Salon Management: 9 Essential Skills You Can Work On

Looking to run a successful salon? To turn your salon into a go-to beauty hub, try upgrading your salon management skills. Here are 9 skills you can work on.

9 salon management skills you can work on

1. Recruitment and HR organization

Good staff can smoothen your salon workflow and help retain customers. It’s best to hire and train your team carefully before you officially put your salon into operation.

We recommend hiring some professional and experienced staff. You may need to pay them higher, but good and skillful workers help everything go smoothly and be under control.

Once your salon attracts more customers, you can recruit and train some assistants and apprentices. These workers can help with small tasks such as shampooing and nail polishing first. When they’re more experienced, you can let them help with more important tasks.

2. Employee training

In addition to specialist skills, you should also train employees on other skills such as customer service. No matter how skillful your staff is, bad attitudes can frustrate customers, making them never want to go back to your salon.

As a salon manager, you’d better take training courses to know effective methods to train your employees.

3. Customer service

From the moment a client walks through the door until they leave, every interaction shapes their experience.

Salon managers must prioritize effective communication, attentiveness, and empathy to make clients feel valued and understood.

Handling complaints gracefully, listening to customers’ suggestions, and going the extra mile to exceed expectations can turn first-time visitors into loyal patrons.

4. Working with suppliers

Salon owners need to regularly check the quality of products from suppliers. It’s best to choose reputable suppliers to guarantee the source of the products and avoid overpricing.

Suppliers sometimes provide product samples and professional courses for salons. Don’t be afraid to ask for samples and staff training courses. This not only saves your budget but also helps your employees improve their skills.

5. Budget management

Budget management is the next crucial skill a salon manager needs to have. How you allocate your budget will greatly determine your salon’s future.

At the end of each month or week, you should check for any overspending. Besides, do research and collect data to estimate future budgets. Consider other aspects such as inflation or emergency funds.

If possible, invest in budget management software to capture and manage your expenses.

6. Observing workflow and work environment

A salon manager should observe the workflow in the salon to notice problems and solve them in time.

For example, observe the shampoo area to see whether your staff members have cleaned up soap bubbles or rearranged hair care products after use.

How often are towels washed, dried, and neatly folded?

How often is the hairdressing/nail polish area carefully cleaned?

Are all equipment used for hairdressing/nail polish neatly arranged?

Do employees have arguments or any problems that might impact the service? How do your staff serve guests?

All activities within the salon need to be carefully and subtly noted for the right adjustments. Be careful not to over-examine, criticize, or offend employees if you catch their mistakes.

7. Talking to staff

Those talks give opportunities for you and your staff to reflect on every achievement and backlog, and then together find solutions to problems.

Encourage staff to share their thoughts and suggestions to improve your salon operations. Make talks joyful and open. Avoid rambling, stretching, and straying from the main subjects, or discussing irrelevant issues.

Don’t be offended if employees’ opinions are different from yours. This only makes them hesitate to share their ideas and even refuse to work.

8. Improving processes

Logical work processes allows your staff to complete all tasks quickly and efficiently. Creating certain processes can be time-consuming in the beginning, yet beneficial in the long run.

Think about how you’ll handle busy days with many guests flooding in. Who’s going to do what? What’s the first thing to do? Try to arrange the steps so that time, effort, and resources can be used most efficiently.

9. Engaging staff

Many business owners today aim to shorten the distance between them and their employees. Engaged employees can be more comfortable at work, trust you more, and devote their best to the job.

You can try organizing occasional team-building activities, picnics, and hangouts with your staff. This brings you and your employees closer together, and they’re more likely to open up to you.

To create a happy atmosphere at the workplace, you can chat and communicate with employees more. Don’t hesitate to open your heart because you will receive warm responses.

Takeaway

Running a professional salon is not easy. It requires certain skills of managers and owners. Join training courses and classes to constantly upgrade your knowledge and skills. And don’t forget to work on the 9 skills above to better your salon management.

Want to learn more about effective management? Check out our post on 7 management styles here.