Whew! 2021finally arrived and a new season has begun. Feels like a sunny day after a week of rain. And we do need the rain to nurture and grow, just not so much of it, right?
2020 kind of felt like trying to entertain a rambunctious child in the midst of the rainy season – you look for “rainy day” activities to remain productive. Many salon operators made the most of 2020 by upgrading and running maintenance on their equipment and remodeling/redecorating their salons. What about staff? For business owners, this “unusual” period was also a great time to invest in staff training; a historically difficult task given busy salons and staff schedules. Now, what?
Many professions, especially those with special licensing, require Continued Education (CE) in order to renew the license. The concept here is that the professional is reinforcing and expanding their knowledge and skill set. What an amazing and relevant idea! However, like most great notions, you need a system in place and a follow-up plan in order to succeed. One thing that came from the trials of 2020 is that almost everyone is in the digital realm, with businesses pushed to add this dimension to their means of communication in a much deeper way.
Why not set up your own Continuing Education (CE) Program? Invest in your staff and increase their Salon IQ. Begin by sourcing applicable training videos and live webinars from your distributor representative. Most of the major lotion companies offer great, high-energy webinars and training videos. Add your own presentations and “how-to” for salon procedures such as contactless payments, cleaning protocols, customer service and special services you may offer, such as cryotherapy. While professional CEs are measured in hours, you can set up an internal point system for your Continued Education Program. Assigning points gives an additional goal to work toward and allows you to determine the importance of each CE based on the number of points needed for completion.
Points can be used to motivate staff in many ways. As an in-house program, you can customize it and change it as you need based on the outcome you desire. You can assign points to your retail products and salon services that can be redeemed for freebies. Or assign points, earned in a given time frame, as a goal for staff to be eligible for promotions or increased wages/commissions, thus motivating your team to learn and actually use what they are learning!
Creating an extensive CE program, no matter what means you devise, is an important way to increase profits and retention of both staff and customers. Let’s work smarter and take 2021 by storm!
Creating an extensive continuing education program, no matter what means you devise, is an important way to increase profits and retention of both staff and customers.
