Alice Tuffery, writer
Hiring the right employees can be difficult – that’s why we’ve created this guide series. Carry on reading to learn more about recruiting the ideal employees for your hair, beauty or cosmetics business.
It’s fair to say the global beauty industry is booming. It’s currently valued at over £410 billion, as consumers across the world spend their money on products to improve their appearance and wellbeing. Skincare is its biggest sector, as it’s thought to have grown by £15.5 million between 2014 and 2019.
This progress could be down to the increasing use of social media. As beauty enthusiasts flock to Instagram and YouTube to watch make-up tutorials and product reviews, shops and salons benefit from increasing demand and higher customer footfall.
Clearly, it’s a great time to start your own beauty business, but how do you choose the right employees? Here are our best recruitment tips.
>> Read more:
- Top 5 Hair and Beauty Franchises in the UK
- Guide to starting a beauty store business
- How to start a beauty franchise
- Start Your Own Beauty Shop with a Franchise
- The Best Hair and Beauty Franchises in the UK
Qualities of a hair, beauty or cosmetics franchise employee
1. An interest in hair, beauty or cosmetics
Of course, this is one of the most important attributes for a potential employee. Try to discern whether candidates have a genuine passion for the industry, as this will have an impact on how well they perform their role in the future.
Great employees are able to chat with customers about their concerns and recommend products and treatments. By doing this, they give their clients a personalised experience and make them feel valued, which should increase customer retention over time.
Ensure your business comes from a sincere place. There is nothing worse than a brand simply born out of market opportunity. – Brendan Murdock, founder of Murdock London barbers
2. A love of learning
All employees should not only be passionate about the beauty industry, but also interested in keeping their knowledge up to date. This sector welcomes new trends fairly regularly, and staff members should have the motivation to seek out the latest crazes and learn how to apply them in their day-to-day job.
They might do this by subscribing to industry podcasts, reading relevant magazines or following bloggers who write regularly about their experiences with hair, beauty and cosmetics. If you can, ask candidates about this in the interview; if they’re able to tell you a lot about the time they spend brushing up on the latest techniques and products, they’re likely to be a great employee.
3. Attention to detail and creativity
Depending on the type of franchise you join, it’s likely many of your employees will be carrying out treatments. As a result, it’s vital they have the skills to do this. Of course, you can teach them your treatments as part of the staff training programme, but they’ll need to have the capacity to do the job well in the first place.
For this reason, look out for candidates who demonstrate good attention to detail and – if they’ll be applying make-up, for example – creativity. You can teach them the specifics of how to carry out treatments, but they’ll need to have a sense of ‘good practice’ before they take on the role.
4. Confidence
When a customer uses your business’ services, they’ll be looking for a solution to their problem. They may be after a foot treatment, massage or haircut, for example, and will expect you to carry out the job with proficiency and professionalism. In short, they will need to be able to trust you if they are to come back and use your business again and again.
You can achieve this by making sure your employees have a good understanding of your products and services, but all successful candidates should also be able to have confidence in their work. Even if they don’t feel assured in the initial stages, they should have the ability to act with conviction in front of customers.
5. The ability to listen and be tactful
The services your employees provide can have a huge impact on the customers receiving them. For example, one dodgy haircut can leave a client feeling frustrated and embarrassed for weeks after they leave your salon. So, it’s vital your staff members really listen to the needs of the customer and take the necessary steps to achieve their desired goal.
If the client is dissatisfied with the result, employees must be understanding and tactful until they resolve the problem. That way, even if they have to spend extra time rectifying a mistake, the customer leaves feeling happy with their experience and is likely to return in the future.
What to look for when hiring employees for your hair, beauty or cosmetics franchise
At the end of the initial recruitment process, you’ll run a training programme to cover the products and services sold by the franchise. But it’s impossible to teach the skills needed to be a great employee in a hair, beauty or cosmetics business.
So, the candidates you eventually choose should be passionate about the industry and interested in learning as much as they can about how it changes over the years. For a thorough assessment, you could consider asking them to carry out a quick treatment to see whether they show promise. This is also a good chance to see whether they can act confidently and be tactful around the ‘customer’.
Creating an employee training scheme for your hair, beauty or cosmetics franchise
Your training scheme should include detailed tuition on all the services offered by the franchise, and any products it uses. To provide a first-rate customer experience, staff members will need to have a thorough knowledge and the ability to present the valuable information succinctly for clients who ask a question.
The scheme you put in place should cover both practical and theoretical work, allowing employees to get their hands dirty while learning from experience. Remember – it’s much better for staff members to make mistakes in the learning stages than during a customer treatment further down the line! So, give successful candidates enough time to practise their craft again and again.
Finally, if the franchisor has incorporated male grooming products or services into the business plan, make sure you add these to the training scheme. Many businesses skim over services aimed at men, but the market is growing more and more as time goes on. By incorporating male grooming into your offering or even specialising in this industry sub-sector, you could capitalise on increasing demand and boost your monthly revenue.
>> Read more:
- Recruitment: Why Your Employees Are The Face Of Your Brand
- How to keep your employees happy: Tips for franchisees
- Improving your franchise recruitment strategy
- Tips for Recruitment and Selection
- Tips for Managing Employee Turnover
- 5 Effective Employee Engagement Strategies for Your Business
Building your hair, beauty or cosmetics franchise
Your employees will need to be highly skilled at the job they do by the time they’ve completed the training scheme and any initial probationary period. The likelihood of this happening will be much higher if you follow the advice laid out above. By only selecting candidates with the right qualities, you can be certain they’ll make great employees once they’ve been taught how to offer the beauty franchise’s services.
To learn more about some of the best hair, beauty or cosmetics businesses looking for franchisees, see our article on the top hair and beauty franchises in the UK.
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Alice Tuffery, writer