Training“A team that learns together grows together.”  Jon Gonzales

In the absence of an apprenticeship or intern program, salon owners will have to develop their own educational program of employee training.

The foundation to building a successful team employee training and development begins with you, the owner. The first 6 months of employee training is a critical time in making sure your new staff member shares your vision, goals, and educational quality control systems.

A 6 month probationary period will help you measure their performance.

Here are a few tips that will help you develop a team of professionals who share your vision, goals, and quality control standards.

Hire the right people –Make sure your new team member shares your vision, goals, and are compatible with your other staff members. Set high standards of excellence when adding a new member to your team. Be extremely selective when you add a new member to your team. Will they be compatible with your other members on your team? Develop your staff development program or follow mine listed below.

Define Your Expectations –How can you expect your staff to perform if they do not know what is expected and how those expectations will be measured? Make sure they clearly understand your expectations.

Develop an Employee Training Program — Invest in your salon’s greatest profit potential by educating your staff. Teach them how to perform to your high expectations. Everything from greeting customers the right way, telephone etiquette,dress code, appearance, excelling at customer service, client retention guidelines, and more. This should be done during your first couple of weeks during orientation into your salon’s culture.

Create an Employee Handbook —An employee handbook should be the foundation to employee training and continuing education. How can you expect your team to perform if you do not clearly define their job duties and expectations and how your expectations will be measured. Rules, terms of employment, your quality control standards, regulations, and job descriptions are just some of the guidelines you should clearly define. The higher your standards, the higher your rewards.

Probation — I suggest a 6 month probationary period to make sure both owner and new staff member shares the same vision. This will allow you to make sure your new member of your team shares your quality control standards.Make sure you state in your employee handbook that their employment is “at will”, which means both can terminate this relationship at any time if you feel they are not aligned with your expectations. Review my book Creating Your Salon for further information on developing your own staff development program.

Measure Performance —Are they following your salon’s quality control and educational guidelines? Are you monitoring their customer return rate? How about their referrals?

Team Work — Are they contributing to your team culture? Will they be compatible with your other staff members?

Terms of Employment —- Have you clearly defined your terms of employment and their job description regarding salon gossip,privacy of customer lists etc.

On September 19, I will be conducting my all day Personal Development Seminar in Las Vegas, designed to help you inspire , educate and motivate your team to higher levels of excellence. Click here.

These are just a few of the guidelines you need to follow if you want to build and grow your championship team.

I urge you to invest in your salon’s greatest profit potential — educate and train your team. Let me be your partner in helping you grow a team of professionals.