How to create an effective salon training plan

It’s essential to develop your team’s skills to stay ahead of the competition. The Lounge Soho discuss how salon management consultant Ryan Fox’s programme is keeping staff motivated and clients coming back for more…

Salon owner Joe Mills says… How has the organised training plan helped your business? It’s helped us to pull together as a team and ensure everyone understands what is expected of them. It has raised standards for our clients and led to a more creative team. The plan has also helped with the recruitment and retention of staff. Interviewees always ask about the training we offer. We can now demonstrate a clear career path for anyone who joins us and because everyone has an individual training plan tailored to their needs it ensures everyone feels supported, which maintains loyalty and helps us to retain good people. How does the plan keep you ahead of the competition? We are a high-end independent salon and having a training plan in place enables us to compete with larger corporate salon chains and stay one step ahead of our local competitors. Salon Manager Matt Tharp says… How has the training plan helped you in your role? It has helped me to identify what stage each of my team members are at within their roles and to identify the skills needed for them to progress to the next level. It has allowed me to guide them in the right direction to develop their careers. The plan has helped me to organise regular structured training sessions for the team. How has it helped you to generate growth for the salon? The plan gives everyone what they need to develop. It’s important to remember that everyone has training needs – not just young stylists. It has a positive effect on the team’s service delivery, which leads to happier clients. Happier clients are more likely to spend more money and come to see us more regularly, which creates growth for the salon. Stylist Zowie Bromell says… Why is it important to continue to develop your skills as a stylist? It keeps me motivated and inspired as otherwise my role could become repetitive. It also benefits my clients as it means I can deliver the latest styles and techniques. How has the plan helped you to progress in your career? I have my own individual development plan that is tailored to my needs, which means I get the training I need to progress. I’m working towards becoming a senior stylist next and also towards my longer term goal of becoming a session stylist and trainer within the company. How to create a plan in 3 steps… 1.Create aims and objectives The plan should cover all aspects of training and development:

• Technical hairdressing skills such as cutting and colouring
• Soft skills such as customer service, communication and managing people
• Business skills such as managing money and information.

The plan should list the core subject areas that need to be covered and define the who, when, where, what and how. It should also include a training needs analysis to discover the gaps in each staff member’s learning. 2.Stick to the schedule
 Once you have made a schedule for the year, it’s important to stick to it. Involve everyone in the process so they feel part of it . Like most things, if as a salon owner you practise what you preach it will be taken seriously, it’s fine to be flexible, but rearrange sessions – don’t cancel them. 3. Ask questions 
 Get to know everyone’s individual aspirationsand training needs. Are they going down the creative route to art team or artistic director or do they have management potential and a sense of business? Are they good at training and developing others or are they happy being a supportive team player? These are the questions you need to uncover about your team. Everyone has different needs and  something to offer – find their strengths and let them flourish. Ryan Fox is a Hair & Beauty Salon Consultant who improves salon performance through training and innovation. For more advice on developing your salon training plan visit umbrellaconsulting.co.uk.