You can deduct points for the cheesy title – I’ll understand!
Last month, we talked about setting goals and shaping your season to create the business you want. The complaint I hear most often from salon owners is about how much they struggle with their team. Sometimes, they don’t like them as employees, and sometimes, they don’t like them as people, either! Honestly, this is one of the toughest issues for me to empathize with, because I love my salon staff. This month, I want to lay out some of our guidelines for hiring team members that we’ll love to employ and love to see grow.
1. Make them write to apply. This may sound frivolous since our employees will probably never have to write anything customer-facing at work, but this is the biggest single metric for me in evaluating a potential employee. We all want to hire people who can communicate well with our customers, and who can sell well. Turns out, people who can’t write well can’t communicate well. If they can’t put their thoughts on paper under no pressure, how are they going to walk a customer through a sale face-to-face? How are they going to deal with confrontation?
Our application is full of open-ended response prompts like, “Tell me about your educational background,” and “Why do you want to work with us?” At the top of the application (ours are all online) it says, “Please write in full sentences or your assignment will not be graded.” When people don’t, we know that they can’t follow simple instructions, so they are disqualified before the personal interview opportunity.
2. In their interview, put the position in front of them and ask questions. We start interviews by handing the candidate a printed job description and talking through it so they understand completely what the job is before we move any further. Then, we ask them what questions they have about the position. When we’ve answered their questions, we continue with some scenarios, such as: “A client comes in for a spray-tan but is visibly sunburnt. What do you do?” While they may not have all of the knowledge needed to answer correctly, the way they handle this question on the spot will tell you a lot about them.
3. Ask about their long-term goals. This starts the relationship showing that you are interested in them, more than just wanting them to work for you, and lays the footing for a symbiotic relationship in which you can benefit each other. That’s a win-win!
Additionally, these questions will often illuminate their passions. If you have a team member who wants to be a cosmetologist, by all means teach her everything you can about skincare and spray-tans, then let her take the reins on these areas in your store! If a team member wants to be a marketing manager, you may have found your new social media person!
As we prepare for busy season, many of us are growing our teams to accommodate the influx of customers. Make sure that you are hiring people you want to work with and who will benefit your business. People are our greatest assets!
