We’ve already talked about policies you need to have in place for your guests (if you missed that, catch it here!), and now, we’re filling you in on the policies you need to have in place behind the scenes for your salon team! It is important to enforce policies to encourage healthy boundaries and work environment.
In this blog, we’re going to give you some great ideas for staff policies you’ll want to enforce in your own salon.
How to Show Up as a Team Member
Think of these kinds of policies as a sort of code of conduct; your staff is agreeing to show up in certain ways in order to uphold salon culture and environment. We suggest creating a physical copy of these policies to have all of your team members sign and also to have displayed in a place that your staff will see every day (ex: on a poster in the break room, framed behind the desk, etc.)
Here are a few ideas for policies that fall under umbrella:
Policy on how to start and end shift.
It is important to have structure in place from the moment your team steps through the door, ‘til they head out at the end of their shift. Do you have anything in place for how early to show up and get prepped for each shift? Do you have a set of expectations during and following shifts? If you set up policies for these things, you’ll be less likely to run into issues and your team will appreciate the consistency and structure.
Dress Code Policy
Depending on the vibe and overall aesthetic of your salon, your dress code may be strict or more casual. Either way, it is important to have a policy on what your dress code is in order to avoid your team showing up in a way that is not up to your set standards. It’s helpful to include examples and visuals to refer to prevent any misunderstanding.
Attitude Policy
Although this may be difficult to actually enforce, it is important to set an expectation in place for how your team members act and behave emotionally when they are working. It can be hard to hide when you’re in a sour mood and having a tough day, but this can greatly alter and affect guest experience negatively. Setting an expectation makes it much easier for you to hold them accountable if their attitude and energy is not up to salon standards.
Conflict Resolution Policy
As with all other industries, conflict is inevitable in a salon setting. So instead of waiting for a conflict to fester and blow up, nip in in the bud with a protocol for conflict resolution. We recommend establishing a system to follow when conflict arises, perhaps a form to fill out or a request for a one-on-one meeting. Whatever it is, make sure it is clearly communicated and understood by your team to ensure that unnecessary conflicts are kept to a minimum.
Performance Policy
A performance policy can help keep your team on track and hold them accountable to their own growth and success. Establish the KPI’s you want to track in order to measure performance hits and misses. If a team member is consistently not meeting these goals and expectations, there will be consequences in place in order to hold them accountable. Speaking of that…
Enforcing Policies & Accountability
For policies to be effective, there must be some type of consequence or pain point that your staff wants to avoid. If there is no accountability, there is no incentive to follow policy. Different members of your team may react negatively to the same accountability action, so you may need to adjust on a case-to-case basis.
CONCLUSION
We hope you’ve taken some inspiration and ideas from this blog post about policies that you can and should bring into your own salon or spa!
Policies are simply in place to protect your time, business, and peace. Your team will appreciate the boundaries and structures in place to ensure they have a healthy and happy work environment to call their work home.
We give TONS of policy examples in our Salon Scoop Digital Debrief episode on the same topic. You can click here to listen on Anchor FM, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.
Do you have any other team policies in place within your salon business that helps keeps things on track? We’d love to hear about it! DM us on social media @salon.s.o.s or email us at info@salonsos.ca
For even more digital marketing goodness, check out our YouTube Marketing Academy as well as all the resources and support we have for you here on our website
‘Til next time,
Your Team at Salon S.O.S