Recruitment and Retention: Salon Smart HUB Business Breakfast

On Monday 22 August, nine hair professionals from across the UK were invited to join an honest and frank roundtable talk for another Salon Smart HUB Business Breakfast. Hosted by Creative HEAD editor, Amanda Nottage and in partnership with Treatwell, the morning conversation centred around the topic of recruitment within the industry – which, as we know, is a hot focus for salon owners right now.

With coffees in hand and introductions out the way, our group of leading hair professionals begun sharing their current first-hand experiences with the recruitment crisis, as well as offering up some recommended solutions and guidance for ways to navigate the issues in finding and retaining good-quality employees.

As the conversation ensued it became abundantly clear that nearly everyone was in the same boat when it came to recruitment – difficulties finding new employees, a low quality of applicants and losing staff to the lure of self-employment. However, despite these setbacks, many of the participants shared with the group their innovative resolutions that have been proving successful during the crisis.

These were the central snippets from the discussion…

WE’RE IN A CRISIS 

“We’ve had a few of our team poached by other salons post-pandemic. So, then to try and fill those positions we’ve had such a problem – we just don’t seem to be getting the stylists, the applicants are super inexperienced” – David Hayes  

“We’re really struggling to find people and we haven’t been able to open salons as a result and it’s been four months. Applications are drying out despite paying a significant amount for advertisements – it’s really difficult” – Bella Hamilton

 “We’re finding there’s a particular lack of loyalty now with employees. No matter what the prestige of any brand is, it really just doesn’t make a difference” – Mark Creed

“All my workers were tired post lockdown, working such long hours and with such demanding customers – it was really hard and so, most of my workers just wanted to leave the hairdressing and beauty industry full stop” – Zahra Gacem  

WHERE’S THE QUALITY? 

“It’s just near enough impossible to find the right standard of new stylists to apply for the jobs we’re offering. Nowadays you can throw so much money at the situation and really get nothing out from it” – Aaron Mohammed 

“We’re all in the same boat at the moment. It’s not just about filling the role but finding the right person to fill the role. The quality of applicants can be quite horrific and the mindset of a lot of these individuals is sometimes really challenging to work with” – Nadia Suliaman 

VALUE YOUR EXISTING TEAM

“All of our team right now have been at larger corporations and have been severely mistreated and their mental health has been disregarded. So, we make sure when they work with us, that they are seen and valued and don’t feel like just another number” – Stefanie Diaz Morales 

“Something that we’ve found has worked are our monthly wellness treats, whether it’s a masseuse coming in for the whole team or yoga classes, we’ve found that this has proved really successful and word spreads to other people about what we’re offering our employees” – Annie Franklin

“Four-day weeks, flexi hours, childcare pick-ups – I’m open to anything the team want to do, I really am. Of course, it must fit the business, but at the same time we need our team to be on board with everything and that’s why it is a two-way street.  It’s just so important to allow team members to work their week around their personal lives” – Joe Hemmings

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS 

“Something that has been really working well for us is bringing current team members in as partners. So, they get an element of shares of the company, dependent on a variety of different factors. This is really good because they then start to treat the business as though it’s their own. I know this might seem scary but over a period of time it really does make sense” – Nadia Suliaman 

“A lot of the youth of today don’t want to do the less enjoyable jobs such as scrubbing the floors, and why should they. So, what has worked really for us in the salon is to have specific employees who do the more mundane tasks like making teas and coffees and cleaning, which then leaves the apprentices to shadow the stylists and focus on hair” – Joe Hemmings

“I’m going to investigate the idea of sponsorships, to maybe try and get employees from abroad. If I can’t find people on my doorstep, then I’d be foolish not to look a bit further afield and especially for a bit more longevity within the business” – Aaron Mohammed 

CHANGE PERCEPTIONS

“Less and less people are going into the industry – I don’t know what has happened within schools, I don’t know how they are painting the picture of a career in hairdressing but it’s clearly quite negative because they are just not applying, so we definitely need to address that first” – Stefanie Diaz Morales 

“Showing my employees the other exciting opportunities that are a part of a career in hairdressing has really helped improve their perspective – going to award ceremonies, joining organisations and so on” – Annie Franklin 

BETTER TOGETHER 

“I do think if we all somehow joined together as an industry, we could really make great progress” – Mark Creed 

“We have to find solutions together and to create better advertisement for hairdressing, especially towards young people – because it’s so much more than what they may think, it’s an art” – Zahra Gacem  

“We all seem to have forgotten that hairdressers are brilliant when we get together and support each other” – Aaron Mohammed