Inspire Your Employees & Reap The Rewards
by Judie Bizzozero
Motivation seems to be big money these days. In fact, a huge industry revolves around it. There are tapes, seminars and in-depth clinics devoted to the subject. Some help devise programs to motivate a sales staff, others teach managers to motivate their employees and still others coach people in all walks of life to motivate themselves. None of this is free. Motivational assistance, be it taped or in person, commands a hefty price because it can help a business bring in extra profits.
No matter what business you’re in, it’s a proven fact that motivated employees are more productive than their ambivalent counterparts. People who want to do something and want to do it well will do a better job than those whose main interest is just getting it done. Motivation is very important because inspired employees make the salon money.
However, experts warn that a motivation program must be more than just a reward system for exceptional sales and customer-service efforts. Although rewards should play a role in the overall program, it’s crucial for the working environment itself to be motivating.
One aspect often overlooked in creating such an environment is the existence of detailed job descriptions. Because it’s much easier to do a job when you know exactly what is expected, it’s important for employees to know what they can and can’t do. Poor understanding of what is expected will tend to detract from the quality and quantity of work produced, as will job descriptions that require an employee to be doing two things at once.
In a tanning salon, no assistance is required while customers are using the equipment, so one or two employees can handle customer service simultaneously as well as many administrative and maintenance duties.
However, if you offer ancillary services such as nails, day spa amenities or sunless, the necessary work can be broken down into two and possibly three specific positions—and one person is going to have a tough time doing all three. After all, one person cannot be the ideal front-desk receptionist, properly attend to clients, and conduct salon tours and program explanations all at once.
Another element to creating a good, motivating working environment is you, the salon owner. One of the best deeds you can do is be there yourself, setting a good example. In addition to being there, you should make employees feel that they are a part of the business. If they can see how their job fits into the overall function of the business, they’ll be much more likely to want to do a good job.
And even better than just letting them see how the overall salon goals are set and achieved is having them take part in the process. Don’t fall into the trap of assuming that employees are only working for a paycheck—feelings of involvement and accomplishment actually may be more important considerations. Motivation comes from belief in a process or product. The more involved the employees are, the more they’ll believe.
Incentives And Rewards
When designing an incentive program for your employees, don’t limit yourself to cash or percentage rewards. Although they can be effective, money isn’t always the best incentive. It is important to appreciate employees in the way they want to be appreciated. Non-monetary rewards can be aimed at three different kinds of personalities: feeling, logical and action types. Each type will be best motivated by a different reward.
The first group—the feeling type of people—is best motivated by recognition and by some demonstration that they are valued. Rewards that provide the best incentive are those such as a plaque on the wall in the salon, employee-of-the-month awards, mention in a customer newsletter, flowers and similar approaches.
The second group—the logical employees—needs to have quantitative goals to achieve. They like to see exactly where they stand, be it on a board or graph in the office or whatever. Then they can mark their progress against the chart, striving to reach a clearly defined target.
The third group—the active employees— aren’t motivated by money so much as by what it enables them to accomplish. That is to say money is a means, not an end. It makes sense that the way to focus this group on a goal is to reward achievement with fun, active benefits. A few examples might be tickets to concerts or sporting events, mini-vacations, and restaurant gift certificates.
The key in all cases is to make sure the reward is something the person values. If you don’t present the goal and reward in the employee’s language and value system, they either won’t see it or will become confused.
Be aware that few people fit exactly into one category; most are a combination of more than one. Take some time to observe and evaluate what kind of people your individual employees are before structuring an incentive program.
Yet, your employees should be made to understand that their paycheck is their reward for meeting their job requirements. Be sure to set their goals beyond that minimum—they are only entitled to a bonus reward if they go beyond what already is expected.
Finally, you can’t motivate your employees to achieve specific goals until you have some for the salon itself. A problem in the tanning industry is that many salon owners never define the mission of their business.
The salon’s goals may be to reach a certain dollar figure in accessory sales. It may be to achieve a certain percent occupancy. It may be to increase the number of three-times-a-week tanners by a specific amount, or even to increase the number of referrals by a set factor.
Hopefully, the goals of your salon touch on all of these areas. In the course of achieving them, however, keep the salon’s focus consistent. If you’re adding accessory lines, make sure they fit in; don’t dilute your purpose.
The importance of setting up a detailed program to motivate salon employees cannot be denied. In so doing, the salon owner makes a statement about what is valued, be it increased sales, improved customer service or, better still, both.
It’s been demonstrated time and time again that motivated employees are productive employees. Productive employees will, by definition, bring more income into the salon, and that’s what it’s all about.
