Salon Management

Allow your employees to tan free. This offers incentive to them and gives them real experience with the equipment, while helping you maintain salon image. You also may want to give their family members a 50-percent discount. If you spell out a policy on how much family members pay, you avoid having your employees "guess" what it is. If you sell lotions and clothing, give your employees a discount. They will probably wear the clothes while working in the salon, and this gives your retail side a boost. Your clients are more likely to notice the clothing on your employees than they are on the racks.

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. Why is that? It’s simple: motivation is big money because it can help a business bring in big money.

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 motivated 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 thing 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 and many administrative and maintenance duties.

However, if you offer ancillary services such as light therapy, 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, motivational working environment is you, the salon owner. One of the best things you can do is be there yourself, setting a good example. In addition to being there, you should make the 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.