Just as with any business, properly training your salon employees is key to helping your enterprise grow. A well-designed hair stylist training program is of great use when onboarding new stylists, but it can also be used to build continuing education programs that keep your current team’s skills as sharp as their shears.
But training can be overwhelming and intimidating at any stage, especially for salon owners who are already tapped for time and resources. In this guide, we’ll help you put together a salon training program that helps you build your dream team without losing out on profits.
8 tips for building a salon hair stylist training program
1. Don’t Assume New Hires Know Your Process
Did you know that hiring new employees and finding talent is consistently ranked as one of the top challenges for salon owners? This means that you’ve already done the hard part — finding skilled professionals to add to the family. Ideally, they’re already skilled in the basics of professional hair color, hair cutting and other services, but that doesn’t mean you should throw them into the thick of it with no hand-holding whatsoever. Remember, every salon does things differently, so don’t assume that experienced stylists know exactly how your operation runs.
2. Create an Employee Handbook
Before you onboard any new employees, make sure to create a clearly written employee handbook. It should cover everything new and existing employees need to know on a day-to-day basis, including the phone answering protocol and script, booking procedures, how to open and close, pay structure, benefits, payroll information, scheduling, greeting guests and anything else you want your team to know. It’s also a good idea to write a mission statement and core values to include in your handbook, which then becomesthe procedural basis for your hair stylist training program.
3. Allow New Hires to Try All Services
One of the perks of working in a salon is that occasionally you get pampered, too! Nothing helps an individual understand a service quite like experiencing it firsthand. This is especially true for services that are unique to your salon, such as beauty treatments, special massages and services that feature new products or techniques. As part of the training process, allow your new hires to try new services for free or ask them to trade with other salon workers.
4. Mix Hands-on and Demonstrations
Stylists tend to be creative, hands-on types, so remember that most will learn better and quicker if given the opportunity to dive in themselves. While there’s no denying the importance of demonstrations, videos and lectures, you need to make sure you’re balancing active and passive learning sessions so your trainees don’t get bored. Don’t book full days of listening-only learning, even in the beginning phase of training. Instead, offset the lectures and demonstrations with hands-on activities.
5. Keep Stylists Engaged in Continued Education
In the beauty industry, it’s crucial to stay on top of the latest trends. To retain clients and attract new ones, your stylists will want to master the hottest new services and understand how to use the most cutting-edge hair styling products and color. Bring in professional educators regularly and offer incentives for having stylists sign up, but also make sure to encourage your team to attend trade shows, conferences and online trainings. Refresher courses can also help your existing team sharpen skills they already possess and prevent your current offerings from getting stale.
6. Always Give Positive Reinforcement
A healthy workplace is one where workers are pushed to do better but not berated if they do something wrong. Be sure to always give your team positive reinforcement if they do something well. Set up a system for celebrating wins, whether it be mastering a service on the first try or winning a friendly competition. Offering prizes and promoting your team’s accomplishments on social media will help them feel appreciated and valued. Today, more and more workers are quitting their jobs to prioritize mental health, so you need to do everything you can to create a supportive, positive workplace in order to retain top talent.
7. Don’t Forget to Touch on Sales
Your merchandising and retail displays can bring in a ton of extra profit, so don’t sleep on this aspect of your business. Many salon owners assume that stylists will have a natural sales ability, but the reality is that this is something that must be learned, especially for those coming into your salon with no prior experience. Be sure to teach them low-pressure sales tactics. It’s also important to teach them how to use the products and tools you have for sale so they can work them into their own services. Clients are much more likely to purchase something they know works, so show your stylists how to integrate sales pitches naturally and demonstrate a product’s power.
8. Ask for Feedback
Just like anything you roll out, think of training as an ever-evolving process and make sure to adjust based on employee feedback. Try to put yourself in your employees’ shoes and ask yourself: Does this make sense? Does this provide simple solutions to common problems? Does this require further explanation? At the end of the onboarding period, ask your employees how they did and get feedback on every component of the training.
Why Training Matters
Your salon crew’s skills can help you elevate your business, attract new customers and keep your existing clients happy. Teaching your team new services or bringing on the best new talent in the area will help you boost guest satisfaction and grow your business well into the future. But the last thing you want is for your training program to slow you down or hold you back. Following these tips will help you roll out new ideas and onboard new clients smoothly and seamlessly.
