Team building beyond the salon

In an industry overflowing with altruism, where giving something back via charity events is the norm for almost every salon, Byron Hairdressing in Kirkaldy, Fife stands out from the rest. Not because of the amounts raised, although the team has banked a respectable £25,000-plus in a decade, but more for the commitment and engagement of every employee to their annual charitable goal, year after year. What’s also remarkable about the salon is that it has 100% staff retention, almost zero absenteeism and superb team morale. Owner Ronnie Marshall believes these two points are not unrelated. A small salon in a small town nestling along the Scottish coast, Byron Hairdressing raises money every year for Maggie’s Fife, a centre that provides support for those with cancer and their family and friends. Up until two years ago, this usually involved the team forgoing one of their Sundays off and opening up the salon for a themed charity day. But two years ago the team decided to face down their greatest challenge yet, to walk into the clouds and conquer the summit of the highest mountain in Britain, the fearsome Ben Nevis. Rather than giving up just one Sunday for the salon, the whole team willingly gave up six months of Sundays to train together and on 10 June 2012 almost every stylist, assistant and receptionist stood together on the Ben’s pinnacle peering through the mist. “It was an amazing team-building experience,” says Ronnie. “Meeting week after week with this intimidating goal ahead really pulled us together in a way we’d never really had before. And even though walking up a mountain isn’t for everyone, we all worked together for it and those few that couldn’t manage still came with us, leaving Kirkcaldy at 6am to drive to base camp.” In the glow of success, the team agreed to commit to a similar challenge, plus training, every two years. So this June they faced up to a different but equally gruelling trial. And this time they picked something everyone could participate in. “We opted for five hours of intense exercise – walking, Zumba, Pilaties, Nordic walking and aqua aerobics – so there was something for everyone but it was still really challenging,” adds Ronnie. “Our salon receptionist, Diane Mullen, who developed the training programme for Ben Nevis, pulled together five different activities and a new training programme.” Training started in earnest in January and it quickly became clear that this challenge, even more than Ben Nevis, was going to pull the team together. Speed was an issue as they had to complete five one-hour slots, two of which involved getting from A to B in a given time. “There was a lot of encouraging one another to go that little bit further, a real working together which spilled over into the salon, plus we were all psyched about it and talking it in the salon with clients, so everyone, including the clients, felt really involved for the whole six months,’ explains Ronnie. ‘And this time, we had 100 per cent attendance at nearly every training session, and when someone couldn’t make it, they trained by themselves at a different time. Nobody wanted to let the others down.” The training also gave Ronnie the perfect opportunity to observe the team away from the salon; to see more closely the personality types from the natural born leaders to those who enjoyed team working to those who appreciated a bit more direction to complete tasks. It also helped develop everyone’s respect for others and their self-esteem, bringing new leadership and team-working skills to the fore. “We all understand one another that little bit better now and that has positive repercussions for the salon”, adds Ronnie. “And we are all that little bit fitter, which is also good.”