When looking for staff for your salon or spa, it is important that you first consider the following factors:
- How many members of staff will I need?
- What channels do I use to contact potential new staff?
- Do I pay them a wage, or rent them a chair/salon space?
- Could I use work experience or placement students, and how do I source them?
- Will they need to purchase their own uniform, or should I provide it?
How many members of staff will I need?
Hopefully before reading this article you have already established whether or not your salon will require more staff members than just yourself.
Channels for attracting Staff
When advertising for new staff, there are a number of methods and channels at your disposal. There are obvious forms of advertising vacancies, such as putting up a notice in your shop window, however this obviously limits the audience to those actually passing by your premises. Another method is using recruitment agencies, however it is worth remembering that some agencies charge before beginning recruitment, and almost all charge a commission upon the successful placement of one of their candidates at your business (usually in the range of 5-20% of the candidates annual salary), so make sure that you fully understand all of the terms and conditions of your agreement, and that you can afford to make any and all payments required.
Social media is also an option, although dependent upon your social following, your reach may again be limited. However, advertising via mediums such as Facebook is fairly reasonably priced, and it is possible to target the market that you need to speak to with ease; by simply selecting things such as the location, interests, profession etc. of those who will be shown the adverts – making it a far more tailored option for purposes such as these.
You can also advertise your vacancies on industry and jobs websites, there are even specialist websites such as www.spastaff.com which enables you to upload ads for your vacancies specifically in the health and beauty industry free of charge, and also allows you to view the CVs of potential candidates. Another option would be to advertise in your local newspaper, although there will obviously be a charge for this service.
In summary, there are many avenues for marketing your vacancies, and the most important factors to consider are the audience you will reach, and the costs involved in doing so. When considering whether to take on staff, it is important to build these charges into the costs that you associate with hiring staff, and then weigh this against the business’ projected revenue rises.
Wages or Rental?
An option many salons in the business use is to rent a chair or salon space to a fellow professional. The upsides of this are not having to pay a wage, earning either a set charge each month or a percentage of their revenue, or even both in some cases. The downsides are that if the hairdresser or beautician leaves your establishment, they will more than likely take their regulars with them.
When renting out salon space or charging a commission, we would always recommend drawing up a contract with a solicitor, detailing who is responsible for which costs of the business, and what each party’s responsibilities are i.e. is the salon or the person renting responsible for attracting custom, does the business or the therapist/hairdresser supply products, equipment etc.? This will ensure a smoother working relationship, and protect both parties legally.
Alternatively, if you plan to pay an hourly or set wage you don’t need to take the same things into consideration, as the business should then be responsible for supplying everything the employee needs in order to do their job, including equipment, products etc. Before employing members of staff it is recommended that you seek legal advice for contracts and employment laws and responsibilities etc. and it is also advisable to consult an accountant to ensure you understand payroll and tax procedures before starting out.
Overall, you need to look at the pros and cons involved in each form of staffing, and decide which best fits your wants, needs, and financial wellbeing. Make yourself a list of these, and spend some time carefully considering your options before making a decision, as it will be extremely difficult to change your mind once you have started down each respective path.
Sourcing Work Experience Students
If you speak to local colleges that provide training for your relevant trade, it may be possible to arrange placement of their students for ‘work experience’ in your salon. This is ultimately beneficial for all parties; the college are able to offer the student a work placement, the student is given the opportunity to taste salon life and earn valuable experience (and who knows, maybe even a job upon qualifying?), and you have an extra pair of hands to help – whilst imparting some of the knowledge that you have worked hard to accrue.
It is important to remember, the student is there to learn about the inner-workings of a salon and to polish the skills they are being taught at college. Unfortunately, it’s all-too-easy to delegate the lion’s share of cleaning and beverage making duties to the work experience student, maybe it even happened to you when you did yours? Bear this in mind, and ensure that you are offering the kind of work experience that the college and student would expect. After all, if the college is going to be providing the area with beauty professionals for years to come, would you really want such a large portion of the local industry to have a poor impression of you and your business?
Uniforms
Are you and your staff going to wear a uniform, and if so, will you incorporate your company branding and logo into the uniform for you and your staff? It’s a great way to reinforce recognition of your salon and brand, convey professionalism to your clients, and also helps to affirm a sense of unity, both to clients and yourselves. It is also possible to claim back the VAT that you pay on uniform purchases, by submitting your business expenses in your tax returns, so you can save money on your purchase too.
As well as offering free and impartial advice like this to beauty professionals, at Simon Jersey we are also a leading manufacturer of uniforms and tunics. Our award winning beauty uniforms are available in a huge range of styles and colours, and we also offer a bespoke personalisation service, through embroidery, tabbing, screen printing, and badges, so that you can add your business name, logo, and even the staff members name and position to your uniform. Why not browse our beauty uniforms today for ideas?
