Any salon owner knows that their business needs to maintain strong relationships with their staff in order to generate consistent cash flow.

However, turnover rates at salons are often significantly higher than they should be.

36% of salon staff have worked in over four salons, while 20% have worked in more than seven.

Meanwhile, the average employment lifespan within a salon is only 3 to 5 years, with most staff being susceptible leaving within their first three years of employment.

Having to replace employees often comes with consequences at the stake of the salon.

“There’s a high cost associated with hiring people. And some of it is intangible, like your lost training investment, loss of productivity, or increased re-dos when a junior employee takes over for a seasoned stylist,” salon owner Heath Smith told Aveda.

And anyone who is satisfied with their own hairstylist’s work knows that customers are loyal to hairstylists, not salons.

Where hairstyles leave, customers will follow.

Employees leave salons for a list of reasons, and getting to the root of the issue is key to ensuring staff loyalty.

Here is how to retain staff at your salon.

Work environment

An employee’s physical environment can affect their mental health. This means keeping the space clean, well lit, and the temperature regulated.

Making sure appointments are on time is also key, as to not inconvenience your staff’s day with disorganization.

Most importantly, keep the mood of your salon professional.

“If managers and owners are dealing with the drama of the day, they can’t be future focused. If they keep getting caught up in the turnover cycle of hiring and training, they can’t put their efforts into current employees,” Heath said.

Job satisfaction

Employees want to have a voice. That means treating them with respect offering them stable, long-term opportunities that allow for career advancement.

Communication is also essential. Be open to your employees' ideas, and don’t shut them down when they express frustration.

Rewarding your employees for special achievements can also make them feel appreciated, causing incentive to stay.

Compensation

With the average salary of a hairstylist being slightly over 30k a year, the vast majority of salon staff relies on tips.

This can include higher commission rate, bonuses based on overall salon profits, company equity, health insurance, tuition reimbursement, monthly commuting stipends, and scheduling flexibility.

While your salon’s compensation needs to be competitive, there are other practical incentives that can make your staff choose your business over other options.

BRB Steps In

With BRB’s innovative features such as efficient scheduling, performance tracking, and employee engagement initiatives, staff retention goes up, and so does revenue.

BRB does the technical work for you, so your employees can focus on what they love.