A Guide to Salon Succession Planning
Succession planning is a term often used in business management discussions, but what does this mean in direct relation to hair salons, and how can you put it into practice? To answer these questions, HJ spoke to Anne Veck, former co-owner of Anne Veck Salon and founder of Anne Veck Education, to discuss her experience with succession planning.
What is Succession Planning?
Succession planning in the context of a hair salon refers to the process of identifying and preparing individuals within the salon to take on key leadership roles or ownership positions when the current salon owners or managers retire, leave the business, or are otherwise no longer able to fulfil their roles. It's a strategic approach to ensure the continuity and smooth transition of the business.
How to Identify Suitable Candidates
If you’re looking for someone to take over your salon, Anne shares that the best candidate is often your trusted Salon Manager. Having managed the succession of two salons this way, she says: “This is certainly the way to move the business forward in a way that supports and retains key existing team members, as the business and its strengths basically stay in-tact under known and trusted management.”
If you’re not sure that your Salon Manager fits the bill, Anne advises that essential skills and qualities to look out for in other team members include a cool head, experience, people skills and customer service skills, while good numeracy and financial competence is essential.
In some instances there may not be a suitable internal candidate, in which case you will need to put the salon on the market. If this is the case, Anne advises keeping it confidential: “There’s no point telling everyone in case it doesn’t happen.”
Common Mistakes to Avoid
One of Anne’s biggest pieces of advice is to separate your personal and professional relationship with the intended new owner. She says: “If, for example, it is an internal candidate, you need to have your business hat on; in other words, don't be too kind to the prospective new owner because you like them.”
She also shares: “I think a common mistake is that once the deal is done, the new owner can be left without support. In my opinion, this is a huge mistake. We continue to support both of the businesses we have exited; there can be an agreement for consultancy fees or you might have a staged buyout, but it’s essential there is mentoring during this transition. I would recommend a fixed term agreement for this of a minimum of six months.”
Potential Cultural or Generational Challenges
“This is something I experienced in my previous sales,” Anne explains. “Differences around social media communications, mobile phones in the salon, employee working practices, rent a chair or salaried – these are all discussions that were had.
“With the current recruitment challenges, the new owner may prioritise what employees want and that may lead to Saturdays off, or more flexi time. Maybe there won’t be as much importance on your ‘old school’ values, but ultimately, these choices are for the new owner to make.”
