All About Hair

238 Transform Your Salon into a Talent Magnet

• Danise Keilitz • Season 4 • Episode 238

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What if you're unknowingly repelling top talent from your salon? Discover the secrets to transforming your salon into a magnet for the industry's best hairstylists. On "All About Hair," we unpack the often-overlooked aspects of salon management that could be holding you back. Drawing from a candid conversation with a hairstylist friend, Danise sheds light on the critical impact of first impressions and how something as simple as cleanliness and branding can make or break your chance to attract top-tier stylists. This episode promises to equip salon owners with actionable insights into why a professional environment and a cohesive team dynamic can be the game-changer you need.

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Speaker 1:

So the other day I was having lunch with a friend of mine who, yes, just happens to be a hairstylist, and she was telling me she was looking for a new salon, and she was telling me that she was having a difficult time finding a hair salon. Isn't that funny, right? As hair salon owners, all I keep hearing all over the internet is I can't find stylists, I can't find stylists who want to work, I can't find any employees. I mean, it's everywhere, right, that everybody's struggling with the same problem. And then here I am, that everybody's struggling with the same problem. And then here I am. Actually, there's one or two people, three people off the top of my head, who are fabulous hairstylists, fabulous, and they cannot find a place to work. And it made me wonder why is that? Because there's obviously lots of salons out there hiring. So what is it? And so I asked her. I said what? What is it that's making you not want to work there? And first impressions, first impressions of the salon, and it could be anything. She walks in the door and it's a mess. Maybe it's cluttered, maybe there's dust bunnies all over the place, maybe no one greeted her, or maybe somebody who greeted her made her feel small. You know what I'm talking about, right? Or maybe you walk in and you get the impression that the salon doesn't stand for anything because there's 15 different product lines of just like one or two products from each line, and it's just like what is going on here, right? Or maybe there's no rhyme or reason to the decor, so the branding is off. Do you see what I'm saying? There's, there's so many things that hairstylists are looking for and, as salon owners, we need to be aware of that and give it to them. Don't complain that there's not stylists out there that want to work, because there are plenty of hairstylists out there that are trying to find a hair salon. Why do you think that people are going to these suites? It's because we are not living up to the standards of what is expected. So, as a hair salon owner, as a former hair salon owner, we need to dive deep into our self-awareness and say, okay, what is it about my salon that is not attracting talent? Okay, so? So today we're going to look at some reasons why leaving a good first impression is essential for salon owners when you're hiring. And then, what are the reasons why maybe stylists don't want to work for you. Okay, this is going to be a good one, so hold on tight.

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, all right. So, as a hair salon owner, you understand the importance of attracting and retaining talented professionals, right. But when it comes to hiring new team members, leaving a good first impression is crucial. The initial impression you make on potential hires can significantly impact their decision to join your salon. There's a lot of opportunities out there, right? So today we're going to explore five reasons why leaving a positive first impression is essential for you as the salon owner when hiring new talent is essential for you as a salon owner when hiring new talent.

Speaker 1:

First of all, attracting top, top talent. Not just hairstylists, but you want to attract the top talent because our beauty industry is highly competitive. There's a lot of people out there who could do beautiful hair, right. They're just looking for the place to land to build their business and they have a lot of job options out there. But not everybody wants to go rent a suite. There are actually people that would love to be part of a team, a part of a team environment and have that atmosphere of of the excitement of being in a salon. There's something about that, and when you go to a suite you do not have that. You are in there by yourself with your client and I don't know. Sometimes that could be awkward. So, as a salon owner, here you are. You have a salon. You got like five empty chairs.

Speaker 1:

What can you do to attract top talent? First of all, you need to have a warm and professional atmosphere. You got to pique the interest of these individuals and make them more inclined to choose your salon over any other salon. So what is a warm and professional atmosphere? Kind of what we were talking about before. It needs to be clean.

Speaker 1:

I would think that's the first and utmost clean. No dust bunnies, no crap all over the place. You know what I'm talking about Random stuff. Maybe the front desk is just full of stuff. Maybe your retail space is just full of stuff. I don't know about you.

Speaker 1:

But when I walk into a salon and there's just stuff everywhere, I kind of get anxiety. I'm like what? What's going on here? Or maybe maybe there's just random stuff in there. Like like one time I went into a place and they had a um, I don't know like a dog bed kind of thing sitting there and I was like what is this? This is a hair salon. I didn't understand what you know. So take a look around your space, clean it up, get rid of stuff that doesn't belong or isn't your brand or you know how it is. Sometimes, when we're in our own space, we don't see it anymore.

Speaker 1:

So maybe walk out and walk back into your salon using the eyeballs of a client or a potential hairstylist and look at it differently. Open your eyes. What would they be looking at If you don't do anything else? Except that you're above a lot of people, because I've been in a lot of salons and this, this stylist that I was talking to has been in a lot of salons and it is just, it's just a cluster out there, if you know what I mean. And we're better than that right as an industry as a whole. It's kind of funny. You either got these mom and pop shops that don't seem to care, or they're just busy doing hair and they don't have time to think about that. Or you have these huge brands that are over the top and, frankly, a little um, not personal enough, so there's gotta be a medium. Okay, all right, let's.

Speaker 1:

Let's talk about the second reason reflecting your salon's culture and your values. Okay, so, during the hiring process, you have this unique opportunity to convey your salon's culture and values, and what I'm talking about. That is this allows you to showcase the positive aspects of your salon's work environment, such as your teamwork, creativity and professionalism. Now, if you're questioning what I'm talking about here, then you need to probably question what's going on in your four walls, because you do need teamwork, creativity and professionalism, and they have to align with your salon's visions and your values, and your potential hires are looking for this. Now, they might not be able to put their finger on what this I'm doing that in air quotes is, but there's something about it. When you walk into a space and you can feel it right, you can feel that vibe. You can feel if it's professional, you can feel if the team gets along. You could just feel it.

Speaker 1:

Now, if a potential hairstylist walks in and it's looking for a new space. Does your salon reflect all of that? Ask yourself that, because they're looking for that. I guarantee it, guarantee it All right.

Speaker 1:

So the third reason first impression. It's going to build trust and confidence. So, just as your clients are looking for trust and confidence in their hairstylists, your potential hires, they're looking for these things too. Okay, a good first impression, meaning the moment they walk into your salon and it looks, looks the part. Right, you got that first one down. This establishes trust and confidence in your leadership and your management abilities. So think about that. If they walk into your salon and it's a mess, a cluster, like we were talking about, what does that say about your management ability? Or even, if you care as a leader, when you create a positive and an organized salon and an organized interview process like not just fill out this application, but you have a process you are giving your potential hires that feeling that they are feeling assured and that they're considering a reliable and reputable salon. This totally increases their confidence in your salon's ability to provide a fulfilling work environment. Yeah, so if you're having a problem with, like, if you don't have an interview process because, hey, you know you're busy. You're busy behind the chair.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes I remember being there you kind of just would hire anybody who's breathing right. You just need help and from what I'm understanding out there and what I'm hearing online, people need help. We need it right. As salon owners, we are just complaining that there's nobody to hire. You've got to understand there are people out there looking for you, but you have to shine and you have to give them that first impression that you are the place that they want to be.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so leaving a good impression also reduces your employee turnover. Have you thought about that? When people accept a job and they feel motivated to help out with your salon success, they're going to stay and it just sets a positive working relationship. Have you ever thought about how much it costs to recruit and train new staff members? Oh my gosh, come on, if you've ever hired somebody new, and even if they're experienced, they have to learn your color line. They have to learn where everything is, your culture, your way of doing things. I mean it takes energy, if nothing else, but you would much rather keep your employees happy and satisfied. You'd much rather keep them at your salon than them to see if the grass is greener on the other side, am I right, right?

Speaker 1:

Another reason why first impressions are important is because, in our industry, why first impressions are important is because in our industry, word travels fast, right? Oh yeah, word travels fast from stylist to stylist. They know people that they went to beauty school with. They know other stylists, and potential hires often seek the advice from current or your former employees, and if they're out there talking bad about you, you're probably not going to get a lot of people walking in your door wanting to work for you. It's a small community, I have to say. It just is.

Speaker 1:

So if you feel like you need to clean up your act, clean up your salon, clean up your systems, clean up how you lead, whatever it is, you need to look with inside yourself first and not blame the industry for not having enough good candidates to hire. I'm just saying, just saying um, I've talked to so many people, too many people, that just can't find a place. That's heck. That's how I bought one of my salons. I just I was ready to get back in the industry and I just could not find a salon that I wanted to work at. For these reasons, I would walk in and it would either be terribly dirty or or the front desk staff would look at me like who are you? What do you want? You know it just didn't feel good. So I ended up buying, buying my freaking own salon because I wanted to establish all of this and have a place that stylists felt good coming to work and having a place, that they got educated, that it'd be fun, all those things.

Speaker 1:

And I'm sure, as a salon owner, when you first started out, you felt the very same way. But it's easy to get burned out and burned, especially if you had a walkout, cause a lot of my, my salon owner friends they're they're experiencing that right now. Uh, it hurts, it hurts and it's hard to pick yourself up off the ground and continue being positive and continue being reputable and continue just continuing period. So, all right, let's explore some reasons why a stylist might not want to work at certain hair salons. Okay, and this is just taken from me asking questions from actually from old employees, from actually from old employees, from friends, from all kinds of people. Okay, so let's, let's think about this.

Speaker 1:

So, first of all, a poor reputation. If your salon has a poor reputation within the industry or with it, with your clients. Trust me, stylists are not going to want to work for you. Reputation plays a huge role in attracting talent, and stylists prefer to align themselves with salons that have a positive image and a positive track record. So if you are experiencing this, I would find some way to turn your reputation around. I don't know if you need to take management classes or hairstyling classes or what it is, maybe have an education program I don't know, but everybody's different but if you have a negative reputation, I would definitely try to turn it around. Another reason why people wouldn't work at certain salons is just the lack of opportunities, because hairstylists are really passionate about their craft and they want growth and development. So if a salon doesn't offer these opportunities like if you don't offer ongoing education, advanced training or staying updated with you know trends, things like that you might not appeal to most stylists. Now there are some stylists who are out there and they don't mind just showing up doing touch-ups or whatever, but most of the younger, especially the newer generation, they're eager to learn and you need to provide that education period. You need to provide that education period, all right.

Speaker 1:

The third reason I wrote down was just an unsupportive work environment. Yeah, the work environment has a direct impact on the stylist's job satisfaction. So if you don't have a salon that is supportive and that the team collaborates with one another, or if your team members don't feel valued or respected for whatever reason, this can discourage stylists from considering employment there. Negative or toxic work environments can drain creativity and enthusiasm.

Speaker 1:

I had that happen one time, I'm just going to admit, and it's hard, you know. You've heard the expression one bad apple, you know, rots the whole tub of apples. I guess, yeah, that happens. So if you have somebody who you know in your heart of hearts is bringing the team down and if you know it, everybody else knows it, so it is it's hard, but it's much better to let that one bad apple go so you can have a wonderful culture and team and they'll they will thank you. What happens is if you don't take care of it, because it's hard, it's hard to have that conversation, confrontation, especially if they're um high producing person and their ego gets in their way and you're looking at the bottom line and you're sitting there going, wow, if I let this person go, wow, I'm going to lose all this money. No, no, no, no, no. You'd much rather lose money from one stylist than to lose a whole team. Yeah, so think about that. And if you need help with conversations or anything like that, there's books, fierce Conversations, wonderful book. Get your hands on that or reach out to me I'll help you walk through it. No problem, all right.

Speaker 1:

So the fourth reason why a stylist might not want to work at your salon is that you might have limited opportunities for advancement. Do you have a clear career path or room for growth for your stylists? Have you even thought about it? Or do you just hire them and say, okay, I don't. I'm going to use this as an example 50% commission Doesn't matter what you do. You know that gets old after a while. You should have a career path, meaning you know, set goals for your stylist, set opportunities, because everybody likes that carrot in front of them. You know, if they start building the books and selling more retail and doing all the things that they need to be doing, that should open up to more opportunities and it could be price increase. It doesn't have to be a commission increase. We never did that. Everybody was on the same commission rate, but their prices increased, so in turn, it gave them a raise. So maybe they get a price increase, maybe they get to opt into health insurance, or maybe they get some extra days off paid. I don't know. I don't know what, what that is, but if you need help in developing your career path because you don't have one, reach out to me. That's what I do. I help salon owners not only with their salon design, but also the systems you need to operate a successful salon. So, yeah, don't, don't be shy, I'm right here, all right.

Speaker 1:

Another reason is low compensation or benefits. Compensation is a huge factor in a stylist decision to join a salon. If your salon offers like low wages, like minimum wage or a commission structure that that's just really low, you're not going to attract very many experienced or skilled stylists. There's too much opportunity out there and, plus, if you don't have any benefits for your stylist, like health insurance, retirement plans or paid time off, stylists might not want to work for you because they're looking for a career, not a job, and they're looking for stability and long-term employment, and that's what you want to give them. Right, right, all right.

Speaker 1:

Another reason is if your equipment in your salon isn't well-maintained or if it's not modern. Yeah, I know, it's one of those factors that we have to always look at. But if they walk in your salon and you still have, my goodness, I don't even know, um, old, uh, hair dryers or I don't know, old, old looking chairs or old looking sinks, they might not want to work there. Outdated technology there's. We changed our industry just as fast and and you gotta be in there. Outdated technology. We changed our industry just as fast and you got to be in there. So you might not be able to afford everything, but if you're looking at your salon and you're like, wow, I really need to update something. Update it. People will take notice and then take pictures and put it on social media and say, look, what I'm doing, people are looking at that.

Speaker 1:

Okay, now the final thing that is the reason why stylists might not come to work at your salon is if you don't have any marketing. Marketing efforts are crucial for your salon success. Now, if you struggle to attract and retain a steady flow of clients, this is going to affect the stylist income and their job satisfaction, actually. So you need to make sure that you have a marketing strategy and that stylists see you out there, meaning it could be something that you're doing in the community. It could be your social media. It could be, um, I don't know, a um, a sandwich board outside of your salon, or balloons, or whatever. They just need to see that you are making the effort to get in new clients.

Speaker 1:

And what about your client base? Have you been in business for 10 years and you're still struggling with an established client base? That's a problem. You need to ensure to this new stylist that there's a consistent stream of clients and opportunities so they can showcase their skills right. They're looking for you, okay, so there are stylists out there looking for your salon, wanting to work somewhere. So, in conclusion to this, okay, I just want to back up a little bit.

Speaker 1:

You need to leave a good first impression. It is essential for hair salon owners who are trying to hire new talent. You're going to attract top professionals. You're going to reflect your culture. Shout it from the rooftops. Your first impression will help build your trust and confidence in your salon. And then also, if you have an organized hiring process, you're going to enhance your employee retention and develop a positive branding. I mean, people are going to talk about that. You need to invest in showcasing your salon as an attractive and reputable place to work. You'll have to. And then also stylists are considering all these different factors whether or not they want to work for you.

Speaker 1:

Do you have a poor reputation? Clean it up. Answer those Yelp reviews. There's so many ways you can clean up your reputation. Do you have lack of opportunities? Well, consider how you can clean up your reputation. Do you have lack of opportunities? Well, consider how you can make opportunities for growth.

Speaker 1:

Do you have a great culture or do you have an unsupportive work environment? Clean it up. Collaborate, enjoy each other's company. I mean, you get a lot further with a team than just all by yourself, right? Do you have advancement opportunities? What about your compensation? Have you looked at that? Is it fair? What about your resources? Are they up to par? Are they old? And then look at your marketing support. Look at all of that. I know it's a lot. Owning a salon is a lot. It is not for the faint of heart and it takes a special person to run a salon. I kid you not. Not only do you have to know how to do great hair and teach how to do great hair to your employees or your stylist, but you got to know all of this. We didn't come out of beauty school knowing all of this you got to learn, and if you don't know where to find that information that's what I'm saying Reach out to me, get on my mailing list. Go on my website. You can sign up for a free guide. That'll get you on my mailing list. You'll get free support in your inbox every week, in your inbox every week.

Speaker 1:

Listen to the podcast, watch the YouTube videos. I can help you be a salon owner. I can help you have the salon of your dreams. Just reach out to me. I would love to help and remember when you know better, you do better. 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 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.

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