These are the ultimate staff meeting rules for your salon

Are you bored of the daily and weekly staff meetings? Business expert Liz McKeon shares some simple steps that will transform your team’s morale... Even if it is difficult to justify the time, holding regular meetings is vital for effective management and communication. The best staff meetings will save you time, increase motivation, improve productivity and solve your problems. You can also use them to generate new ideas and ensure your team buys into your company philosophy. You should consider the purpose of your regular salon staff meetings. Different types of meeting include: • Training • Information • New idea-focused • Planning-focused • Client feedback-focused • Problem solving • Performance reporting • Setting targets • Making decisions • Team building • Motivation Plan, run and follow up your meetings properly and they will repay the cost many times over because there is still no substitute for physical face-to-face discussions. Well run meetings make people happier and more productive, however badly run meetings waste time, money and resources and are worse than having no meetings at all. Meetings which involve staff and encourage participation and responsibility are more constructive than meetings in which the manager tells, instructs and makes all the decisions, which is not a particularly productive style of leadership. The secret to a successful salon meeting is about keeping control. You achieve this by sticking to the agenda, managing the relationships and personalities, and concentrating on outcomes. All of your meetings must have a purpose so remind yourself and the team of the required outcomes and steer towards making progress.

Basic rules for running a salon staff meeting

The aim of a well-run staff meeting is for all staff members to feel like it took care of their needs as well as the original agenda. Your choice of structure and style in running an effective meeting is dependent on several factors, such as: • The situation • The implications and needs of the salon project • The needs and interests of the team • Your own role, confidence and personal experience • Your salon position and relationship with the team • The aim and agenda of the meeting Staff tend to be at their most sensitive at the beginning of meetings so schedule anything controversial for later in the agenda as this will give people a chance to settle down and relax. Politely suppress the over-zealous and encourage the nervous staff. You should never tolerate useless moaning, instead tell the moaning individual to research the topic and report back to you with recommendations. You should always watch how your staff behave in meetings – look out for signs of tiredness, exasperation, confusion or boredom and take necessary action. It is vital to stick to the agenda as much as possible.

Six ways to run an effective staff meeting

1. Use the agenda as a planning tool and stick closely to it. 2. Circulate the agenda in advance, allowing all team members to prepare and to contribute topics and agenda items under any other business. 3. Run the meeting to a set and agreed time – keep control of the discussion, agree clear outcomes, actions and responsibilities. 4. Take comprehensive and clear notes so the team see you are recording agreed actions. 5. Circulate the notes to the team and keep a record of these on file for future reference and to refer back to in the next meeting. 6. Follow up on agreed actions and responsibilities. Liz McKeon is a business coach who specialises in the hair industry. For details about business seminars and industry workshops go to lizmckeon.com.