Good communication is key to a salon team's success

HJi's training expert Simon Shaw stresses the importance of communicating with your team.

You are communicating with your team all the time, even when you are not saying anything. With a few easy-to-follow steps you can increase your effectiveness in the way you communicate with all team members. 

This sounds very grand, but it's simple really; share with your team what you want from the salon. 

For example, do you want to appeal to high-end clientele that are looking for the epitome of luxury; do you want to be known as cutting-edge, the salon that is always in touch with the latest trends and is constantly offering customers a change of style; or are you just aiming to be the best salon in your community? Why are you in business? Is it the money or is there another reason?

Whatever it is, ensure you communicate your vision for the company regularly.

Team meetings have their place; they tend to be good for addressing salon issues, for instance if you were going to change the opening hours.

Team meetings are not right for addressing individual issues. Make more time for one-to-ones.

Use team notice boards for publishing team results and reminders of upcoming events. 

If people have done well, slip a well done note in with their salary; we all like to be recognised as much as we like to be rewarded. 

If they haven't done so well, slip in a note reminding the team member of any training or coaching you can offer to help them succeed. 

Morning briefings are perfect for this. I recommend a 10-minute meeting every morning to celebrate the successes of the previous day and highlight the challenges of the day ahead. 

Spend more time acknowledging what has been good than focussing on the negatives. Do not ignore bad behaviour - you should deal with it swiftly and decisively, but it is important to develop a culture where people want to get things right.

People will forget what you say and do, but they won't forget how you make them feel. Your job is not only to make clients feel good; it is to make your team feel good. Do this by setting clear expectations, celebrating success, challenging them to achieve more, giving them your time.

Simon Shaw is the co-founder and past director of the international award-winning salon group Haringtons. He runs Simon Shaw Education, running courses for L'Oréal Professionnel in the UK and abroad, and for individual salons including Trevor Sorbie and Charles Worthington.