Encouraging gender balance in the salon

[caption id="attachment_81348" align="aligncenter" width="640"] SONY DSC[/caption] Colin McAndrew, owner of the Medusa group of salons in Edinburgh looks at the issue of gender balance in the salon workplace. I’m on board with the argument that we need to celebrate all the talented, passionate hairdressers out there, not just the men. For the record, all my salon managers are women and my first franchise owner is female. But I’m also, as a salon group owner, convinced that the gender imbalance in the workplace needs to be addressed. Having more male stylists enables us to offer diversity to a diverse clientele. Some people prefer a female stylist, some a male, others don’t care. Our aim as managers must be to ensure we can offer what the client wants. There is also the issue of productivity. Research shows that a gender balance in the workplace improves productivity, although the jury is still out on why. So about two years ago I decided to be a bit more proactive when it came to recruitment in an attempt to achieve more balance. At that time, I was just one of two men on a team of 51. But how do we attract more men into the industry without falling foul of sex discrimination legislation? It is absolutely crucial to always employ the best person for the job, and ignore gender. At the end of the day that’s what my senior management team and I do. I realised the only way we could build diversity in the team, without discriminating, was to grow it organically and ensure men as well as women applied for any vacancies. More men applying could mean more men appointed. My first move was to bring it up with my team. Feedback was positive. Everyone agreed it would be good to mix it up a bit more. My greatest recruiters have always been my team, so I asked them to actively look among their acquaintances for any chaps who might like to try hairdressing. Next, I looked at how the make-up of the team appeared to outsiders. There are more men entering the industry these days, but many are being siphoned off into barbering. Could having an all-female team be an obstacle in itself? To battle that concept I moved the male stylists to the front of the salon, near the window, so passing traffic could see it was a mixed team ­– a simple, but effective action. But recruitment of any gender needs a proactive approach. For the past few years I’ve been working with my local schools and with a charity that mentors young disadvantaged people in my city. Now when I go on visits, I take along two team members with me, one female, one male. It sends a clear message; we are an equal-opportunity employer. I’m also consistent with that message, transmitting it regular via all my marketing channels, especially on our social networks. I also seek out associations with more male-oriented brands, not at the expense of my existing links but to enrich the overall experience. Four years on, the gender divide sits at 13 male to 57 female employees – up from 4% to 22% of the team.  I’m delighted and the team is buzzing. The dynamics have certainly changed, colour sales are up and it seems as if everyone is a little bit more motivated and ambitious. I can’t say for certain that has anything to do with the gender mix; it might all be down to the personalities in each team. But something good is going on.  I’m confident that with every appointment of a new team member I’ve chosen the best person. And who knows, perhaps our reputation of proactively looking to build a balanced, happy team has helped boost recruitment across the genders.