Top Five Tips On Keeping Your Team Motivated

By Marlene Lamont, Owner of Urban Hair & Beauty

The hair industry is continuously evolving rapidly and keeping your team motivated requires more than just financial incentives. At Urban Hair and Beauty, we focus on celebrating milestones, giving the team creative freedom, upskilling and levelling up professionally, flexible scheduling and team bonding. After more than 40 years in the industry, 20 of those in which I have ran my own salon and mentored my own team, I always remind them that hard work doesn’t go unnoticed.  

Celebrating Milestones

Celebrating milestones is key for boosting team morale – whether they are team or individual goals, recognising them can help improve staff retention and encourage progress, turning the workplace into a thriving community. With a salon environment being fast paced and physically demanding, pausing to celebrate work annivarseries, personal achievements or business milestones gives the team mental reset, preventing burnout and keeping the day to day environment enjoyable. A happy, appreciated stylist is more productive and projects positive energy and recognising the teams personal and career goals demonstrates you care about their personal wellbeing and career progression.

Creative Freedom

Creative freedom is essential in a salon team as it transforms a standard service into a highly personalised craft. By empowering younger stylists to make artistic decisions, it pushes them outside of their comfort zone and boundaries, resulting in a more engaged team. Providing an outlet for creative expression also keeps apprentices engaged during their training, building loyalty when they can see clear career progression, making them more likely to stay with the team. Fostering untapped potential early ensures the next generation of stylists are prepared to take on high-level artistry.

Upskilling

By providing continual education and training to your team, it helps to expand their current skill sets, it results in the team staying competitive, boosts morale and helps drive revenue. Stylists feel valued when employers invest in their future and providing a clear career pathway reduces turnover and attracts ambitious team members who desire progression. Hair trends evolve continuously, and regular training ensures your team is up to date on trends, products and new technologies. Upskilling also allows your team to give expert advice and perform more efficiently, leading to client satisfaction and exceptional results that guarantee repeat bookings.

Flexible Scheduling

A flexible work schedule gives salon employees more control over their working hours. This industry often requires evening and weekend work, and flexibility allows your team to manage personal commitments which in turn leads to lower stress and reduced levels of burnout. By being accomodating to staff, it shows that their well-being has been taken into consideration leading to a more loyal and motivated team, resulting in satisfied clientele and returning clients. Offering options such as part-time working and flexible shift patterns makes your salon a highly desirable place to work.

Team Bonding

Team bonding is essential in a salon environment as it transforms a group of individual stylists into a cohesive team. A united team help each other out, often jumping in to help if there is a problem to solve. Staff who are comfortable around each other are more likely to solve disagreements easier, as well as helping to motivate each other to do their best work.