How secure are your staff?

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development predict 600,000 job losses in 2009. Many of those losses are predicted to come from small businesses, which are closing at a rate of around 85 every day. What measures are you putting in place to ensure your salon and your staff survive and thrive in the economic downturn?

Outstanding Service

"The key to survival for us is to ensure the best possible service is being delivered at all times. The businesses that will survive are the ones that do not let their standards slip. It is also worth considering pushing promotions and offers in your salon, as all businesses on the high street are doing something to drive business through these tough times."
Darren Messias, Keith Hall Hairdressing, East Midlands

"The most important thing we are doing is focusing all our energies into our staff and our customer service. I think the credit crunch is an ideal time to really assess your business and look at making sure everyone and every part of it is performing to the highest standard at all times. There are still people out there with money but they are thinking more carefully about where they spend it and what they are getting in return. I am also looking at factors such as our stock levels to check we are not holding dead stock or over-spending. Another factor is making sure we keep our retail sales up as this can really boost your business. This means plenty of education for our team and making sure we get the most out of our clients."
Joanna Hansford, Jo Hansford, Mayfair

Enticing Incentives

"Being one of the most expensive salons in our area, we are offering all our loyal regular guests’ monthly incentives to encourage more visits and keep our team busy. For example, we had a colour promotion in January that proved so popular that we carried it into February. We are also investing in our team by sending them on training courses to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. Also, we are cutting down on any unnecessary spending, in previous years our Christmas outing was to Euro Disney for three days but this time it was a Mexican meal and ten pin bowling."
Azmy Farag, Hair Oasis, Essex 

Make your views known! Speak out about the hot industry topics affecting your business, from concern over employment law and maternity rights to customer care and money-spinning trends Email your opinions to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it