Beat Stress
How many times on an average day do you hear or see somebody stressed? It is a natural part of life and many clients will see their hair appointment as a stress reliever. Therefore it’s vital that your team create a calm and relaxing environment, vital but not always so easy to achieve.
It can be really hard when clients are late or change their mind and ask for highlights instead of just a cut, but we all have to remember that we are in a service industry. It’s not about us and how clients affect us, it’s about providing them with the best possible service. Stressed team members can be detrimental to any salon, clients soon pick up on it and the last thing I ever want is for any client to feel they are not welcome.
As an employer it is my job to ensure that my team are not stressed out, our latest Fit For Business session saw a life coach talk to all the salon teams about how to deal with and manage their own stress.
Stress management is easily achievable without resorting to therapy for every team member! Exercise is a fantastic way to not only stay in shape but also to relieve stress. I have shown all three of my salon teams a 20 minute walk they can all safely do before or after work or between clients.
Simply talking to your team about stress will show them that you understand and appreciate how stress affects everyone. Being an employer or manager means you are more likely to have more work-related stress to deal with than more junior team members but it’s not an exclusive club. Everyone has different things going on in their lives that they carry with them. Encourage them to talk to you if they feel stressed, show them how to alleviate stress before they deal with clients and you will soon notice the difference in your salon atmosphere. One stressed team member can have a serious domino effect and if ignored will soon have created a negative atmosphere for the team and clients alike.
I have devised simple tips for stress management based on our life coach’s words of wisdom. There’s nothing earth-shattering in there but how often do we reach for a coffee to keep us going or refuse help or forget to stop and take a deep breath? Hopefully these tips will provide you with a useful starting point for tackling stress in your salon, put them up in the staff room and encourage the team to discuss what makes them stressed. If you all understand each other’s triggers you can stop stress before it starts.