The Ultimate Salon/Spa Team Meeting

• One star sucks.


• Two stars suck less.


• Three stars is consistently average … nothing special.


• Four stars is impressive and demonstrates effective leadership, well-designed systems and a culture committed to quality.


• Five stars is simply … no compromise across the board.

• Your company’s culture


• Decor/atmosphere


• Cleanliness


• Front desk


• Phone skills


• Dress code/appearance


• Client handling procedures


• Technical skill development


• Consultation skills


• Teamwork/team service


• Employee attitudes


• Pre-booking


• Product knowledge and recommendations …


• And any other factor capable of eroding a Five Star rating.

1. Gotta start with you … the leader: Salon/spa owners are notorious for pointing the finger at all the stuff employees are doing wrong and need to do better. All that stuff you don’t like is happening under your leadership … so own your role in creating what you don’t like.
   
   
   
   • FACT #1: Change begins with the leader. When change begins below the leader … it’s called “mutiny.”
   
   
   • FACT #2: A leader with a three-star mentality and work ethic cannot lead a salon/spa to achieve and retain a Five Star rating.
   
   
   
   


2. Gotta get your team on the same Five Star page: Going for a Five Star rating is a bold and worthy initiative that will require each and every member of your team to push in the same direction. That just won’t happen unless everyone is on the same Five Star page. And getting and keeping everyone on that elusive “same page” is the true work of leadership. Here are a couple of vital factors about getting everyone on that same Five Star page:
   
   
   
   • Getting everyone on the same Five Star page must always begin by answering the “Why are we doing this?” question. If you can’t paint an empowering mental picture of what being a Five Star salon/spa means in terms of career and income opportunity … no one is going to care about what’s on that page
   
   
   • Communicate everything possible about what’s on that Five Star page. Detail the effort and commitment it’s going to take. Detail potential challenges.
   
   
   • Clarify that becoming a Five Star salon/spa is going to take time … that it’s more marathon than road race.
   
   
   
   


3. Gotta address what’s behind the curtain: Every salon/spa has a curtain to hide its ugly stuff. Until a leader and those he/she leads are willing to pull back that curtain and confront the ugly stuff … your change initiatives don’t stand a chance of succeeding.
   
   
   
   • The most commonly found ugly stuff is: Weak leadership, trust issues, double standards, cash-flow management challenges, lack of employee appreciation, poor information flow, entitlement thinking and the culture-wrecking “I/me/mine” thinking.
   
   
   
   


4. Gotta be serious about accountability: As the leader, you cannot tip-toe your salon/spa team to a Five Star rating. Likewise, you can’t inspire, coach and empower your team by being a relentless drill sergeant. Leading your salon/spa from where it’s at to being the best, means that new and better systems and processes are going to replace the inefficient ones that everyone is comfortable with.
   
   
   
   • FACT #1: You’re going to hang a “closed” sign on the door to your salon/spa’s comfort zone.
   
   
   • FACT #2: Holding people accountable is more about coaching and open communication than it is about issuing consequences for missing the mark. Teams never achieve extraordinary results because they fear consequences.
   
   
   • FACT #3: Some people on your team are not going to be able to adapt to the changes. Coach them. Encourage them. Correct them. However, if you just can’t help them get unstuck … it’s time to make that tough “on or off the bus” decision.
   
   
   
   


5. Gotta make Five Star appear effortless: The one factor that makes all Five Star companies so impressive is how they make doing and delivering the extraordinary appear so effortless. The appearance of “effortless” is the end result of finely tuned systems and relentless practice to get it right. It’s when the team truly becomes a team. It’s when the hard work pays off. It’s when a whole new world of opportunities reveals itself.