Hiring A Man

Are any of your employees male? If not, would you hire a guy? These questions tend to inspire a wide range of responses from salon owners.

For some salons, men are a wonderful addition to their sales staff—in fact, a few salon owners responded to a discussion on TanToday.com about hiring male employees very positively, saying that guys continually outperform their female staff members. For other salons, however, past issues with male employees have caused them to write off the idea of ever hiring a guy again. The following is a look at a few of the most common pros and cons regarding male employees.

Pros

Competitive Nature. Statistics indicate employees perform at average levels primarily because they are bored and unhappy at work, which is why many salons use contests to motivate employees. Since guys tend to be very competitive by nature, it’s easy to inspire them to participate and, once they commit to the contest, they will strive to outperform the other employees. This is especially true if the prize is considered worthwhile in their eyes—think tickets to a sporting event.

Male Bonding. One of the best things about hiring a man to work in the salon is that he can really help your sales with male clients. Guys know what guys like, and can use that information in sales pitches. And, if your male employee can vouch for a product by saying he uses it, a male client will be much more likely to believe that it works and is worth buying. As an added bonus, a man is likely to be much more comfortable entering a salon that has a guy standing behind the counter than entering a salon staffed by multiple women that is decorated like a lingerie store. Though the line between what is considered “girly” versus what is considered “manly” is blurring, it isn’t completely gone.

Cons

Dating. This can be an issue in two ways—first, dating other employees and second, dating salon clients. In the first scenario, you risk a drop in productivity, as the two employees will likely be distracted while working together. And, even worse, personal-life drama will almost certainly enter the workplace if said couple has a fight or breaks off the relationship. Similarly, if a male employee asks a female client on a date and she says no, she may feel uncomfortable patronizing the salon in the future, for fear of running into the worker she turned down. So, when it comes to male employees, the key is to be very clear about your dating policy from day one. Some salon owners choose to put a strict no-dating-allowed policy in place; if that is what you opt to do, be sure it is clearly spelled out in your employee handbook and that you address the subject with the new-hire during training. More often than not, a lack of communication is the most common source of problems.

Client Comfort. Some salon owners report that female clients can feel less comfortable coming in first thing in the morning or right after working out when a guy is working the salon because they don’t feel like they look their best. Clearly, there’s not much you can do about that. But other things that impact comfort level are more serious—such as if female clients feel your male employee is ogling them or acting inappropriately. This is all falls under the sexual harassment category, and is also something that should be covered in detail in your handbook and by you personally.

Ultimately, the decision to hire an employee should not be based on gender. Instead, you want to focus on hiring the best candidate for the job—someone with an outgoing personality who is able to close sales and build relationships. Your clients are simply looking for your employee to be professional and knowledgeable about the products and services offered at your salon and, as long as you have solid rules in place for your employees, you will avoid most issues.

Related Content:

TanToday Discussion: Hiring A Man

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