Everyone, when you’re picking people to work with you, what do you look for?
Choosing the right people is super important because it affects how long they stay with you, which can impact how well your salon does.
For me, I focus on finding people who share the same values.
This goes for both the folks who work here and the customers who come in. I want people who already understand and agree with what we’re all about.
Since employees stick around longer than customers, even if someone seems really talented, if I sense that they don’t see things the same way we do, I won’t hire them.
Figuring Out What’s Really Important
I think there are two kinds of values: ones that can change and ones that stay the same.
By asking questions like, “What led you to where you are now?” I try to figure out what someone’s unchanging values are.
Their answers help me see what values they’ve always stuck to.
Matching Values and Work Style
When someone’s values match up with how we like to work, they usually stay with us for a long time.
We hardly ever have to convince them to stick around because we already see eye-to-eye on what’s important.
Creating this kind of environment helps keep turnover low and makes the business more stable.
So, the most important thing is that our values line up.
Sure, having skills is important too. But sometimes, really talented people can actually mess things up, so it’s important to think about that when building the team.
Just Hiring Talented People Doesn’t Always Grow the Company
People often say you should hire super talented folks, but it’s not always that simple.
Really talented people (confident, good decision-makers, assertive) often end up starting their own thing sooner or later.
They might seem like a great addition during interviews, but they might leave after bringing in a bunch of sales and taking customers and staff with them to start their own business.
I’ve seen plenty of businesses go through this before.
Building a Solid Team by Picking the Right People
Because of all this, I don’t just pick people based on how skilled they are in my salon or the ones I manage.
Our top priority is always making sure their values match ours. We see how consistent they are with what we believe in.
Then, we decide if they have the skills we’re looking for. If they do, we hire them. If not, we don’t.
By doing this consistently, we’re building a team that’s less likely to fall apart.
