Whether you are about to open a new salon or you are looking to update your salon’s operations, there are must-know facts that salon owners should keep top of mind when hiring and training their salon staff to keep business running smoothly.
The hiring and training process can be a long and tedious one filled with many options and possibilities, but this guide is designed to help you identify the talent and skills you need on your team, as well as determine which roles should be assigned to your existing staff.
The Staff: How Each Role Aids in Running a Successful Salon Business
A salon is made up of many different kinds of team members who ensure clients are taken care of from check in to styling and processing to check out. These are the crew members you need to create an experience that clients enjoy.
Receptionists – While a receptionist may not be touching your client’s hair, they are the first impression your clients get of your salon. It’s important to have receptionists who are organized, prompt, friendly and accommodating to welcome and greet your guests as they arrive and leave. Hiring someone who is organized and can make sure the front of your salon — especially products on your retail displays – stays neat and tidy is also a plus.
Roles Include:
- Greeting and checking out guests
- Handling payments and transactions
- Answering the phone
- Booking appointments and managing walk-ins
- Opening and closing the salon
- Managing retail displays
Stylists – As a salon, your success relies on the talent you hire — specifically, the hair stylists. You need to hire diverse stylists who have varying areas of epertise and accommodate different types of hair so that you can offer well-rounded services and meet the demands of a wide array of clients. As a rule of thumb, stylists should be prompt, reliable, talented and open to feedback.
Roles Include:
- Creative consults with clients
- Styling, coloring, cutting hair
- Communicating needs to office managers in terms of products, tools and equipment
Office Managers – As a salon owner, you may be expected to run all of the behind the scenes work that needs to be done to keep a salon firing on all cylinders. But depending on the needs and demands, you may want to hire an office manager who can attend to things like ordering color and salon equipment or taking inventory of the color storage area. That way, you can focus on the logistics and any other managerial task that requires your attention. Office managers could be your right-hand person, so it’s critical to find someone you can trust and depend on.
Roles Include:
- Managing the color storage area and ordering more inventory as needed
- Taking inventory of tools and equipment that need replenishing or updating.
- Preparing orders or plans for big purchases like salon furniture and technology to be approved by salon owner
- Making sure the floor is running well and is organized
- Routinely getting feedback from stylists and staff about needs, morale, etc.
Stylist Assistants – If you run and operate a busy salon, your stylists may be taking on more than one client at a time, which is why it is important to equip your stylists with assistants who can handle things like washes, processing and drying. You never want your clients to be waiting on their stylists to finish with another client, which is where assistants come in handy.
Roles Include:
- Processing clients
- Washing out coloring and treatments
- Blow drying clients
- Assisting stylists
Marketing and Social Media Manager – Not only is it important to have talented stylists who create fantastic hair styles, but your salon also needs a team to effectively manage its social media. Clients love to look at a salon’s social media presence to decide whether or not they want to give their business to you.
Roles Include:
- Developing growth and outreach strategies for Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter and TikTok
- Managing all social media platforms
- Interacting with clients on social media
- Assisting with the development of content from stylists
- Implementing social media strategies
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The Qualities: Finding the Right Fit for the Job
When you are hiring your team, you want to prioritize these qualities to ensure you assemble a staff that complements each other and works well together.
- Team players
- Self-starters
- Attentive
- Personable
- Great listeners
- Artistic
- Forward-thinkers
- Desire to grow within your salon
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As you fill your salon with the staff needed to run your business effectively or rework your existing staff into more operationally sound roles, you may find you need to reshape their responsibilities to fit your needs. Also remember, if you're running a smaller salon, some of these roles can be combined. Often your receptionist can also act as a salon manager or even a social media manager. Additionally, assistants can help with social media and keeping the salon tidy. How you configure your salon's roles and responsibilities is completely up to you. The best way to learn about what works for you and your salon business is through experience.
