30 March 2012

Is your salon built to last?

Employee Agreements - Commission Structures - Salon Pricing - Correct Client Billing - Professional Product Use - Product Wastage - Profitability - Sustainability - Theft (stock & clients) - Old Habits - Fresh Starts and more.

No matter what your experience or how good an operator you are, it seems the headaches never stop.

The bottom line is a business must be setup to profit by a fair exchange of value for everyone concerned within it.

The 'Happy Business Cycle' works like this:

The Business rewards the Owner by what the Owner does for the Team,The Owner rewards the Team by what the Team does for the Client,The Team rewards The Client by what the Client does for the Business.

It's pay it forward to be rewarded; only that if the value of exchange is not fairly built in, the cycle stops, because somewhere in the cycle someone will eventually stop putting in because they're not getting what they need back out.

Fortunately the buck always stops / starts with the Owner.

Unfortunately, especially for the adopted practice of many salons in US in particular, where the majority opt for chair rental or 100% commission, too much ownership has been handed to the team.

If that's working for you, by way of measurable sustained growth and profits - great. No need to fix what isn't broken. Happy Team, Happy Clients, Happy Business, Happy You.

But if your team keeps leaving, your clients keep leaving, your money keeps leaving, more often or faster then these should, where does that leave you?

If you feel you're still in it to win it, you'll probably find your team and your clients are too, (so long as there's going to be a good exchange of value remember), so why not invite them to continue the journey with a renewed sense of focus. A focus on the numbers. It's what ultimately the business will live or die by, so you must take the time to get them right and the team will need to know what numbers they will be responsible for and what they get a share of when they do take responsibility. Client numbers will follow once the owner and the team work their part of the plan.

Nexus Revolution begins working the numbers based on calculating the profitability of every service you provide for every team member that will be providing it. This takes into account service timing standards for each salon level of experience and how much back bar product or other consumables is required to complete the service, so there's no further need to add-on charges or fees to clients or the team.

From here we workout a fair way to share salon income from services and retail based on the individuals experience level and consistently proven track record, for performing at an agreed standard across all measurable targets; by way of a Salon Progress Ladder to reward and motivate everyone based on what they individually want to be held accountable too - which avoids trying to make a one-fits-all policy that can seldom be fair. See http://salon-management-nexus.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/whats-best-compensation-model-for.html for more info.

Once sustainable and profitable accountability on the numbers is restored as the 'why' the owner and the team are taking the same business journey together, we continue building the business foundations on 'what' we are here for - how it is we do the business and what it looks and feels like for the team to work there and the clients to experience, which brings us to the 'who' we do this for and how often we do it - the 'when'.

Want to know more on the 'how'? Visit http://www.nexusrevolution.co.uk with 15 years experience helping 100's of salons and 1000's of people when can assist with your next necessary step.

29 March 2012

What's the best compensation model for retaining excellent employees?

We encourage building professional teams that look at the balance between their responsibilities to the client and their role in the business holistically.

That means understanding that to serve the client completely they not only need to focus on improving skills to a high technical standard, but also activity seek to give the client full service to meet all their needs. Which after a professional consultation to plan their service recommendations, will include the right retail solutions, and the correct rebooking solution to maintain their look.

Nexus Revolution builds this all-round approach into a salon progress ladder that acknowledges that the team will be made up of different levels of experience and expertise within the salon structure. Therefore a one-fits-all approach will never inspire the entire time or be a fair way to reward them.

We take the time with salon owners to get their wage and commission structure right, so that it is not only affordable and profitable for the salon, but provides a clear motivating career path for everyone.

It works on the principle of paying an increasing base salary to acknowledge seniority, but also sets increasingly higher bonuses for achieving increasing targets, so not to disadvantage or demotivate newer members of the team or those just starting out.

The progress ladder allows for many other important considerations, such as different level pricing and timing standards and different training needs. It also allows individuals the 'permission' to only move up the ladder as high as both their comfort and competency warrants. Taking the pressure off a long standing senior member, to simply get on with what they enjoy doing at their level, rather than being forced to act in higher training or management roles.

This means the Progress Ladder meets the needs of both the ambitious and the content, who both are provided a set out way to be justly rewarded without animosity for what others by their achievements receive in their take home pays.

The Ladder works further to maintain a balanced salon structure, as there becomes an understanding that to be promoted into a higher experience level or pricing point, a team member not only is first required to prove their all round consistent performance across measurable targets such as, service takings, retail takings, column productivity, recommendations, rebooking and retention - at the level they want to move into, but that they will also have a responsibly to assist in training up a team member below them in the structure in order that their current position is replaced. This means your team must be motivated to learn the expectations of their higher roles and keenly interested in nurturing their less experience colleges. So positional training requirements in salon start to take care of itself too.

We have seen this system to be the best model for retaining excellent all-round professionals, who are in tune with both what it takes to provide great service and also what makes a sustainable growing business tick, as it provides a base level of security, multiple avenues to earn additional monthly bonus, a road map for their careers - from apprentice to your next business partner in another site?, a format to receive high standards of training, while also being able to give back to the next up and coming... why would an employee risk going to work anywhere else?

The Salon Progress Ladder is just the backbone of an entire body of parts that we recommend having in place to ensure a truly outstanding salon operations model, which include documenting your standards in a Team Member Handbook, Customer Service Module and Training and Operations module. We complete this salon manual with your health and safety guidelines, position descriptions and a suite of easy-use internal salon forms and checklists that make it all stick together.

More information at http://www.nexusrevolution.co.uk

27 March 2012

A client emailed to say they're leaving for a cheaper, closer salon

We all realise clients will come and go, opt in and opt out, try other's deals, yet perhaps return for an experience they trust and prefer. Some clients get to love the personal approach to client-stylist/therapist relationships which are nurtured at particularly friendly salons and stay loyal for years, but its still a business relationship unless they cross into your own circle of personal friendships.

There should be no hard feelings where someone has made a choice on price and convenience, especially when they have taken the time and effort to let you know. That in itself shows some respect towards the professional relationship so far shared. It also provides you an opportunity to evaluate if its worth extending this individual an opportunity to continue frequenting your salon as a 'destination salon' - one that a client will go the extra mile to, because the salon experience / value goes the extra mile.

The more experience you have as a stylist and the more senior position you hold in a salon, the more you should be evaluating 'what kind of client' do I want to keep as my loyal ones? You've only so many clients you can do in a day, so if your running a full column its ridiculous to be discounting your work. If your not running a full column, then there's an argument that if you're going to be sitting/standing around anyway, you have room to entice new clients in with an offer anyway.

Just don't do it by discounting your core service. Never let the perceived value of your bread and butter service, be cheapened by directly discounting it. Always look to what you can 'value add' with your most popular service. Use this same rule to reward your loyal returning clients. Use the relationship you build with them (your client consultations, you should all be doing - yes even with existing clients) to work out a service plan / package that really provides value to their individual service needs and witness how committed they will be to it.

The client who emailed you is rare, they have taken to time to explain that regrettably, they have had to weigh up cost and distance in deciding which salon can best meet there needs on balance. Your evaluation of the 'life worth' of a client; (You can calculate by the value of what you could expect them to spend with you in a year, times however many years you expect to be providing services to them if each of you doesn't move away) Tip: Just use 1 year for simplicity - can help you determine how much of that you can profitably value add too, to still have them come the 'extra mile' to you.
Don't forget to factor for some client referral 'love' too, because your keeping another happy client who naturally will be spreading word of mouth about you, not your competitor.

The important thing to reminder is, whether this client returns or not, whats your overall picture look like? You must have the measure of this, so you can constantly measure and evaluate, just like this client has done and every other client / potential client is too.

That's what Nexus Revolution http://www.nexusrevolution.co.uk help salons do best.