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Is your salon staff operating at its full earning and learning potential? According to Jon Gonzales, founder and president of Hairdresser Career Development Systems, motivating your staff to develop excellence within themselves and their profession requires important people management skills on your part. If you want to improve employee performance and productivity, you must earn your staff's confidence and let your strong leadership skills serve as an example, Gonzales notes in Developing Your Skills: Personal Leadership/Staff Management, part of his Salon Management Series. Here, he offers the following guidelines to help you inspire your staff to make positive changes.
- Remember that each employee is unique. You'll be dealing with different personalities, egos and learning skills with each person, so be sure to train, nurture and assess everyone as an individual. Be patient and tolerant; some employees learn faster than others.
- Invest in your staff's education. A good leader isn't worried about her career, but the careers of those who work for her. So show your staff you genuinely care about their personal and professional development by making education a priority for them.
- Build self-confidence and self-esteem in your employees by treating them the way you would want to be treated. Nothing does more to instill a team environment throughout your salon.
- Keep the lines of communication open at all times, and make sure you encourage employee feedback. Never let your emotions cloud your judgment in making decisions for your salon.
- Recognize and be sensitive to the fact that employees have a life outside the salon. Problems at work may be the result of stress at home. But by the same token, don't be afraid to make important business decisions based on needs, not emotions. Ask yourself, "What's best for the business?"
By understanding your employees' needs and earning their loyalty and respect, you'll establish yourself as an inspirational, motivating leader. Salon owners get the best from others when they give the best of themselves.
For more tips from Jon Gonzales, visit www.hcds4you.com, or call (800) 390-4237.