Blog – Your Salon Sanctuary

Infusing Your Culture

June 12, 2018June 13, 2018 Angela

Last week we talked about your cultural checklist and now that you’ve checked those boxes off let’s talk about how to infuse your culture into the salon!

There are 6 things that will support the infusion of your culture.

Explain! Explain! And Explain Again!

You must explain why you want to improve the culture. You know your values and your mission and those are both great ways to explain your why. In a Tribe meeting explain how you’re going to infuse the culture; giving specific things your tribe can do to get where you want the culture to be. Explain the benefits of the culture, what will be beneficial for them, for you and for the salon once you have your culture in place.

Be Ready for Opposition!

People fear change, it’s one of the hardest things for people because emotions and pride come into play. Knowing each of your Tribes personalities and spending time with them individually will help ease them into the culture. In your one on ones let them know specifically what benefits there are for them as a stylist and personally. Help them see the culture vision and why it’s important for the salon. Ask them how this culture makes them feel and what growth they can see taking place; for them and the salon.

Step by Step

Outline every single step that needs to be taken for each Tribe member. If you don’t do this it can be overwhelming and everyone can easily give up. Giving a step-by-step will make it easier for them to implement the culture together. It is always easier to get where you’re going when you know how to get there and even easier when you have help.

Be the Leader

Do all these steps yourself, people learn by watching. Think of a child, a child will repeat your actions and habits before doing what you asked them to do! If you do all that you are asking of them it’s easier for them to follow. It is hard work and a lot of pressure but you need to be the change. Also know that it’s okay if you slip up or if they do. Infusing your culture probably won’t happen overnight. Failing is learning and it will help improve your culture in the end. Be transparent about it, tell them you failed, that it didn’t work this time or you were wrong, they need to know that you’re human and that it’s okay if we mess up! Stumble, learn, keep going!

Be United!

Discover success blockers. Things that aren’t working. Is there something that isn’t flowing? How can we make this work? Ask for your Tribes input and ideas, ask what will make it easier for them, what can you do to help them. What don’t they enjoy about the culture? Ask for an explanation and a solution! Your Tribe wants your culture to work! Realize fear can stop you and then we tend to complain, point fingers and it quickly becomes the opposite of what we’re trying to do! Have real conversations about it and work through it together. Infusing your culture will take work but when you are united and committed your salon will sore!

Appreciate Moments

Recognize when they are doing things within the culture. Praise and thank them when it’s going right. This will make everyone feel good about the culture and want grow the culture. Reward them for executing the steps you’ve asked them to do and show them how they’ve benefited from it. You’ve explained, you are ready for their opposition, you’ve outlined every step they need to take, you’ve led by example and now you can show them all their hard work is paying off. Be sure to Celebrate it!

In the age of booth rental & suite salons you have to work harder, you have to make your salon the best place to have a career.

You have to make your culture a way of life.

Angela

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Becoming Unstoppable;A Culture Checklist

June 5, 2018July 4, 2018 Angela

I know you have heard of Salon Culture before. When you think about your salon do you wonder if your culture is apparent or if it exists at all? If you are asking those questions, it most likely means your culture needs attention. That’s perfectly okay! Now that you’re aware of it you can start to improve your culture and become unstoppable!

Let’s talk for a moment about what a culture is, it seems a very vague term. Culture is unique to every salon. It’s alive, it has movement and a personality, therefore cannot be duplicated! It makes decisions easy, it attracts the right people and guests, it gives you an edge, and it leaves your competitors behind.

Building your culture may not be easy but it will make all the difference in your salon and everything, in turn, becomes easier. Are you asking yourself about your culture? First you need a few things in place to create your own culture. Here is your culture checklist!

□ Values

This should be easy to figure out and if you’re not sure check out how to find your values. Values are the most important thing when building your culture. I talked about your culture being the personality of your salon, so ask yourself what traits/values does your culture carry? What do they look like, feel like, sounds like? Values make your culture transparent and everyone who enters your salon will instantly feel it.

□ Mission

Remember, your mission is a passionate statement about why you do what you do. It should be recited at meetings and it is your salon slogan. Every Tribe member should know the mission and feel proud when reciting it, either as a group or to your guests. Remember your mission statement is truly for your Tribe, it will allow them to know why they are apart of your salon.

□ Structure/Etiquette/Procedures

A culture makes every decision easy. Your structure will help your Tribe know how to treat each other and your guests. It gives expectations, both in work and in behavior, but also freedom to be who they are at the same time. It makes the culture uniform and becomes a way of life.

□ Tribe Status

As I’ve said before your Tribe will up hold your salon and they will hold up your culture. The right Tribe members will bring your culture to life, they will maintain it and make salon life easier. Every decision you and your Tribe make become based on your culture and will help make hard times easier, hiring easier and growing easier.

□ Allow for Innovation

Allow your culture to be alive, know that it will change, grow and become more influential and that your Tribe will help accomplish this. Whether you are improving your culture or implementing a culture it is important to let your Tribe have a voice. Do the ‘Find your values’ exercise with them, talk about your mission and improvements to your structures. This will help your culture grow into the most powerful organism. Your culture will become more than you ever thought possible!

How many things have you checked off? After checking off each of these things you should have a clear vision of your culture. Now it’s time to execute it!

When your culture is a living breathing part of your salon, you will be unstoppable.

Angela

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Tribe Series: How to Remain a Tribe

May 30, 2018June 13, 2018 Angela

Now that you’ve worked so hard on your tribe we need to talk about the maintenance. There is a significant way to help your tribe head in the same direction – Meetings.

I know you have meetings but what type of meetings do you have and how often do you have them? There are three types of meetings that will help your tribe remain a tribe.

#1. One on Ones (One hour Monthly with a fifteen minute follow up bimonthly)

One on ones are so important to your tribe! This is how you will be able to connect with them, grow with them and keep them on mission. A Gallup survey found that tribes engaged with regular one-on-one meetings are 16% more profitable, who wouldn’t want to be 16% more profitable! A tribe can also become demotivated without one on ones (especially millennials) One on ones promote focus, contribution, alignment, adjustment, strengthen your relationship and gives them a voice.

I know you’ve probably heard that you should do one-on-ones, but what does that really look like? How should you do them?

It should feel comfortable and relaxed, it should be a conversation and nothing to stress over (for both of you!)

Ask lots of questions but listen to their answers. Jay Williams, a salon coach, says to talk 30% and listen 70%, we need to know their thoughts and ideas. Never ask ‘why’ questions, these can sound accusatory and make them answer in a defensive way rather than in an open and honest way. Give them constructive feedback in a non-judgemental and caring way. (The sandwich system works well for this, one compliment, one improvement, one compliment.)

Begin simply with – how are you feeling /doing? This will make it more comfortable and flow into a conversation rather than a meeting!

Some great questions to ask might be:

Are you happy here?
What is your favorite service to do on a guest?
Are you happy with your work?
What area would you like to improve on? What education will help you? What can I do to help?
What was your best accomplishment so far? Did you feel celebrated/acknowledged?
Can you name three things that would help you love being here more?
What part of the day do you feel most productive?
What was your biggest roadblock last month? How did you overcome it?
What do you do when you feel stuck or unsure?
Who do you turn to for help?
Who inspires you in the tribe?
Whose opinions do you respect?
Is there anyone you find difficult to work with? Can you tell me why?
Do other tribe members give you feedback? Would you like more feedback from them? From me?
What would help us work better as a tribe?
What things do you worry about?
Are there times you feel Undervalued? Overwhelmed? Stressed out?
Can I do anything to make things easier for you? What can the tribe do to make it easier?
What do you like about our culture/tribe? What don’t you like?
How can I support you better?
What is the percentage of my involvement with you? Would you like more or less?
What is something I can do better?
Is there any situation that I could of been more help?
Did you achieve your goals? Do you need our/my help? What is your next goal? What are your next steps to achieve these goals? How Can we help you achieve these goals? (For goal setting structure see blog post: Goals or whatever you’re calling them)
Is there anything else you’d like to share/discuss with me?
How are you feeling about our conversation?

Don’t forget to celebrate their accomplishments! A tribe member needs this and is 71% less likely to leave your salon just by acknowledging their hard work.

These questions will help you understand their mindset and how they feel about the salon and the tribe. It will help you make the salon better and help your tribe grow. After every one on one you need to create a summary that provides you with a list of discussion points, goals, issues, development paths, next steps and needs. This is important for your business plan, follow-ups and future one on ones.

A follow-up should be made by bimonthly, a quick check in with your tribe members to see if they need any help or how their next steps are going. This keeps focus on goals and growth!

Now you can see how important one-on-ones are to your tribe and how it will help you remain a tribe!

#2. Salon Meetings (Weekly – One Hour)

Salon meeting done weekly will help you stay connected as a tribe. This is where you celebrate each other, learn from each other and keep each other on track.

You want to start with a fun activity – an ice breaker exercise, learn a yoga pose or listen to a feel-good video for the first five to ten minutes. This relaxes everyone and makes everyone feel open to ideas and sharing.

Then share numbers and goals for the week. Talk about strengths and weaknesses and solutions to problems. Talk about promotions, upcoming events and ideas.

Having weekly meetings might become boring or familiar so to switch things up learn a new technique, go on a short field trip, bring a speaker in or let them contribute/lead the meeting.

You will want to have an agenda to stay on track but don’t worry, as you develop your weekly meetings this will become easier for you and you’ll learn to organize your time.

Make sure you always allow extra time for enjoyment, creativity and innovation. Always take the time to celebrate accomplishments, birthdays, anniversaries or anything else you wish!

Monthly meetings will keep your salon and tribe on the same path, plus they are fun and productive.

#3. Tribe Building (Quarterly)

We have all heard of ‘team’ building, we know what it means but do we know how important it is to a tribe?

It will build bonds and relationships outside of the salon. It allows the tribe to be together in a fun and relaxing way and it breeds trust and honesty.

Tribe Building does so many wonderful things; it helps everyone see each other in a different light, it allows connection, it increases morale, motivates, gives a chance for celebration, team spirit, fun, innovation, creativity, communication, imagination and creates a friendly work environment. Tribe members will have larger imagination when they are around people they are comfortable with. The positives are endless!

There are lots of things to do for tribe building and best of all; they don’t have to cost you a lot! There are many inexpensive and fun ways to bring your tribe together, here a just a few:

Minimal Cost

Scavenger Hunt
Yoga/Dance
Nature Walk
Paint or Coloring
Board Games / Cards / Charades
Outdoor Games (balloon toss, three legged race, egg & spoon race, follow the leader, ect)
Cook a meal together / Potluck
Dream Boarding / Inspiration Wall
Fashion show (dress eachother up)
Battle of the Bands (karaoke)
Volunteer together
Walk in a Parade together
Engage in activities tribe members do as outside interests/hobbies
Book Club
Pretend your in different professions (photographer, make up artists, nail techs, massage therapists ect)

Of course there are many ways to do Tribe Building with an expense attached to it, I would try to do one of these at least once a year and let your tribe know it’s because they are so spectacular!

Some Cost

Go to anther salon and get your hair/ nails/ make up done
Dinner at a restaurant
Escape Room
Night away
Paint ball
Axe Throwing
A Movie/ Drive In
Theater/Concert/Speaking Event
Flower Arrangements class
Hot Air Balloon Ride
Paint Night
Museum
Tour your City as tourists
Yoga Class
Swimming
Adventure/Amusement Park

It is extremely important that your tribe remains engaged with you and with eachother. These meetings will help your tribe remain a tribe and the salon become healthy, happy and profitable.

Angela

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Tribe Series: How to find your Tribe: The Interview

May 23, 2018September 17, 2018 Angela

I know you will have time to get to know your new tribe member once you’ve hired them. I love what Heather Yurko, owner of PIP University, calls this; your dating period. I want to make sure you get a real feel or vision for your potential tribe member before you start dating. Let’s face it, most blind dates don’t end well! You want to have some information before you enter into a dating relationship. How can you do this? The interview.

Interviews are tricky because, like a date, they generally show up with their best possible self or in some cases; their false selves. This is why it is important that you do multiple interviews, yes, multiple. Take the time to do three or four interviews, this will give you opportunity to get to know your potential tribe member.

The first interview is the most important. This interview should be all about them and their personality. We all know skill can be taught but a tribe member is more than the job, more than how well someone can cut or color hair. If they are weak in an area it will be easy to teach them, personality cannot be taught. We really want to get as much information as we can from them; ask unique questions and lots of questions to better understand their mindset. Most importantly – you must answer the questions for yourself. Your answers will help your intuition and you will know how like minded they are to you and your tribe.

First Interview: Let them know this interview is strictly for you get to know them better and to please answer as honestly and accurately as they can. Some of these questions are light and fun, some are more thoughtful but together they will help you better understand the person who wants to be apart of your tribe.

What’s your story?
What’s your why?
What are your values?
What’s your super power?
What’s your spirit animal?
How would your best friend describe you?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
If you had six months with no time or money constraints what would you do?
If you won $20 million tomorrow what would you do with it?
If you could have dinner with anyone who would it be?
What type of car are you?
What teams/groups/hobbies do you devote your time to outside of work?
Who is your role model and why?
Tell me about time when you were a leader.
How do you handle criticism?
What are the titles of the last three books you’ve read?
Would you rather be liked or respected?
What brand of shampoo and conditioner is in your shower right now? Brand of products?
What is your favorite song?
When you are alone in your car what do you think about?
What was the last gift you gave to someone?
What was the last thing you watched on TV? Why did you choose to watch that show?
Tell me about a time where you were a mentor.
If you were Shipwrecked on an island and you had plenty of food and water what two items would you want with you?
Rate your memory from 1 to 10.
What do you worry about and why?
Who has inspired you and why?
How do you define and measure success?
Tell me about a time when you worked as part of a team.
Tell me about a time where you worked as part of a team with an interpersonal conflict, how was it resolved?
Tell me about a time when things didn’t go the way that you hoped, promotion, a project, ect.
Explain a situation where you wish you would have handled things different.
Tell me about your most stressful situation and how you handled it.
When were you most satisfied in your life?
What impression did you get from walking into our salon?
Why do you want to join our salon?
What excites you most about working here?
What are your expectations of me?
How will you contribute to our goals and Mission (if stated on the website)
Why should I hire you?
If I hired you and granted you three promises – what would they be?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Do you have any questions for me?

I know this seems like a lot of questions but you need to invest some time into getting to know them. It will save you time in the long run and your tribe will be happier because of it. Reflect on their answers, ask yourself if they fit into your vision. Do they have similar values and can you see them as part of the tribe? If the answer is yes, then on to the second interview.

Second Interview: is skill related, you want to find out their strengths and weaknesses and how they will grow and help grow the tribe. What can they bring to the salon? What level of skill are they at? Can you help them grow? Can they help you grow? This is where you want to see their portfolio and resume.

Please tell me your strengths and weaknesses.
Would you rather improve your strength or weakness?
What is your specialty/What is your favorite thing?
What skill do you want to improve on, what is your plan to improve it?
To date; what professional achievement are you most proud of?
What don’t you like to do? Why?
What three attributes or skills will you bring to the tribe/salon?
What did you contribute to your last salon?
What, professionally, have you done that you would not want to repeat?
Tell me about a time you set a difficult goal. Did you achieve it? How did you accomplish it?
Why did you leave your last salon?
What would your last tribe members say about you?
How do you plan on developing your skills and knowledge?
Give me three words that describe your ideal Salon environment.
A year from now what have we achieved together?
Do you have advice for your previous boss?
If you do not get this job what is your Back-up Plan?
What is your average retail and sales per guest?
Do you work well with a structured environment?
Why do you want to join our tribe?
Do you have any questions for me?

After this interview you should have a better understanding of them and their capabilities. If you think they are likely a good fit for you and your tribe there is at least one more interview to go, depending on you, maybe two.

Third Interview: this interview is for your tribe. Always involve your tribe in the hiring process, they have to accept this new member just as much as you do. Let them ask questions, they will surprise you and ask things you would never think of! Keep in mind this can be intimidating. Set it up as a friendly/ informal gathering, we do not want to scare them! You could have some snacks and drinks. For the first 15 minutes let the tribe mingle with them and eachother, watch how they interact. Then do an icebreaker – have some fun and break the tension! After that you can leave the rest of the interview up to your tribe! (Bonus! This is a fun team building excersice!)

Fourth Interview: (if you wish) this is where you can test their skills, if that is what makes you more comfortable with hiring. Don’t forget, as I mentioned previously; skills can be taught. Ask them to bring in a model or mannequin and get them to show you their skills!

After the three to four interviews you should feel comfortable with the decision to hire them or not. However, most importantly trust your instincts, they will guide you to the right fit and most likely you won’t go wrong when you trust yourself and your tribe.

What questions would you add to this?

Angela

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Tribe Series: How to Uphold your Tribe!

May 16, 2018June 13, 2018 Angela

Last week we talked about employee versus Team versus tribe, I love having this conversation with salon owners because I can see the light bulb go on in their head. They are forming groups of people in their salon and can see how far or close they are to tribe.

Aim for the tribe. If you feel like you have a few good tribe members and want to reach full tribe status here are things you need to be for them, here are the things that you must uphold to keep them.

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1. Give them Purpose.

50% of all people would take a pay cut if they felt like they had purpose in their work. This is where your mission and values come in, your mission; clearly stated will attract your tribe, your values; known to everyone will make your tribe feel in sync with you. Let them know your purpose so they can join the mission and feel apart of it.

2. Leadership

The salon needs more leadership, let’s be honest, the world needs more leadership! As a leader you must help your tribe, help them set goals, give them the independence to reach them and always be open to their ideas. Your tribe needs you to be there for them and guide them, but remember, a great leader does not do all the work for them! Failing is apart of learning, be there to pick them up and encourage them from a loving and kind place.

3. Structure

Your tribe needs responsibilities and they need to know exactly what is expected of them. I want you to know that it is okay to have systems and rules! The more structure the better. Understand they may not always 100% follow the structure, however, they will try their best to do everything in sync with the structure and rules. It is much easier to be a tribe when you know what is expected of you and others.

How-transparency-can-help-motivate-staff-

4. Transparency

Your tribe does not want to feel like they do not know something. They want your transparency and to realize you are human too. No one has it all figured out, isn’t that what having a Tribe is all about! Let them know you need their help, you will work together and make the salon even better.

5. Trust

I know that trust is hard thing to give, especially when it comes to something so important like your Salon. But, frankly, without trust there is no tribe. You probably feel like trust comes with knowing people first, especially when you have had problems before. Please know that your tribe members want the best for your salon, just as you do. If there are structures and rules in place it will be easy for them to make the right decisions. Giving Trust will make the salon run smoothly and help your tribe work together.

6. Equality

Every tribe member wants to be equally challenged, equally helped and equally celebrated. This is so important to a tribe because if they are not treated equally animosity can creep in, which leads to your tribe falling apart. Even something as simple as competitions in the salon should never be tribe member against tribe member, it should always be about individual growth. Equality can make or break a tribe. Rules and structure can help keep equality in the salon.

7. Opportunity for Growth

Every one of your tribe members wants to grow. You want to be sure to offer help in this area! This could mean sharing ideas, helping pay for education or time to practice techniques. Offer your tribe members one hour of innovation time a week to improve a skill or technique. I always suggest this hour to be spent on both personal and professional growth. A tribe member will continuously be learning and they will want to share all they learn with the rest of the tribe, let them share and teach at meetings, this will grow the tribe on a whole.

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8. Recognition

Every one of us likes when we are told we did an awesome job. We love when someone clicks like on our Facebook or loves a picture on our Instagram. Your Tribe needs that too. You can celebrate their Milestones, achievements and hard work (just remember to have equality when doing so) It doesn’t have to break the bank either, having everyone clap for them at a meeting or doing a happy dance together will mean a lot. A cupcake to celebrate their anniversary or a fun trophy that can be theirs for the month for reaching a goal. You can do a spotlight on them on Facebook or Instagram. In the salon, as in life, it’s all about the little things.

9. Compensation

Of course money comes into the tribe equation, but as you can see it’s not everything. Your tribe wants to know they can make more and have more (don’t we all). You can design bonuses, ascending pay structures, incentive programs or individual growth benchmarks. Please be sure that you are paying your tribe appropriately, they do not want to feel unappreciated for all their hard work!

Work-Life-Balance

10. Work/Life Balance

I left this one for last because I think it is one of the hardest things for stylists and salon owners. We love our job and guests so much that sometimes we spend 12 hours a day in the salon. We really need to stop doing this, our bodies especially do not like it after so many years! Our stylists want to choose their hours, they want to have a guilt-free vacations and they want to be able to call in sick when necessary. It’s hard, I know. But here’s the thing you need to know, a tribe member would never abused this generosity, ever. Offer unlimited vacation (not all paid) let them know that their life is important; their family, friends, health and Adventures. This will make a huge difference to your tribes morale and don’t forget to give it to yourself as well!

Angela

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