How to keep your senior stylists engaged and on-trend.

As many salon owners know, education is important, but getting your staff involved in advanced learning can be a challenge in a busy salon.

Here’s how these salon professionals make it a priority for their team, along with their tips for encouraging senior stylists to realize they’ve got more to learn.

1. Walk the Walk

According to Fady Assaad, owner of Hair Junkie in Ottawa, salon owners need to be involved in training themselves. “Education is important to everyone,” he says, “I’ve been in business for 30 years and, as a salon owner, you must take the courses with your staff to be able to discuss what you’re learning together.”

Even if you’re taking a course with your junior stylists, Assaad says it’s an opportunity to really show your staff that you’re there to support them. “It’s the only way to really be an example,” he says.

2. Talk It Up

Have a conversation with your senior stylists about what interests them. “At our staff meeting, we ask stylists what they want to see in term of training,” says Assaad. “It’s different for everyone, but we try to combine it together.”

Giving stylists a say in the type of training they take is also the key to educational success, says Michelle Pargee, owner of Milica Salon Spa in Langley, B.C., where education is discussed regularly. “It’s a requirement that my staff attend one hands-on class per year,” says Pargee. “I’ll sit down with them and usually they know what they need in terms of training ahead of time.”

3. Be a Mentor

Give your senior stylists the opportunity to work with junior team members. At Hair Junkie, Assaad encourages senior staff to offer classes to the apprentices and junior stylists based on any new training that they have taken. “They must show the younger ones the tricks of the trade,” he says.

Similarly, Pargee says that her stylists not only participate in regular training, but also channel that excitement onto the salon floor. “Very often they’ll come back and teach the other stylists,” she says.

4. Raise Your Price

While years of experience add to a stylist’s credibility, updating their skills is just as important. For example, senior stylists at Milica have pricing levels that combine their years of experience with ongoing education and client retention. Whether stylists refine their cutting skills, learn a new colour technique or gain additional product knowledge, Assaad and Pargee agree that advanced education adds value for the client, allowing you to raise the price of services.

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