If your stylist leaves and take all your clients with them and the same process happens all over again every few months how much will it cost you in lost sales?
While we long talked about solving staff problems there has been official research conducted only recently that proves that a bad recruitment process costs brands in the millions!
Providing poor recruiting experience could turn your stylists off your salon brand and it could cost you thousands and even more.
Without a doubt recruiting the right staff who wants to be loyal to your salon, and stop them from leaving is one question many salon owners are looking to solve.
So what’s the secret to the successful recruitment process?
Candidates may feel they are under scrutiny during the interview, but actually, your salon brand, yourself, or your salon manager conducting the interview are under scrutiny from the job seeker just as well.
Often the salon owners interviewing are focused on the wrong questions, making inaccurate assumptions about why a stylist, whether they are junior or senior creative director, would want to work for your salon.
Map out the interview for success
Big brands now realize it costs millions to conduct a poor interview and invest in millions to fix the problem. As a small salon owner, you have the flexibility to make fast changes to the way you recruit stylists. If you have stylists often walking out of your salon, you need to look into reviewing the recruitment system as a priority.
Focus on the stylist’s needs and ask the right questions
What you say to the candidate right at the start will determine how the candidate will see your brand and his/her role within your salon. People make snap decisions about whether they want to stay with you for a few months or years. Knowing what to ask will help you find out if you are a perfect fit.
It is easy to get carried away and talk about your salon and your amazing brand, but the job-seeker is really concerned about his/her needs. So it is actually vital and financially profitable to learn to speak their language and communicate in their values, not your own.
For example, we had a salon owner in a remote part of Scotland, in order to attract the best creative director willing to relocate on top of Scotland, Alan helped devise a plan where the candidates needs would be met, and his needs were rather unusual, for example, he needed flexibility and freedom to meditate and practice his martial arts, but as long as his needs were met, he delivered on his promise to the salon, which was to raise the standard of all other stylists. So there is no one rule for all.
Be clear about stylists’ branding
Inspired by industry movers and shakers over the past couple of decades, salons have learnt to build an ongoing brand, but when it comes to branding stylists not so much. Many salons just post an ad for 30 days or so and hope the best talent will be interested. Being clear about stylists’ branding is important.
Don’t miss the point…
Align the recruitment process and stylists branding with your salon brand’s vision and long-term goals, so that when and if eventually, your staff leaves your brand remains strong, and no one steals your clients.
Having clarity about what you stand for, treating stylists like clients by providing clear and best first impression, and focusing on candidate’s needs will help to eliminate people not suitable for your brand, while attracting and keeping the best talent.
It’s clear that stylists recruitment takes an effort, but failure to consider the interview and the recruitment process could cost your salon both talent and money.
