Encourage staff loyalty - show them you care

How do we ensure that team members stay loyal to you and your brand? Listen, understand and value, says Simon Shaw.

Make time to sit down and listen to each team member. Ensure you do less speaking than listening, ask questions that are open-ended such as: "Tell me what you see as the salon's strengths and weaknesses." Let people know you are listening by maintaining eye contact and staying focused on what they are saying. The best way of letting someone know that you have understood them is to repeat back to them what they have just told you. Probe them for more information, and use the technique of repeating what they say back to them again. 

 

To show your team members you value them, before your next team meeting ask your team to write down something that they don't feel they get acknowledged for. Read them out and thank them in front of the team.

Be consistent and fair

Work with your team, create boundaries and get them to believe in the process. When Clive Woodward took over a failing England rugby team he introduced the Black Book of boundaries. This covered aspects like timekeeping and dress code. The team were allowed to decide the consequences if a player stepped outside those boundaries. From your pay structure to your promotion criteria, take your personal preferences out and always ask: "Is this fair?"  

Flexibility is key to motivation

More and more people are looking for a work/life balance, so consider being flexible. The demands of the business have to be balanced against the needs of the individual. You might consider that once people hit a certain performance criteria that they get a choice between a bonus or an extra day off.Create opportunities for your team. One of the major reasons people leave is a lack of opportunity. Some people don't want to work on clients all day, then simply go home.

Others want to enter competitions, or put on a show or seminar. Support them in these ambitions. Not only will it motivate them, it will bring recognition to the salon.

Let people take responsibility for different areas of the salon. Not only does it help team members to feel involved, it also gives you more time.

Work hard, play hard

The team that plays together, stays together. Organise two to three events a year that the whole team can take part in, maybe bowling followed by a meal. In the summer organise a sports day - or better still get the team to work together to organise it - followed by a barbecue. 

I know there can sometimes be resistance to these initiatives, but persevere as they help create a team culture - annual awards are another effective example.