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Article by:
Caroline Nelson is a beauty industry specific business coach & author
Teaser:
Learn the best way to manage your salon spa team to success and reduce your own management stress
Managing a Salon or Spa Employee Performance Problem
All most every week my office receives a frantic phone call from a stressed-out salon or spa owner ready to pull out her hair by the roots because of an employee performance problem. It can range from poor work performance, lack of job commitment unsatisfactory conduct to personality conflict with management or follow workers. Whatever it can undermine the efficiency productivity and harmony of the salon or spa all of which will soon become noticeable to clients.
In general, there are two kinds of problems a manager has to handle with staff: poor performance, which results when an employee does not or can not perform the job up to acceptable standards, and personality problems, which often interfere with salon or spa team dynamics and can infect the entire team reducing motivation. The first thing is to find out why this situation has occurred and then take action to correct.
Determine the nature of the employees poor performance problem:
Was the right person employed for your salon or spa in the first place in regards to aesthetic industry qualifications, salon or spa employment history, attitudes, and ambitions
Did they fully understand the duties and working conditions of the position offered in your salon or spa many new aestheticians or therapists are not aware that skincare and spa product retailing and housekeeping duties are also part of the job
Are they properly trained for the position if not are you willing to offer the additional training necessary to allow them to perform to both the clients, management and the employees acceptable standards
Are they adequately supervised and regularly assessed by regularly comparing performance objectives and job description with their salon spa work performance
Many of these problems occur when the wrong person was employed in the first place. As I constantly say select carefully and hire slowly but even if you follow this rule you can still find that you have the wrong person in the job.
If poor work performance seems to be a result of the salon or spa employees not fully understanding her duties, as the owner/manager you should immediately take action to right the situation. Having said that if full and correct induction was undertaken in the first place at employment commencement this situation could possibly been avoided.
Determine the nature of the employees personality conflicts:
Is the personality conflict with management or team member
If with management what is the reason for example do they feel management does not appreciate their efforts
If it is a personality conflict with a one of their salon or spa colleague what caused the conflict - is it that they feel lack of support from team members or is it that they themselves are not supporting the team
Is there a personality conflict between the employee and customer/s could it be that the employee is not happy to be of service in a customer focused industry
It is managements responsibility to support every team member equally and to offer the encouragement for each team member to reach targets and to offer praise incentives and rewards. When there is conflict between any member of management and an employee often the employee will react by doing the job poorly in retaliation.
Try to resolve any disputes with employee first through counselling. Often a counselling session with the employee on informal bases will promptly resolve any issues before they become part of a formal resolution process. This can be achieved by creating a workplace environment of open and honest communication between all parties. However as a manager often you have to face up to the fact that with all the support in the world there are some employees who do not willing support the salon or spas management goals and objectives. If there are no solutions the employee might wish to consider leaving the job.
The salon or spa environment is close-and-personal and to reflect the peace and tranquillity we would like to portray needs harmony in the work place. When team members have conflict this ill feeling can infect other employees and then onto the businesses customers. The dispute must be settled between the two workers. Interview each of them separately and ask how she thinks the argument can be resolved and if she is willing to be reconciled. If necessary suggest a cooling-off period and you might even try to arrange that shifts do not coincide. But remember in emotionally charged situations not all can be resolved as peoples personalities are not likely to change.
Unfortunately certain people should not be in the beauty industry because their personality does not thrive in the particular work environment. In this industry the ideal person should be compassionate, have empathy with her customers be willing and happy to serve, have a happy cup half full disposition and be prepared to offer a full duty of customer care. This is why it is necessary to follow up on references and why it is imperative to find out if a prospective employee is a team player and has a great customer service attitude.
And when all else fails after trying all available alternatives and dismissal is the only option, make sure of your rights and obligations as an employer before seeking termination. And dont forget to keep accurate employee records and document all discussions and counselling held with the employee.
© Copyright Caroline Nelson 2009
Caroline Nelson is a beauty industry specific business coach & author
Teaser:
Learn the best way to manage your salon spa team to success and reduce your own management stress
Managing a Salon or Spa Employee Performance Problem
All most every week my office receives a frantic phone call from a stressed-out salon or spa owner ready to pull out her hair by the roots because of an employee performance problem. It can range from poor work performance, lack of job commitment unsatisfactory conduct to personality conflict with management or follow workers. Whatever it can undermine the efficiency productivity and harmony of the salon or spa all of which will soon become noticeable to clients.
In general, there are two kinds of problems a manager has to handle with staff: poor performance, which results when an employee does not or can not perform the job up to acceptable standards, and personality problems, which often interfere with salon or spa team dynamics and can infect the entire team reducing motivation. The first thing is to find out why this situation has occurred and then take action to correct.
Determine the nature of the employees poor performance problem:
Was the right person employed for your salon or spa in the first place in regards to aesthetic industry qualifications, salon or spa employment history, attitudes, and ambitions
Did they fully understand the duties and working conditions of the position offered in your salon or spa many new aestheticians or therapists are not aware that skincare and spa product retailing and housekeeping duties are also part of the job
Are they properly trained for the position if not are you willing to offer the additional training necessary to allow them to perform to both the clients, management and the employees acceptable standards
Are they adequately supervised and regularly assessed by regularly comparing performance objectives and job description with their salon spa work performance
Many of these problems occur when the wrong person was employed in the first place. As I constantly say select carefully and hire slowly but even if you follow this rule you can still find that you have the wrong person in the job.
If poor work performance seems to be a result of the salon or spa employees not fully understanding her duties, as the owner/manager you should immediately take action to right the situation. Having said that if full and correct induction was undertaken in the first place at employment commencement this situation could possibly been avoided.
Determine the nature of the employees personality conflicts:
Is the personality conflict with management or team member
If with management what is the reason for example do they feel management does not appreciate their efforts
If it is a personality conflict with a one of their salon or spa colleague what caused the conflict - is it that they feel lack of support from team members or is it that they themselves are not supporting the team
Is there a personality conflict between the employee and customer/s could it be that the employee is not happy to be of service in a customer focused industry
It is managements responsibility to support every team member equally and to offer the encouragement for each team member to reach targets and to offer praise incentives and rewards. When there is conflict between any member of management and an employee often the employee will react by doing the job poorly in retaliation.
Try to resolve any disputes with employee first through counselling. Often a counselling session with the employee on informal bases will promptly resolve any issues before they become part of a formal resolution process. This can be achieved by creating a workplace environment of open and honest communication between all parties. However as a manager often you have to face up to the fact that with all the support in the world there are some employees who do not willing support the salon or spas management goals and objectives. If there are no solutions the employee might wish to consider leaving the job.
The salon or spa environment is close-and-personal and to reflect the peace and tranquillity we would like to portray needs harmony in the work place. When team members have conflict this ill feeling can infect other employees and then onto the businesses customers. The dispute must be settled between the two workers. Interview each of them separately and ask how she thinks the argument can be resolved and if she is willing to be reconciled. If necessary suggest a cooling-off period and you might even try to arrange that shifts do not coincide. But remember in emotionally charged situations not all can be resolved as peoples personalities are not likely to change.
Unfortunately certain people should not be in the beauty industry because their personality does not thrive in the particular work environment. In this industry the ideal person should be compassionate, have empathy with her customers be willing and happy to serve, have a happy cup half full disposition and be prepared to offer a full duty of customer care. This is why it is necessary to follow up on references and why it is imperative to find out if a prospective employee is a team player and has a great customer service attitude.
And when all else fails after trying all available alternatives and dismissal is the only option, make sure of your rights and obligations as an employer before seeking termination. And dont forget to keep accurate employee records and document all discussions and counselling held with the employee.
© Copyright Caroline Nelson 2009
