Is your salon a happy place?
In so many ways that seems like a lightweight question, I mean, it’s a business and people are meant to be working hard and being productive and on the surface that seems like the opposite of having fun. So what’s happiness got to do with it?

Well, it’s got everything to do with it! Because any business, not just salons that are a happy place to be in, are bound to be more successful.

The happiness factor…
Think about it, if you have a happy team then you are more likely to have happy clients.

If you have a happy team you are bound to have better team retention.

If you have high team retention you automatically have good client retention.

Happy team members treat clients better because they are enjoying their jobs and therefore the service levels are better, clients inevitably spend more money, the team are inevitably more productive and as a result, they earn more…

Now everyone happy! There’s a lot to be said for making your salon a happy place to work!

Step 1…
You are not going to have happy clients without first having a happy team. So that’s step 1. What is it that we need to do to create happy team members?

Happiness is not a one size fits all but here’s a few suggestions…

Celebrate and acknowledge your team members creative achievements. Whether it’s passing a test as an assistant, going on the floor as a stylist, working on their first photo shoot or winning a competition. Celebrate it!
Celebrate and recognise productivity performance. Acknowledge every personal best, whether it’s their best retail or best re-bookings or best service totals. Celebrate it.
Have fun! You can still have fun and be professional.
Have competitions in the salon, whether it’s to see who has done the best re-bookings for the week or the most request clients for the month.

Whenever possible give your team opportunities to be flexible about how and when they work. The more control people have over their lives the happier they are. Now I know that’s not always possible, but when it is try and build that flexibility in.
Create opportunities for your team to grow within the business by giving them more responsibilities and the training to go with it.
Have the occasional event outside the salon, whether it’s a picnic and a team-building game or attending a concert or all going out to dinner together.
Create opportunities for them to ‘give back’ as a team by getting involved in local charity events.
Laugh freely and smile often, they’ll either think you’re drunk or on drugs or the laughter and happiness will spread.


Step two…
Happy team members lead to happy clients, so on top of everything else here’s a list of things that make clients happy…

Getting a great haircut and colour makes clients happy!
Being listened too makes clients happy!
Giving good value makes clients happy!
Great service makes clients happy!
Having a team with a ‘can do’ attitude makes clients happy!
A well-presented array of refreshments, spoiling them a little and making them feel special makes clients happy!
Having a team that genuinely cares for the clients wishes makes clients happy!
Punctuality makes clients happy!
Spotlessly clean salons make clients happy!
Music makes people happy! Set the volume and the type of music that is most likely to make clients happy. Remember, that the music is ultimately for the clients and not the team.

One of my favourite salons in the world is ‘Visible Changes’ in Texas, Megan McCormack who is one of the directors has the title “Chief Happiness Officer” Is it any wonder that ‘Visible Changes’ is a happy place to work.

Rinse and repeat
Happiness is not something you do and it’s done, it’s about creating a culture of happiness, and that’s a never ending process that needs your constant attention.

Thank you for watching…
If you haven't already got it I recommend my book ‘GROW 3 Team’ which is full of ideas about building a happy salon culture.

Have a great week!

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