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How to Build Trust in Your Salon or Spa

how to build trust in your salon spa

Have you ever managed people who just didn't trust one another?

We hear it all too often at Strategies …

  • The service providers don't trust the front desk to book appointments correctly.

  • The front desk doesn't trust the service providers to run on time.

  • The employees do not trust the manager to be fair to them.

  • The owners do not trust that the managers will hold the employees accountable.


…. and it goes on and on in a self-defeating, crazy circle of “NON-TRUST.”

This scenario is played out in salons and spas every day.

The fact is, a team without trust isn't really a team. It's just a group of individuals, working together, often making disappointing progress. When you have trust, it promotes creativity, empowerment, teamwork, and the leadership needed during times of uncertainty and change. What's left is a culture of trust that is an asset for any salon or spa.

So ask yourself this simple question:

Does your salon or spa culture, and its current level of trust, enable your company to thrive? Or, does it hold everyone back?

Teams won’t follow a leader they don’t trust.

It starts at the TOP ... with you. For me, as president of Strategies, I realize that for the company to be successful, the entire team must trust me and my leadership.

Unfortunately, many are not aware that they need to build this trust with their teams. They'll talk about having trust, but they don't quite understand that trust is something that must be earned. It's not something that leaders can ever take for granted. Because if leaders lose, or fail to establish, trust with their team, communication stagnates, goals are missed, team engagement declines, productivity drops, and showing up to work becomes just plain unenjoyable.

Trust and a culture that is connected to the leader

Trust, along with a solid company culture, is the biggest positive influencer on a company’s bottom line. When trust isn’t there, your team will lack the drive and the passion needed for consistent growth. At Strategies, I realize that our team needs trust. Everyone feels they are working for the right reasons and working toward common goals. And it's my job as leader to keep that steady drumbeat.

But when your team loses trust, the relationships decline, and sometimes even end. And we all know the heavy cost of staff turnover, not to mention time-consumption associated on hiring and training those replacements.

So as you can see, the effects of lost trust are long-lasting to a company.

Five Reasons Why Trust Is Critical to Your Salon or Spa:

  1. Trust nurtures a positive company culture.

  2. Trust helps with accepting change.

  3. Trust motivates teams.

  4. Trust creates loyalty to the company.

  5. Trust increases communication/ innovation and your bottom line.


Here are Ten No Compromise Ways to Build Trust with Your Team

  1. First Trust Them: When the leader establishes trust within the team, it helps team members feel secure in sharing their opinions, without the fear of judgment or retribution.

  2. Listen to Your Team: Listening can be very powerful, especially if there is no single, right answer. Your team is often closer to — and has a deeper understanding about — the situations your business is facing. 

  3. Demonstrate Your Passion: Passion is vital for leaders. It's the driving force behind the motivation to help you focus and resonate with your team.

  4. Be Transparent: Everyone is watching. Great leaders consistently perform in a way that is predictable. This means no surprises. They also operate with an open-door policy that fosters trust. 

  5. Treat Employees Like People, Not Numbers: Your employees are your most valuable resource. And great employees make great companies. Too often, leaders just focus on the numbers (payroll, productivity, total sales) and forget the real people behind each of these numbers.

  6. Encourage Rather Than Command: Inspire confidence. Support your employees, and they will produce amazing results.

  7. Get to Know Employees Personally: Get to know what is important to your team. Start with their families, interests, and career goals. Ask what they did over the weekend. This builds the foundation for trust.

  8. Admit to Mistakes: We all make mistakes, and leaders who can admit their mistakes gain a high level of trust with their team. So when mistakes happen, OWN THEM and move on.

  9. Share the Wins: Communication is critical to trust. Too often, leaders only talk about problems and failures. But it's hearing about all the great things happening in the company that motivates and excites the team. They need to see your excitement about the wins they helped achieve.

  10. Consistency: As leaders we all have daily tasks. But for some, they fail to do them consistently. Your team is relying on you to be the steady, reliable role model every day. Create a system that keeps you on track and ensures all your duties are done 100% of the time. Demonstrate that you can be counted on.


Here’s my challenge to you:

Take an inventory of the trust in your company. Do your leadership style and company culture build or reduce trust with your team?

Start implementing the above trust-building strategies, and monitor the impact they have on the growth and trust in your company.

Let me know how you make out!

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