There’s the old way of salon staff recruitment, which is full of job search websites and unsuccessful ads. Or, there’s the new, proven way of not just recruiting people but finding new talent who are aligned with your business vision.
Your salon business is your baby, your pride and joy. You’ve poured your heart and soul into every detail, and it shows! Late nights scouring Pinterest boards and reading business books have left you inspired and ready to expand. The skies the limit, right? When it comes to salon staff recruitment, most salon owners will hire stylists who are good at what they do. But soon to find out although they may do a 10/10 balayage or be a master at pixie cuts, they just may not be the perfect match for your salon. Your business is unique. It’s an extension of you, your core values, and your vision. Your staff are the people outwardly representing the salon day in and day out. It’s important that you find the staff that align with your vision but not the old way. Instead by design, aligning with the true vision. The one that really inspired you from the beginning. We’re letting you in on our proven process to hair salon staff recruitment.
Build a Dedicated Landing Page for Salon Staff Recruitment
Our new method is to build a landing page specifically for hair salon recruitment. This page should mesh seamlessly with your current brand and website. But before you start recruiting, you need to brand your business to your standards to get that refreshed, clean, expressive look you desire. It doesn’t have to be expensive or timely, but it’s important that it remains consistent to your core image and values. As you start recruiting, you’ll need a separate landing page on your website that matches your homepage. Two sites and you’re off to a great start for recruitment!
Create a Focused Video that will Speak to the Right Candidate
Next comes a powerful video; a presentation of you, your team, your salon, and what your core values. Include a video or voiceover of yourself to set the tone. It’s important that your video portrays your current environment and work values. Your personal story and heartfelt message will strike a chord with watchers and create the increased response you are looking for.
Grow Your Reach for Effective Salon Staff Recruitment
A great landing page and video can only go as far as the viewers it reaches. The best way to increase views and visits to your website and recruitment landing page is to develop organic traffic. Use your blog and some basic SEO keywords to attract local talent. Once a week write a new blog post that speaks to local talent. Write about hiring, hair salon recruitment, schooling, your team, education, about fun hair techniques, balayage, hair extensions, hair loss, etc. It will pay off to be relentless about writing and creating new content. Be sure to include fun pictures in all your blog posts. If you don’t have the time to produce the content, consider hiring someone to help.
Outsourcing is a Low Cost Solution for Building Your Message
Use Fiverr.com or Upwork.com for easy access to many writers at affordable prices. Now you may ask, why is all of the writing important? Because the minute somebody Googles for salon hiring, salon recruiting, or anything about new beauty industry opportunities in your area, you need to be the very first salon in the search results, and writing content will get you there. (This will help you beyond just recruiting!) More content will give you the best chance of attracting the greatest amount of people. So when your landing page has the perfect message and values you’ll attract the right candidates to come see you and apply.
Hint: It’s extremely important for the landing page to convert as soon as it’s viewed. Hence why an engaging video is so impactful. You want them to think “I like what this salon represents. I’m interested and I’m making an appointment.” You will need an action button at the bottom that encourages viewers to, “make your appointment”, ” make your introduction”, or “come visit us now!” These are basic things that you must have to start recruiting consistently and attracting the right people.
Create an Incredible Interview Process
Once they do plan to meet you, you need a consistent hiring system already in place to ensure efficient screening of every recruit. You need to have your perfect avatar defined for recruits, know your values, and have the right questions to ask. These days, everyone has grown accustomed to Zoom, so have your first interview via Zoom to save time and avoid unnecessary traffic in the salon. Make sure to have a professional space with good lighting and audio to conduct your call.
Nail the Interview for Successful Salon Staff Recruitment
When you have the call, it’s important to set the expectations properly and create an agenda. This tells them you are in control of the meeting thus creating a sense of confidence and trust in you. Let them know there is a process to the interview. Many of our clients have reduced the number of interview visits to actually make an offer. You could explain to them: “we used to have a process of five visits, and now we’ve shortened the process with 2 very in-depth meetings. We have a lot of candidates, so we’re very careful about who we hire to make sure that you are in the right place for you.”
Prepare Great Questions for the Interview
Explain that we have a set of questions to go through, but before we start, tell them a little bit about you: your story, your vision, and why you got into this industry. Explain why people are doing really well at your salon and that it might not be for everybody, which is fine as long as it aligns with the members of our team. Next, ask about them: What is your story? What are your ambitions? Why did this salon attract you and what exactly spoke to you? How did you find us? What led you to make this appointment? How was the process? Would you change anything? Always remember, you want them talking, not just you. It’s critical to hear all you can from them. That’s how you’ll really get a feel whether they are a good fit, and you’ll also learn what worked in attracting them to your salon.
Dig into the Really Important Details
Thank them for giving feedback. I have three general lines of questions that will help you get to know this person at a much deeper level.
Describe your perfect situation. What is your perfect week? How would you like to work? Have them put it on paper. Clarity is essential in an interview. How would you like to work? What would a perfect week look like? Would you like to work 30 hours, 40 hours, 50 hours? 3, 4, 6 days a week?
What would you do with your spare time? Why do you want to work these hours? How many hours do you see in your future, and would that be solely as a stylist? What are your personal, social, and professional goals? Describe your ideal career. I’d love to know what your professional vision looks like.What are you looking for in a new position? How can we help you grow to achieve that vision? How can we help you bring this to reality? What are your work ethics? What do you think you need in a salon in order to be successful?
Whether they are new talent or a seasoned hairdresser, all of these questions are relevant and important. Lastly, give them an example of what your values mean to you and ask them to write down what it means to them.
Assess the Results to see if they Align With YOUR Goals
At this point, that is all you will need to know. You will find out many things. Some details to pay attention to: Are they looking at your eyes? and are they good listeners? Do they apply what you ask them to do? How are their verbal skills? Confidence level? Do they look clean and professional? Are they patient? Do they smile? Are they bubbly or shy? What kind of a personality shines through? What are their stories?
All of the traits you do and do not want in a staff member will surface. Because you already have your ideal avatar defined, it will be an easy comparison to see if they are a good fit. It will give both parties an opportunity to see if there is a genuine connection and potential for a mutually beneficial partnership.
Don’t Forget the Money Question
Lastly, I always finish with this extremely important question. What monetary amount would make this the perfect offer; what monthly income would you need to build the perfect life you dream of? That’s the magic question that will either seal the deal, or if you’re not so sure, invite them for a follow-up visit.
Salon Staff Recruitment Summary
We delve deeper into each step of the hair salon recruitment process with our clients, but if you can get this far, I promise you’ll see amazing results in a very short period of time! To learn more about Salon Cadence and how we coach salon owners through this process, schedule a complimentary call with a Salon Cadence coach. Learn More Here.
Check our Library of Articles for more tips on building a successful salon business.