Why it's worth celebrating success with in-house awards

January saw three of the industry’s leading salon brands celebrate the achievement of their individuals and teams. HJi asked directors from each why they felt in-house awards were important to their business. "At Marc Antoni our in-house awards are central to our business. They provide our staff with the opportunity to stay driven and motivated and for staff in all areas of the business, to be recognised for their hard work and efforts throughout the year,” said Bruno Marc, director at the Marc Antoni salon group. “The awards also encourage our staff to work as a team, specifically awards such as Salon of the Year which encourages a great deal of camaraderie amongst our employees." Bruno Marc. Said Ken Picton, owner of an eponymous award-winning salon in Cardiff: “For me, the decision to start doing in-house awards came about because as a salon and a team we were winning lots of global/trade awards and I thought it was a fantastic opportunity to recognise individuals internally as well. Our annual awards now create loads of excitement within the salon and it is definitely one of the most enjoyable dates we have on our calendar. It takes minimum investment for a maximum return.” “I believe one of the key challenges in a challenging market is retaining quality team members, and the first purpose of our awards is to celebrate all our team’s successes from last year and incentivise people to stay and aim even higher this year, “ said  John Sanders, chairman of Headmasters. “Many of our staff feel that it is the best night of the year, and I feel that this shows the value of in-house awards – it reminds our team that we love them, value their commitment and that there is so much more to come and achieve in 2014.”