Understanding goal setting to motivate and succeed

Most people are busy today with their day-to-day work and personal responsibilities, they don’t take time out to reflect on what they enjoy doing and want, says business expert David Drew. This time of the year is the perfect time to start afresh. There is a great deal of opportunity. We have available information from the past 12 months on our performance both professionally, personally and as a salon business. As an owner/manager it’s your responsibility to further drive and develop the salon business, to evaluate what you and the business will want and need to succeed in the year ahead. You are a role model, your team will notice your mood and how you behave and speak. It is worth thinking about what you really want yourself, this will help to motivate you and enable you to structure your ambitions and goals. Goals to Motivate Do you want this year to be better than last year? Something to aim for, the key to motivational goal setting is to spend some time visualizing what it will be like when you’ve achieved, creating a “motive four action”! Setting goals that mean something to you will help develop motivation within you and the same applies to those goals you set for your team. The goals set will give the team a sense of achievement and help to focus them giving them a motive for action to further improve their individual performance, which in turn will drive-up business performance standards, productivity and profits. Setting & Managing Goals Lots of people think they have great goals when what they really have are great dreams. We need to coach the team on the difference, to recognise and understand what a goal really is and how to focus consistently on that goal. As a salon owner/manager you need to know each team member’s goals so you can hold them accountable; be precise and set a timeframe so that you can monitor progress, remember a goal defined is a dream with a deadline. You have to know where you are starting from, so the very first step is to assess your salon and team individuals by looking at past and current performance.  Some people don’t like to do this, partly because they don’t like to look at a picture that is not rosy – but if you don’t know what is wrong in your business you can’t change it! You can’t change what you don’t measure! •             Set and agree realistic productivity goals. •             Yearly. •             Quarterly. •             Monthly. •             Weekly. •             Daily. By mapping out the aims and objectives of the business for every member within the salon, using and communicating /sharing the current K.P.I’s information with individual team members, the salon business will have a stronger and better chance of exceeding the expectations and desires and achieving ever higher levels of success. The agreed goals set will determine what training is required. When you train your employees, you are sending the clear message that you value them. Better trained employees become motivated employees, who in turn become productive employees and productive employees have a positive impact on business success and profits. David Drew has some 40 years hairdressing industry experience. David coaches and consults salon owners on how to successfully run a salon and provides business success seminars and motivation days for teams at salons across the UK, for more information about David and the services he provides visit www.impactbusinessconsultant.co.uk