TRAINING is, apart from clients, the life of your salon! Training needs to happen reguarly to keep your staff refreshed, motivated, educated and to keep that fire in their belly! It also demonstrates to your team that you want them to grow and be the best that they can be, as well as showing that you will support and invest in them. Training needs to be all inclusive, everyone in the salon needs to be involved, from the junior to the master stylist who thinks they know it all and has been in salons for more years then you care to add up. We live in an age now where we have the most informed clients of all time thanks to the internet and in particualr, social media. They read online about the latest product/colour/style, see a celebrity endorse it/wear it and then believe it will work on their hair. It’s your job as the expert to either support that knowledge or, more often than not, to redirect them to a more appropriate product/style, which isn’t always easy!
How should you structure your training into your busy salon?
Utilise down times! Set time aside time every week to focus on upskilling your team. You may not do the full team training every week, but you need to have a regular time slot available to run trainings.
Plan your trainings!
You cant just wing it, especially when it comes to needing models! Make a plan for the year - when you need models and what for, especially when you have apprentices! Let them know that (for example) every second week they will need a model, but give them some flexibility around what they need the model for. Explain that they need to have x short hair blow waves, x lob models, x foil models and let them scehdule the models in around their availablitiy, BUT document it and make sure they do come through with all the models. This part is all about communicating and setting out clear expectations.
Who should take your training?
The person who holds the right knowledge! The training can be split over team members, depending on their area of expertise. Don’t forget to include your receptionist delivering trainings on your computer system, eftpos machine, issuing gift vouchers etc.
Also utilise your reps/technicians. They were most likely a major influencer as to why you chose that brand, so make sure you continue to get the most of out them! They will have seasonal colour launches that you need to be in on.
What should you be training on?
EVERYTHING! I recently came across this list and felt it was a good starting point to a salons training manual.
Technical and Creative Practical Skills
• Haircutting
• Colour (theory and practical)
• Straightening
• Dressing/styling
• Treatments
• Basin skills (massage, etiquette)
Client Journey -Ensuring your team can deliver the ultimate client journey to every client, every time.
• Highs and lows of client journey
• Asking the right questions
• Dealing with challenging clients
• Ins and outs of a consultation
• The importance of quoting
Retail
• Product knowledge
• How to educate your clients on products/selling
• Unique ways to use the product (mixing)
• Recognition of buying signals
• Power of effective communication
• How to close a sale
Reception Duties
• Telephone etiquette
• Greetings
• Making appointments
• Handling money
• Dealing with complaints
Health and Safety
• Personal safety
• Client safety
• Dealing with chemicals
While this list may look lengthy, some of this can be covered at your regular team meetings. A great way to share product knowledge can be getting one person per meeting to feature a particular product and share their knowledge on it.
So, how are you going to approach training this year? Plan it out, starting now, so that your team know you are invested in them and want to support them to be the best they can be. Or are you just going to wing it and hope for the best? I know what I’d rather do ;)