All About Hair

237 Building a Salon Team from the Ground Up

• Danise Keilitz • Season 4 • Episode 237

Share episode

Send Danise a Text Message.

What if supporting the passion and potential of new talent could turn your salon into a thriving place of creativity and happy clients? By working with beauty school students and building strong in-salon training programs, you can find and develop the next generation of skilled stylists. These strategies create a confident team and build the foundation for a successful salon culture.

We’ll look at practical, budget-friendly ways to boost new stylists' confidence, like peer learning and teaching professional courtesies. I’ll show you how regular check-ins and setting goals can help create a supportive space for personal and professional growth. Feedback from both stylists and clients can give you insights to better address each stylist’s needs and goals. By growing new talent, salon owners can ensure long-term success and create a community where stylists and clients thrive. Tune in to learn how to create a salon that not only survives but grows!

Get Your In-Salon Training Toolkit Here

Use my special link to GlossGenius to try today. The salon and spa software that's easy for businesses and your clients.


Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel as well!

Subscribe to our Podcast & get mentioned in an upcoming episode!

Website: www.danisekeilitz.com
YouTube: All About Hair

Shop my favorite Eufora Products.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to All About Hair, the podcast for anyone who loves the hair industry. I'm your host, denise Kylitz, a former stylist educator and owner of four award-winning salons with over 30 years of experience. Whether you're refining your skills or expanding your hair knowledge, you're in the right place. Join me for expert tips, industry insights and practical advice to help you thrive in the world of hair. This is All About Hair. Hey there, welcome back to today's podcast. I'm Denise Kylitz, your host, and if you have not tuned in to All About Hair with Denise to All About Hair with Denise, welcome. Today. I want to talk to you about setting up new stylists for success. So this is for my salon owner friends out there, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I have been in the industry for over 30 years now and I've owned four salons, and I have a passion for empowering stylists to thrive in our industry, to break through the stigma of what people think a hairstylist's career should look like. You know what I'm talking about, right? My last two salons. They were nationally recognized, they were award winning. They brought in over six figures in revenue. I had a team of 42 players. I couldn't have done this without having some kind of in-salon training program in place. Now, the reason why I'm talking about that is because that was the game changer. So that's what we're going to talk about today is how do you set up an in-house training program? Also, let me share this story too.

Speaker 1:

I heard on another podcast and it really, really got me thinking, and I can't remember whose podcast it was. I've heard this more than once that salon owners are really going through hard times because they're having a hard time hiring people. Why is that? Because seasoned stylists, or the people that we used to hire. Mostly they're either going to go to suites or booth rental Not all of them, in fact. Here in the last year I've seen a difference in people going back to commissioned or team-based salons because they miss the environment. But that's not what this conversation is about. The conversation is about that salon owners are having a hard time hiring. That is like the number one not complaint but challenge.

Speaker 1:

If you don't want to go booth rental which a lot of people don't and you're having a hard time finding stylists, where do you think you might have to go? Look to hire new team members? The beauty schools. Yes, I know you might not like that idea because you're thinking Denise, beauty school, then I have to train them from the get go. Let me tell you when you hire from beauty schools and you go in there and you go into their career days and you go in to talk to them and see them and maybe become a guest speaker and talk about anything how to give a consultation it doesn't have to be a technical thing, you don't have to do a haircut or something like that. How to sell retail, how to read face shapes and body language I don't know, I'm just throwing those out there. But if you go in and you volunteer to be a speaker at your local beauty school, which they love you to come in and do that, you can actually see the diamonds, the students who really, really want it, and you can have your choice of the cream of the crop. So that's when you want to go and hand them your business card, invite them into your salon while they're still in school, really start a relationship with them, because then they might want to come work at your salon. In fact they probably will, because they're scared to go out and interview.

Speaker 1:

Again another conversation to be had when we started recruiting from beauty schools and put them through our in-salon training programs, or boot camp if you will. That teaches them everything from foundational haircuts to how to give a consultation, to how to retail, to sales techniques, to product knowledge. Everything we taught them everything. We left nothing out. They became successful. That is what these students want.

Speaker 1:

And yes, I know as a salon owner, you're like. I have so many things on my plate. How in the world am I going to make this happen? I don't have time to set up a training program. I don't have time to train anybody. I get it, but let me help you. Okay, just bear with me. First let's let's talk about when you hire new stylists straight out of beauty school. You're investing in their potential and it's our job to nurture that talent, and effective in salon training program will help them reach their potential. It'll develop your new stylist and it's essential for your salon growth.

Speaker 1:

I tell you I have to say this, I have to shout it from the rooftops when we started our in-salon training program, that is what changed the game for us. We had a waiting list for people to get in. Most of them were all from beauty schools. That's okay. I had other salon owners saying how are you doing this? We started busting at the seams because we had so many stylists wanting to work for us and we had so many clients wanting to come in because we trained our stylists to be consistent. Do you see how this is like a big circle? It is one of the most wonderful things that you can do Now.

Speaker 1:

If your goal is to be a very successful salon, if your goal is to get out from behind the chair yourself, if your goal is to build confidence in your team and build leaders for the community, then you have to have an in-salon training program. Creating this program. It does not have to be overwhelming. It's all about keeping it simple and strategic. And what do I mean by that? You need to set up a step-by-step guide to set up your structured yet flexible training program.

Speaker 1:

Here's how we kind of did it. We had our core skills, which is those five basic haircuts. Everybody had to to do them, so you can already see there's five weeks. And then we also went into basic color theory and color application. That includes highlights, balayage. We also included how to communicate with each other and with our clients. That's your step one, and you're also teaching them about your culture, the history of your salon.

Speaker 1:

People ask they need to know you are setting them up for a good foundation, and that take um, depending on how fast you go. Now, if we did our training once a week, you can set it up where you're training them twice a week. Heck, you can. You can train them every single day for the first month that they're your employee. It's however you want to do it. I do know in today's world people want things quickly, they want to be behind the chair as fast as possible, but they also lack the some of them lack the confidence to do so. That's why I'm saying have flexibility in this. I hired some students straight out of beauty school and, heck, they were ready to go on the floor in two weeks. But then I've hired some that it was six months or more. So everybody's different. If you think they're a good fit for your team and your culture, then they'll do okay. So then you want to break the program into manageable phases, like technical skills, client interaction, retail training, things like that, and then you want to set clear, realistic goals for each phase, and this is so important. You have to track the progress, you have to.

Speaker 1:

We structured ours Like I said we had weekly trainings and we did it on Tuesdays because Tuesday mornings was our slowest day in the salon. Your POS system might be able to show you what days are the slowest for you. If you wanted to choose a day in your week. We shut down the whole salon and just had training every Tuesday morning. You might do some other way. You might not close your doors. Maybe you're training them why the salon is in operation. It's up to you.

Speaker 1:

But what we did is we had a notebook and first we went over their expectations and what their career is going to look like and what they're going to expect during the first week of employment. So we went through our culture, our vision statement, how we treat clients, our consultations, how to give a tour of the salon, etiquette okay, how to shake somebody's hand yeah, it even gets to that. That's the first week. And then in our notebook they have a checkoff sheet. So every time they do something we check it off and then, when it gets to the haircuts, we show the haircut and you can either do that in person, you can show a video, it's however you want to do it. We did it all in person and then they did it on a mannequin head and then they have to perform that how many times you want them to? Three, five, and it gets checked off every time they do it. Basically, that's how the whole thing's set up. So you show, they do, it gets checked off. You show, they do, it gets checked off.

Speaker 1:

You know, a great training program is more than just teaching the skills. It's about building relationships and instilling the confidence in your new stylist. So what we used to do is we would pair a new stylist with an experienced team member. That way they had a mentor in the salon and it wasn't all on my shoulders because, frankly, I have things that I'd need needed to manage, and so do you. You have payroll, you have inventory, you have all these other you know balls in the air. So Get a team member, somebody who reflects your culture, who is experienced, who you know is a good person to lead, somebody else that has that. Maybe you have trained in the past and you pair your new stylist with that. The reason why you're doing this is because when you pair somebody with a mentor, that helps boost their confidence, that fosters teamwork and it helps new stylists feel more comfortable. Faster. They have somebody to go to with all those questions that they might be too afraid to ask the boss the benefits of fostering your salon culture like this. This is how you get that continuous learning and then it's celebrated.

Speaker 1:

I remember one time we had a platform artist come into the salon and she's very well known and we went to lunch after and she owns a salon and she looked at me and she goes how do you do it? I was like how do I do what? And she's like how do you get your whole team to show up for an education event on their day off? And they're all excited. You know they're all early and they ask questions and they're basically salivating at the mouth to learn more. I think it starts from the very beginning. I think it starts with who you're hiring, finding those diamonds, giving them a solid foundation, being excited yourself about education and learning more. And then what happens is you start seeing the leaders in your team within your salon and it just, it just is. I didn't have an answer for her. I was like, except for I guess it starts with our in-house training program because that's who we bring on to our team. But that was a huge, huge compliment from her.

Speaker 1:

We all face challenges when bringing on new stylists. But with the right approach, these hurdles can be opportunities for growth. I can already hear you saying, oh my goodness, how do I train without disrupting the flow of my business? I don't have time to train. Well, like I said, you can choose a day, you can choose a time in the salon. You can give your new employee a doll head to work on. She can, she or he can watch videos in the break room and then perform that task, if that's how you have it set up.

Speaker 1:

There are so many different ways that you can do this. Confidence issues with new stylists seems to be a challenge. You have to come up with different techniques to build their confidence without overwhelming them. In today's world, it seems like there's a lot of social shyness, if you will, anxiety, looking people in the eyeballs, shaking hands, opening the door for people. We just have to teach them that that's what we do when you're in our space. That's how we treat people, and guess what? You are actually making them a better human too. You might have concerns, too, about budget. You do not have to spend a lot of money as far as training. There are so many cost-effective ways to offer training.

Speaker 1:

You can do it peer-to-peer. Maybe have another salon owner come into your salon and you go into their salon, or even another stylist in your space. Teach something that they know. Peer, maybe have another salon owner coming to your salon and you go into their salon, or even another stylist in your space. Teach something that they know. I had a few stylists, who one loved to do curly hair and she just was all about it. So she taught our curly hair classes. Had another stylist who loved balayage learned all about it. She taught our balayage classes. You see where I'm going with this. I had somebody who loved to do perms. So guess what she did? The perms. And the more you put them, the peers, the team members teaching other team members can you see where that can go? That that just gives confidence. It builds even a stronger team. It's a wonderful thing and it doesn't cost you a dime.

Speaker 1:

A successful training program isn't just about the learning. It's about seeing results. You have to track the progress of all your new stylists Heck, all your stylists. We used to have monthly one-on-ones and you're tracking everything the retention, the retail sales, the pre-booking, all that stuff. But when they're first starting out, they're not going to have all of that. So you need to set performance milestones, like what skills have they mastered? Have you gotten any client feedback that you can share, good or bad, so you can coach to it how are their retail sales and the recommendations? And then you need to check in with them regularly and then adjust the training program based on each individual. If it's going too fast for them, you might want to slow it down just a little bit. But you just need to read the room if you will, and then also encourage feedback from both the stylists and the clients, because you're not going to see this new hire all the time. You're not going to be there 24 seven when she is, so you need to get input from other people.

Speaker 1:

Now, how we did this is we had, especially the first week, we would sit down at the end of every day. How'd your day go? It's a five minute chat, okay, I mean you don't have to take a lot of time, but you do need to check in with them, because that first week at being at your salon is imperative for setting them up for success, because I guarantee you they're apprehensive, they're scared, they want to be good, they want to do the right thing. Maybe they're afraid to ask questions. So you need to check in with them and or check in with their mentor. You need to actually see what's going on on a daily basis, especially that first week. That way you can nip it in the bud. Maybe they're not up to par on dress code, maybe they are sitting around in the salon and that's not what you do, sitting around in the salon and that's not what you do. Maybe they aren't seeing that coffee cups and stuff need to be picked up when they're not busy, things like that. But you need to just coach to that. After first two weeks then it would be a weekly check-in and again doesn't have to be a ton. And then you set them up on their month to month one-on-one. It does work. It does work and if you take the time to make it work, you will be amazed at the success that your salon will see. Training isn't just about the short term. It's about setting the foundation for long-term success.

Speaker 1:

You heard me tell you that story about the guest speaker asking me how I do it. Tell you that story about the guest speaker asking me how I do it. Heck, I've had a lot of people ask me how did you do it. In fact, I asked myself that sometimes when I look back and I go how did I do that? Well, it wasn't just me, it was the team. I had a lot of help, but it was also a strong foundation in the belief that every stylist can do better than what the stigma has been placed on our career. So my goal for every single stylist was to build six figure careers so that they can be proud of.

Speaker 1:

I wanted every one of my hairstylists to earn over $100,000 take home. That was my goal. That was my goal. Now, when I shared that goal with them, does it excite them? Yeah, but sometimes their goals might be something different. Maybe their goals be able to buy a car or buy a house. Maybe their goal is to have a week vacation. I don't know. You need to speak to their goals. You can have a goal. They'll work a lot harder for their goal. So here's what I encourage you to do. I encourage you to start thinking about this heavily, because if you are struggling to find new stylists to work in your salon, I guarantee, I guarantee, if you start an in-salon training program and you go into those local beauty schools, you speak to them and you find those diamonds that are sitting in that school and you share the opportunity to come into your salon and you really put some energy into building them and giving them a strong foundation, I guarantee you will have a successful salon. I guarantee it.

Speaker 1:

If you're liking this and you need a little bit more guidance, if you will, I do have a free resource that you can go download. It's a PDF, it's a downloadable guide called the In Salon Training Toolkit, and it will have some templates to at least get you started. I will definitely put the link in this podcast, in the podcast notes, but you can also head on over to my website. I do have the link there as well, and you could probably find it on Instagram and my bio, things like that. So don't worry, it's out there. It's the In Salon Training Toolkit.

Speaker 1:

I am working on a workshop that goes into how to put this onboarding process into detailed, step-by-step instructions, and it should be out here in the next couple of weeks. So if you would like that, to make sure you get on my newsletter, sign up and you'll be one of the first to know when it's up and ready to go. So, and I mean it'll be out probably by the end of October. So look, please subscribe. You can leave me a message if you felt like this resonated with you or if you have some more questions on how to get started with this. I would love to help you out with that, and I want to make sure you tune into our next episode next week, next Wednesday, we're going to have some more tips on growing your successful salon business.

Speaker 1:

Thanks again for tuning in. Remember, when you know better, you do better. Go out and have a great day. Thanks for tuning in to All About Hair. Here's what I'd love for you to do next Take a screenshot of this episode and share it on your Instagram stories. Tag me at Denise Keilitz so I can see you're listening. Sharing helps more people discover the podcast, so I can see you're listening. Sharing helps more people discover the podcast and if you're really enjoying the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It really helps others find us. Thanks again, I'm Denise Kylitz, and remember, when you know better, you do better. See you next week.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Danise Keilitz

Host