New Year is a perfect time to tap into some team spirit, set fresh targets and motivate your salon staff for the year ahead

Getting the most out of your salon employees is a win-win situation when handled well,”says NBF chief executfive Hilary Hall. “Your employees will feel valued and their input and commitment will then contribute towards the success of your business.”

Setting targets

You’ll need to set performance targets but listen carefully to what your employee has to say as it’s important that targets are realistic and achievable, advises Hall.

“Otherwise, targets won’t motivate your employees and won’t help your business achieve the results it needs.

Targets should lead to a win-win situation where the employee’s take-home pay goes up, and the salon turnover increases,”says Hall.

NBF members can download a free guide to managing people at nhf.info/managing-people-guide, which includes a template performance review form.

Using salon software

You can use salon software to track how well your employees are doing, including how much they earn, rebooking rates, retail sales and client retention. “You can use this speciic information to help set fIndividual targets for your staff,”says Hall. “You will need to have regular conversations about whether or not performance targets are being met. Using reports from your salon software makes those conversations much easier because there is concrete evidence about what’s going well and what isn’t.”

Don’t forget retail

Most salons include retail sales in their performance targets, but sometimes team members worry that they will come across as doing a “hard sell”or being “pushy”.

“Encourage your employees to talk to clients about the products they’re using in the salon, why they’re using them and how the client can achieve the same effect at home using the same products,”says Hall.

Overcoming performance problems

“Appraisal and target-setting meetings should always be upbeat and positfive,”says Hilary.

“Start the meeting by praising your employee’s achievements and highlighting examples of when they went the ‘extra mile’.”

However, you may sometimes need to raise issues of concern, which can be more tricky. “If you need to do this, don’t make it personal,”

says Hall. “Make sure you have concrete examples of aspects of their work that are of concern. This is where the salon software reports are so useful.

You can then make plans together to start to put things right.”

Finally, always make sure your employees are thanked and rewarded for meeting or exceeding their targets. Find out how to reward your salon staff for long-term success at nhf.info/reward

The National Beauty Federation (NBF)

The NBF is the NHF’s (National Hairdressers Federation) sister trade association, set up to provide specialist business support to beauty salons. For less than 75p a day, the NBF will help you boost your business while keeping you safe, legal and bang up to date with all the latest business law that will affect you.

Join the NBF before the end of January 2019 and quote PBJ25 to get £25 off your membership fee.