Dealing with unwilling staff

Being a salon owner comes with many benefits, and having a great team behind you is a huge win, but an issue that often comes up on my Salon Team Training Facebook group is dealing with staff who have become lazy or unmotivated. Nobody wants to fire their staff, and I get it: it’s a tough decision. But here’s one method I use that helps me decide if someone isn’t fitting in really well, and what to do about it: the Willing versus Skilled model.

This model helps you to:

• Determine where your stylist is in their skill vs willingness
• Choose how you need to approach the situation

In the diagram attached the horizontal axis gauges whether the person is unskilled or skilled. The vertical axis is whether they’re willing or unwilling.

Willing vs Skilled Model

Quadrant A – (unskilled but willing)

If someone is in quadrant A (unskilled but willing), they need training—they have the right mindset and attitude, but they need some guidance in order to get up to speed with the rest of your team. This is where you as a leader need to step in and provide them with the tools they need to succeed.

Quadrant B – (willing and skilled)

If someone is willing and skilled (quadrant B), all they need is motivation—they know what to do and want to do it! Spend some time with this person to learn their motivation factors, and let them go for it!

Quadrant C – (unwilling and skilled)

But if someone is unwilling and skilled (quadrant C), then they need some straight talk and some motivation. When it comes to dealing with unwilling staff, it’s important to remember that not everyone is going to be on board with your vision, so this is where conflict resolution comes in. Don’t call them lazy or unwilling, don’t blame them as people, or otherwise diminish their value—coach them on their behavior instead of their character so you can get them back into quadrant A or B.

Quadrant D – (unwilling and unskilled)

This Quadrant is unwilling and unskilled or what I like to refer to as Course correction. It’s easy to get focused on the money you’re losing by letting a stylist go that you forget about everything else: the time and money it takes to hire and train a new employee, for example, or the fact that unhappy employees are bad for morale and productivity.

Personally I believe it’s better to call a firing “course correction” or “finding another business where they’ll be much happier”. After all, you’re not just looking at this person’s ability to bring in revenue—you’re also trying to help them find a place where they can be happy.

I hope this method helps make the process of determining your staff’s future at the salon a little more clear. For more methods, tips and a whole community of salon owners and stylists make sure you join us on my Facebook Page.

How do I get my new hires to pre-book?

As the owner or team leader of your salon, you might feel like you’re always preaching about the importance of pre-booking appointments. But when it comes to new stylists who are just starting out, they may be uncomfortable with this concept. This topic came up recently in the Salon Team Training group on Facebook.

Why Is Pre-Booking So Important?

• It’s a huge help in building a loyal client base for your stylists
• It’s the most important factor in creating a reliable income for stylists
• Appointments on the calendar helps the whole salon run more smoothly

How Do I Get My New Hires to Pre-Book?

• Explain the importance of pre-booking during their initial training. Make sure they understand why it’s so important for both them and the salon
• Have them practice pre-booking appointments with clients who are willing to cooperate. This will help them get comfortable with the process and learn how to best sell the idea of pre-booking to clients

Returning Clients

A major problem is that the pre-booking conversation typically happens at the end of the service as clients are getting ready to leave. They’ve already switched gears. Their minds are elsewhere. Here’s a tip I learned from a great salon in the UK: instead of pre-booking at the end of the service, do it at the beginning. Once associates see how easy and effective it is, they’ll be more likely to keep doing it.

A great way to make the conversation easy and natural is to make it part of the consultation about the client’s needs and goals. This will help you to understand what kind of services they are looking for and how often they need them. Once you have a good understanding of their needs, you can set up a 6-month schedule that outlines when they need their colour, cut, and finishing services. Set up a system so that they know exactly when they’re due to come in and keep in touch with them between services with mini consultations. This keeps them on track with trust that they are getting the best possible service from your salon. It won’t even occur to them to try a new stylist because they already have a plan in place.

Each new season, you refresh the consultation to meet their new needs and discuss the steps they need to take in between services. This keeps them confident in themselves and in you, their stylist.

By following these tips, you encourage your clients to pre-book and keep pre-booking long into the future!