As a salon owner, you may pride yourself on being a great employer. However, even with the best intentions, the structure and organisation of work may be inadvertently affecting your employees’ health and wellness.

The nature of the work environment can inflict significant stress on staff, and studies indicate that how work is designed plays a pivotal role in shaping employee wellbeing. The silver lining? There are actionable strategies to transform work processes that prioritise wellbeing, yielding long-term benefits for your salon.

Below are some helpful recommendations from International Salon Business Expert, Liz McKeon.

Give team members more control over their workload

Small adjustments in autonomy can significantly benefit employee wellbeing. For instance, providing additional training encourages staff to master new tasks and enhance customer service, ultimately leading to improved job performance and greater pride in their roles.

Stabilise employee schedules

Erratic and unpredictable schedules make it difficult for staff to manage their personal lives and family responsibilities. Improving scheduling stability will increase productivity for the salon and for the employees, as this consistency improves quality of sleep and reduces stress, which can only have a positive impact on your business.

Encourage participation in problem-solving

While it may seem counterintuitive, involving team members in identifying and resolving workplace issues can actually help foster their wellbeing. When employees collaborate on salon improvements, they are more likely to feel valued and remain with the business, which is particularly beneficial for retaining valuable talent.

Maintain adequate staffing levels

Ensuring your salon is properly staffed helps keep workloads manageable. Consistent high demands can severely affect employee health and overall wellbeing.

Support employees through personal challenges

Supervisors play a crucial role in helping staff navigate personal challenges, such as caregiving responsibilities. While this can be difficult in a salon setting, research consistently shows that employees value such support, leading to higher job satisfaction, increased performance and a reduced likelihood of turnover.

Cultivate a sense of social belonging

Creating a work culture in which employees can develop supportive relationships with their colleagues can be an important strategy for increasing worker wellbeing. The T.E.A.M. (together everyone achieves more) concept is very powerful because when team members work together, for the good of all, the good of the salon and its clients, everyone is happier and achieves more, personally and for the business. Simply put, working together works! 

Understanding your colleagues can often be as simple as getting to know them better, though at times the situation may be more complex. Nonetheless, the bottom line is: happy salon employees make for happy clients.

To learn more about Liz McKeon, visit her website here.