Team spirit

Paula Clipsham is the owner of The Hart Spa, which won two PB Awards this year. She tells Erin Leybourne how to build a team with staying power

You won PB’s Salon Team of the Year 2024 award; what is your team culture?

“It sounds like a cliché but genuinely they’re like a family. They are so supportive of each other, and I think we’re quite nurturing towards the team. “I don’t go into work wondering what the atmosphere is going to be like, ever.

“They’re all different age groups, and I think that makes a difference. We’ve got one who’s 18, and one who’s 56, and everyone else in between.”

How do you ensure new hires are the right fit for the team?

“To a certain degree, it’s a gamble, because you spend such a small amount of time with candidates.

“After a 10 -minute ‘get-to-know-you’ call, I’ll have them come into the salon, and most of the time I get someone else to show them around.

“It gives that therapist or front of house team member a little bit of time to get to know that candidate as well, to say whether they think that person will be a good fit. Then I’ll spend time with them.

“Once I’ve whittled it down to the last two, normally I’ll get them to come in and do a trade test with one of our therapists. Once we think we’ve chosen the final candidate, we might take them out for a coffee or a glass of wine. I think it’s important for the candidate as well as the team because they’ll know whether they think they’re going to be the right fit or not.”

How do you support your team?

“I do one-to-ones every eight weeks. One of the things I love about our one-to-ones is that you really hear what’s going on in people’s lives. They don’t necessarily just want to talk to you about working issues.

“It’s about listening to the therapist and finding out what each individual wants. That could be related to their shifts – they might want some more time off, or they might want to do more training.

“A few of the girls wanted to do lymphatic drainage massage. So, four of them did some training and that has been so popular. Three are just completing their Made for Life cancer and oncology touch therapy. I’ve had emails from clients to say, ‘the one thing I’ve really missed during my cancer journey is massage’, and to know that there is a treatment available that isn’t contraindicated is so reassuring for them.

You also won PB Large Salon of the Year 2024; what’s your advice for running a great salon and what are the challenges?

“You live and breathe it. That’s one of the reasons I won’t open on a Sunday. I do work on a Sunday, but I know I’m not going to get messages coming through, so it’s a peaceful day for me to work.

“The biggest challenge at the moment is overheads. I’m really lucky that the team are very conscious of what we have to pay out for, but everything has gone up: utilities, products, everything.

“Running a salon is hard work, but it’s so rewarding. It’s about really looking after your team and listening to what they have to say. We always say, ‘the clients pay the wages, but if the team aren’t motivated, if the team aren’t caring, those clients won’t stay.’”

What are your plans for the future of the salon and your team?

“I’d like to increase the size of the salon. At the moment we’ve got the lower ground floor and the ground floor, but there are also two floors above us that are empty.

“I think it would be nice to increase the size to give the team a bit of flexibility. I really want them to be able to work every other Saturday, and that’s only possible if we can increase the numbers. I want the girls to have that work-life balance.”