniques needed to ensure your business grows and succeeds. Find the means to make it happen, and you’ll be thrilled with the outcome.
