What’s your Hair or Beauty Salon Culture saying about you and your team?

I’ve been talking with many clients lately about their Hair Salon or Beauty Clinic culture, and there may well be some confusion over what Salon Culture really is, or more what it should be; so let me clear that up for you.

Culture is a word that we often hear around big business and ‘Culture Change’ is a bit of a buzz phrase for corporate’ – but what does it mean for a small to medium business like your salon and just how the heck can you develop yours?

Culture is the way you Think, Act and Interact, it’s what the public see, hear and feel about your business”

Hair or Beauty Salon Culture is really quite a simple concept and it’s based squarely on your values; your values are the core principles or standards that guide the way you do business -they sum up what your business stands for and what makes it special. Your values should be understood and upheld by firstly you and also all your employees. There are many ways to create your salons culture that is both rewarding for your team, your customers and for you.

So in saying that, your salon culture is related to behaviour, ethics, etiquette and more, we should see a salon culture encompasses a salons values, vision, working style, beliefs and habits. Thus, there are numerous points of culture that can be inserted into your salon policy and below I’ve outlined five of the critical ones that should be standard in your everyday vocabulary.

5 critical culture points that should always be incorporated into your Hair or Beauty Salon’s Culture:

1. Integrity
   I always speak with truth. What I promise is what I deliver. I only ever make agreements and commitments that I am willing and intend to keep.
2. Excellence
   Good enough isn’t. I always deliver products and services of exceptional quality that add value to all involved for the long term. I look for ways to stay on a path of constant and never ending improvement and innovation.
3. Communication
   I speak positively of my fellow team members, my clients and my place of work in both public and private. I speak with good purpose using empowering and positive conversation. I never use or listen to sarcasm or gossip. I greet and farewell people using their name. I always apologise for any upsets first and then look for a solution. I only ever discuss concerns in private with the person involved.
4. Education
   I learn from my mistakes. I consistently learn, grow and master so that I can help my fellow team members and clients learn, grow and master too. I am an educator and allow my clients to make their own intelligent decisions about their future remembering that it is their future. I impart practical and usable knowledge rather than just theory.
5. Team Work
   I am a team player and team leader. I do whatever it takes to stay together and achieve team goals. I focus on co-operation and always come to a resolution, not a compromise. I am flexible in my work and able to change if what I’m doing is not working. I ask for help when I need it and I am compassionate to others who ask me.

So ultimately then, what is salon culture?

By now you probably realise that your Salon’s Culture is really your values put into action – best summed up by saying… “It’s the way we do things around here”. It’s about the way you behave and act in relation to the work you do.

Your culture should permeate through all aspects of your business and none more-so than having congruency between your culture and your salon marketing. What I mean by this is that when you advertise and market your salon, the in-salon culture supports and reinforces your advertising and marketing and vice a versa. You should communicate your salon culture not only in what you do, how you behave and how your employees act and behave, consistently, every day, it also has to be portrayed in the words you use in all your advertising and marketing as well.

Do you have clearly defined values and culture points in your salon, are you creating a strong salon culture? Is it time to re look at that area and possibly do some work on it?

If you have a hot question about values or culture or just need some help starting, or maybe you would like me to check in and see how your business health is, let me know I’m here to help.

This post was written by Malcolm Gibbons of Salon Business Coach, The Salon Coaching Company.

Shock Consult helps salon owners around the world get more from their business by education, motivation and accountability.  Book your free Laser Focus Session call to get your business moving in the direction YOU want. 

 Malcolm Gibbons is a Salon Business Coach who says: “My Passion is people, my  Enthusiasm  is Business and my Mission is to assist owners in achieving the  dream they  had when first going  into business”