the important roles of salon staff for success

The Important Roles of Salon Staff for Success

Play Your Role

Are you contemplating about opening up a hair salon or you may already have a hair salon, and it hasn’t been as successful as you know it could be if you had a great team behind you? In this article, we will discuss essential roles in a hair salon to ensure a successful business. From your receptionist to your stylist to your braider to your shampoo girl, everybody plays a significant part to guarantee quality customer service to your clients. I’m going to explain these roles in depth for better clarification when choosing valuable staff for your future or current hair salon.

Receptionist

Your receptionist should be all the rave. Some people may think a receptionist job is only to answer the phone and take appointments, but that's the furthest thing from the truth. Some salons have card machines where receptionist are in charge of payments and receipts. It's a massive responsibility because ultimately these receipts will be the list on next year’s tax return. When clients come in for their appointment, a receptionist should make them feel at home. Referring to clients by name when they are a regular makes people feel like you have a genuine love for them and you appreciate their loyalty to the salon. A pleasant receptionist also keeps everything in order so that no confusion comes into play when scheduling appointments. Another helpful tip for your receptionist is to ask the client if they are thirsty or would like a snack. It is the courteous thing to do. If you have ever felt the love of a grandmother in your life, you can relate to this type of love to the receptionist in the shop. The kind of love that makes sure everything around them is running smoothly and efficiently trying to keep the (family) shop together.

Shampoo Girl

A shampoo girl is in charge of making your client feel comfortable while washing their hair. Comfortability includes positioning their chair correctly for their neck, adjusting the water to the clients preferred likability and giving them the best shampoo and condition they only get in their dreams. Getting my hair washed is my favorite part of getting my hair done, I know I cannot be the only one! Hiring a shampoo girl is always beneficial for speeding up the pace though. A shampoo girl can help you out when you may start getting back up, and you need to be multitasking. They can begin washing somebody after a deep condition while you may be trying to style. They are on standby to sustain time management. Many times I hear complaints about many African American salons due to time management. A customer can still come on time, and their hair appointment is excessively long because of poor time management. Shampoo girls are also in charge of making sure shop is clean and swept free of hair because nobody likes a dirty salon!

Another Aspect

Another significant aspect of a shampoo girl is if they are young, motivated and ready to get into the hair business themselves. I was a cosmetology student in high school and worked as a shampoo girl. The benefits were that I was already being molded into a future stylist using cosmetology school, but instead of working with manikin heads, I was living and in action It was kind of like a paid internship. I made $8 off every head I washed including tips, and I was able to watch my hairstylist and learn at the same time. Either way, hiring a young shampoo girl is a win-win for everybody. The salon needs the extra help, and a shampoo girl needs the experience!

Natural Stylist

Although a hair stylist can do just about anything, some specialize in what they can do best. An excellent tip for a future or current salon owner is to hire a great stylist but one that takes pride in dedicating themselves to something specific in hair crafts. A natural stylist is a great stylist to keep in your salon mainly due to the natural hair craze nowadays. This stylist will know the depths of natural hair and how to keep it healthy. Natural hairdressers who can braid and start locks are also very beneficial. You are going to have your clients come in for weaves, but you're also going to have those clients that come in for starter dreads, blowouts, and braids. A natural hair stylist learns the specific art of how to tame and master the craft of natural hair. Keep in mind time management! If your natural hair stylist is free, but you have a client in your chair, your natural stylist can take your client who is finished with the dryer. She can start her base, so when you end with your client, all you have to do is sew. I’m telling you it is so hard nowadays trying to find a bomb natural hair stylist and if you put one in your salon, your guaranteed to have an array of more customers you had starting off.

Colorist

Finding a stylist that specializes in color sets the stage for bringing money back to your business. No need to look elsewhere because your salon provides it all. A colorist has not only to be knowledgeable of how to apply color but also knowledgeable on how to repair color as well. Often clients may be looking for someone to correct their wrongdoings, and for that, a colorist would need to know how to reverse color using the color wheel as a guide. A colorist will be the stylist to bring new life into a client’s eyes. Once your colorist slays that one client's color, it will be impossible to get rid of that client, trust me and then the next clients will be falling right into the place looking to see who can bomb their blonde extensions purple. I consider the colorist of the shop, the life of the party, giving us all our dream color made true!

Hair Stylist

I know we have talked in depth about specific types of hair stylists, but you still need your basic stylist that can master the basics. Somewhere in this world, some women do not care for looking or achieving the out of the box styles of today. Some women are basic; there is nothing wrong with being plain Jane. Most times these women are older and are usually headstrong in how they want their head to look and nothing is ever going to change about that, and that’s fine. It leaves room for a classic stylist who took all the basics we learned in cosmetology school and had a field day! These stylists know how to do a perm, a relaxer, a roller set, trim ends and so much more all maintaining their client's healthy hair. A good thing about a regular stylist is that they still know how to do a sew-in, quick weave, cut and style on their regular clients. There you have it, different stylists that specialize in different skills that will add variety to your shop.

Salon Manager

Lastly, we cannot forget the person who is in charge of everyone. The job responsibilities of the salon manager are to manage the shop and make sure everyone is equally doing their part to ensure ultimate salon success. They are checking after everyone at all times. An excellent way for a manager to stay on their P's and Q’s may be to ask salon clients if they are enjoying their service or if there is anything they may need to change. For example, a client may be growing tired of the wait or their stylist never being on time. Create a list for clients to sign when entering the salon. Also, have them write their stylists name down. Have the clients fill out a poll while they wait on things they would change in the shop for the betterment and have the clients place it in a jar anonymously. This way you can count how many clients you had that day and how many took the poll. Take heed to what they say because as the old saying goes, the client knows best. Another thing a salon manager can do to ensure everybody is doing their job correctly is to have salon meetings once a week with all the staff. Some people may not agree with certain work conditions or may have issues with their co-workers. Each week this gives your stylists and team a chance to get whatever they have been holding onto off of their chests because you never want your clients to witness any arguments amongst co-workers. The salon manager, manages the clients and staff to make sure the whole salon is on one page ultimately!

Playing Your Role for Success

Once you have learned that everybody in the salon plays a part in its success, your business will have nothing left to do but thrive! I hope this article has taught you a few tips and tricks you can use and may your salon be forever flourishing!
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