Motivating the Employees in your Beauty Salon

Importance of Keeping Your Employees Motivated

Bob Nelson once said that an employee’s motivation is a direct result of the sum of interactions with his or her manager. In this quote he articulates that an employee’s drive to surpass expectations and go the extra mile in the workplace is directly connected to the treatment said employee receives from their senior.

Once an employee feels appreciated, they will commit to their duties more diligently, in turn improving their own efficiency and, by extension, development. Would you not agree that when you feel valued in the workplace, you are far more willing to put in the extra effort than you would be if those efforts were never noticed?

As a beauty salon owner, the responsibility falls on you to create an environment where your beauty therapists will feel valued and motivated to keep your customers happy. Only then will you achieve the success you are working so hard to achieve.

If you are reading this article, then chances are you already realise the need for keeping your staff motivated, so let’s get on with the ‘how’.

Tips for Keeping your Employees Motivated

Show Enough Compassion

Even if you have to convey a message that was stated black-on-white in a contract, if an employee feels like they are receiving the message form you in such a way that you spared them any negative feelings, their commitment to you and your business will improve.

This does not mean that you have to walk on eggshells for your employees or coddle them in any way. It simply means that a touch of kindness can go a long way to building strong foundational relationships within your beauty salon.

Create a Safe Environment

Encourage yourself and your employees to indicate problems, flaws and mistakes so that you can work together to fix what needs to be fixed. After all, you can’t fix something if you don’t know that there is a fault in the first place. While an intimidating notion, practicing this will create a safe space in your organisation where you and your employees feel comfortable addressing issues before they result in conflict.

It will certainly be a learning curve on how to use this system to its full potential, since you would need to ensure it doesn’t just become a space where beauty therapists can constantly undermine each other without consequences, but rather just a space where criticism is welcomed and used to improve the environment.

Communication is Key

While you might have perfectly valid and simple reasons for doing things a certain way, it’s best not to simply assume that your employees understand these reasons. Policies, procedures and standards for customer experience should be discussed openly to improve communication.

The best, and possibly easiest, way to improve productivity and motivation in your beauty salon is simply to talk with your employees. It really is that easy. For example, try having a conversation that is not via email, try to get on a personal level and actually relate to them, or join them for coffee during their lunch break. This will help them see you as a leader instead of just ‘the boss’.

This also extends to valuing their input when it comes to operational improvements such as saving money in small ways – ideas they might have or just generally speaking, making them feel heard. You never know when one of them might have an idea that could push your revenue to the next level.

Don’t Underestimate the Value of Team Building

Team building exercises could be an invaluable way for you and your employees to bond. You can always go out as a group and participate in the multitudes of exercises designed for this purpose, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be exactly like that.

Simply including your employees in planning meetings, brainstorming possible promotions, marketing events and customer-related policies can also make a significant difference. They will feel heard and, once again, allowing them to feel like their input is valuable will reflect in their work ethic.

Lead by Example

If you want your employees to feel like they are, at least to some degree, on the same level as you, then they have to see you put in the work as well. Personally training newcomers, dealing with customers and putting in extra time will serve as an example of that.

It will allow your staff to see that you, too, have worked hard, and just because you own/manage the business, doesn’t mean that you are any less capable.