Could you win our salon training award?

The Francesco Group won the Training Award at HJ's 2014 British Hairdressing Business Awards. The judges called their entry 'a comprehensive read, brought to life with supporting evidence' - but what did winning do for business? We speak to training manager Craig Davies to find out. Why did you enter the British Hairdressing Business Awards?  These awards are the pinnacle of recognition for those of us who man the business side of the hairdressing industry, rather than the creative side. It was a decision between our training and management teams, as we feel our education and training is unique to our company. We are able to nurture talent, provide career opportunities and guarantee the future success of our business – a great achievement for any business. We wanted to share this with the hairdressing industry and show what we achieve, both internally and externally. What is the value of entering the Business Awards? We value these awards greatly within the Francesco Group. Collating the criteria of requirements for our entry allowed us to evaluate ourselves while celebrating what we have achieved. Finalising is a great accolade for any company and increases awareness of not only the brand, but of the service you provide to your staff and clients. The awards are a great way to boost morale and reward your staff for their commitment to the brand. How did it feel to win the Training Award? We were delighted and deeply honoured to receive the Training Award because training is the lifeblood of our company. By ensuring we provide an outstanding training experience for all our apprentices, we are able to nurture talent, provide career opportunities and guarantee the future success of the business. 

To make this happen we have a fantastic team of people who are the front-line educators. They have our shared values and provide a substantial commitment to provide excellence in vocational training. What has your win done for the business? Once we got over the excitement of winning and receiving the many messages of support and congratulations from everyone, we felt an immense feeling of pride in our achievement. This pride, combined with the endorsement of being recognised as being amongst the best in our industry, drives a whole new kind of motivation. I now have a team that wants to push the boundaries higher and build on their success, as well as a desire and passion to shout to the world not just how good we are, but how brilliant a career in hairdressing is. There's a renewed, infectious enthusiasm that will help ensure the business grows from strength to strength. The judges said... "Beautifully presented to show a clear vision of the Francesco Group's dedication to, and belief in, education. A great insight into how things should be done." "A well-presented entry demonstrating a broad training programme with strong college partnerships. Supplementary evidence is a welcome addition to this entry." "All criteria covered. Easy to follow with good statistics on retention and student pass rate." "A concise entry with good structure."