How to keep staff motivated during busy periods

Christmas is almost here. We cannot believe it is only a few days away. It seems to me that the year has only just started, but 2017 is approaching unbelievably fast. A lot of salons are especially busy over December as many customers would like last minute appointments to treat themselves before the festive period to look extra glamorous. However, this can often cause extra stress for the salon owners and its staff members. Long hours, extra promotions that bring the numbers of appointments up and customers that seem more stressed than usual can often be draining. It is understandable that energy levels can be low and it feels hard to keep motivated. This can lead to a lack of desire to give 100%, which can negatively affect customers and therefore your business. After all, those who work extra hard during this period deserve some appreciation. Therefore, we are looking at some last minute tips on how to keep staff members motivated and plan for the months ahead of you. As salon owner or manager, you have to overlook the business and manage the salon. Customers are not the only thing you have to take into consideration, but also your staff members. Without them your salon wouldn’t function on a daily level.

Happy staff = good atmosphere at the salon = happy customers!

Good customer service comes from your staff. Client retention, reputation and revenue all strongly depend on excellent customer service. However, what do you do if your staff are tired, stressed and over worked? You know, one of those days where it simply seems a bit too much for them. Especially in the run up to Christmas this can happen quite often. Here are some tips on how to keep staff motivated all year round, but especially during busy periods.

Regular breaks

This is a given, but when it gets busy I know that sometimes a break can be skipped. Every member of staff is entitled to a 30min break if they work for six hours and longer. Not only should staff members take their breaks, it also helps them to wind down, shut off and relax for a quick period. Refreshed and nourished they can then return to work with a fresh mind and new found energy.

End of Year Awards

This incentive is a great one for showing your appreciation to your staff and also combine it with treats for them. All you have to do is enlist everyone into a competition. Tell staff they will all be entered into a competition where their colleagues will nominate them for who deserves the ‘what’ award! This can be anything from a ‘Newcomer of the year, Profitable Stylist, Most appointments taken, or hardest working staff’. The winner might receive a little trophy and a goody bag, or a gift card. This doesn’t have to coast much and you provide whatever is possible with the budget you have.

Seasonal Events

Events such as Secret Santa and Christmas Jumper Days are great for promoting community and involve everyone at the salon. You can even team up with a local charity and motivate your customers to get involved and donate too. Using the Marketing Suite on Salon Tracker Software is an easy and quick way to spread the word about upcoming events. Secret Santa is always good for a bit of fun between employees. Create a theme with a set spend amount so that it is affordable for anybody and then get your staff members to pick names from a hat.

Socials

We all need some time off here and then and it is especially important to get away for a while to embrace other non-work related activities. How about you plan a social for all your staff. This could be anything from bowling to eating out, or attending a show. Find out what people are passionate about and book something everyone would enjoy. Team bonding activities such as karting are great fun and leave everyone with good memories.


No matter how busy some days can be, don’t forget you are a team and no one is supposed to handle all the customers and stress on their own. Plan in advance how you can make this time easier for you can your staff. Organisation is key and will make life a lot easier when done early and properly.

With that said, we hope some of the tips come in handy and it gives you some ideas for the New Year as well.

Salon Tracker x