Be a people manager

To begin, I realised that although I was capable of doing each job myself, I could not perform every task on my own. I needed a team of people to help me. I looked for people who were naturally friendly and had enthusiasm when we talked about my goals and my vision for the salon.

Next I communicated to them exactly what was needed from them all to achieve our salon goal. I led by example on how to interact with each other and our customers and how important and valued they were to me and the business.

I respected each and every one and wanted to share this with them by showing them my appreciation and making them feel part of the salon by working WITH me and not FOR me. They in turn were proud of our salon and proud of our achievements. We even had our own salon song (which years later they sang at my wedding!).

HAVING PRIDE

As we are in the image industry, it is important we all look the part and communicate the right image.

If, by what we wear and how we do our hair for instance, we portray that we have pride in our appearance, then this gives a positive message to our clients. If we take pride and bother about how we look, then they will perceive that we will take care and have pride in how they look.

A sense of pride in the salon is also good for business.

As a People Manager it is our job to lead by example and to have a positive effect on the very people we are trying to help feel and look better.

Having a sense of pride also contributes to good morale.

If the manager does not show that they really care about the detail and standard of work and care to the customer, this can kill everyone’s morale, especially if a team member knows a customer has left unhappy or dissatisfied.

One way to help morale is when families and customers hold the salon in great esteem. I remember when I used to work in a particular salon people used to stop me and say: “Do you work at that salon? Oh my goodness, I’ve heard they are fantastic!” It used to make me feel so good!

Another way to instill pride in your team is by simply saying ‘Thank you’. No matter who is doing work for you remember you can never do it all yourself. We used to pride ourselves on doing just the smallest things to thank people –the window cleaner, the electrician, each other and especially the customers.

Anyone who deals with you in your business should know you are the one striving and working towards excellence. Answering the phone, applying a colour, the state of the décor, your marketing efforts – everything associated with your salon should be done with pride!