The Salon Owners Podcast: Phorest FM Episode 78 (w/ Stephanie Fox Jackson) | Phorest
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Welcome to the Salon Ownerโ€™s Podcast, Phorest FM Episode 78. Co-hosted by Killian Vigna and Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer, Phorest FM is a weekly show that puts forth a mix of interviews with industry thought-leaders, salon/spa marketing tips, company insights and information on attending Phorest Academy webinars. Phorest FM is produced every Monday morning for your enjoyment with a cup of coffee on your day off.

Phorest FM Episode 78

Recently a panelist on the Data-Driven Salon Summitโ€™s The Three Rs: Retention, Recruitment & Rental, Stephanie Fox Jackson joins Killian and Zoรฉ on Phorest FM to further the discussion around understanding what todayโ€™s young stylists are looking for when searching for and deciding to stay with a salon. Put more simply, what are Millennials looking for in their work? Does it have an impact on recruitment and strategies owners would have used to retain staff? If so, how?

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Transcript

Killian Vigna: Welcome to the Phorest FM podcast episode 78. Iโ€™m Killian Vigna.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: And Iโ€™m Zoe Belisle-Springer. This morning weโ€™re discussing the topic of millennials, and salon compensation and benefits to find the best way to meet your new staffโ€™s expectation and retain a millennial employee.

Killian Vigna: So grab yourself a cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and join us weekly for all your salonโ€™s business and marketing needs. Good morning, Zoe.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: Good morning, Killian. How are things?

Killian Vigna: Brilliant. So I just have to give you a big shout-out because myself and Sinead from the marketing team were actually at the Sockies Social Media Awards in Dublin last night and low-and-behold, Zoe Belisle-Springer just won an award for having the Best Blog Content in Ireland this year. So, I just have to get that in there, right there.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: Thank you, thank you very much. Iโ€™m not so good at receiving awards but I do, it does go straight to the heart. Thanks so much. And thanks for bringing it up, you guys looked fab.

Killian Vigna: Ah, sure. Look, we have to do our bit, turn up, have our few drinks!

Zoe Belisle-Springer: Right. So this episode, you know a couple weeks ago and even like just this weekend, I was in New York and we were co-sponsoring the Artist Session Influencer Series in SoHo with Modern Salon. But Modern Salon was also hosting another event a few weeks before and that one was called the Data Driven Salon Summit. And that was its second year running and itโ€™s the first summit of its kind for salon owners in the US and, to be honest, probably in the world, that is dedicated to technology. So a lot of the talks that weโ€™re there included a lot of data backed up topics and things like that. And we have a really special guest on the show today that was at Modern Salonโ€™s Summit. So, do you want to have the honours of introducing our special guest today?

Killian Vigna: Yeah. Iโ€™d like to, or weโ€™d like to welcome to the show, Stephanie Fox Jackson from the Canvas Salon in Ohio. So, welcome Stephanie.

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Killian Vigna: No problem at all. Zoe was saying there was a few of our guys who were at the Data Driven Salon Summit last week. And while we werenโ€™t personally there, the feedback came back to us saying, there was a panelist there, we just have to get her on the show. She did this brilliant talk about millennials. So, Stephanie, do you want to just give a bit of, I suppose, background to what was the Data Driven Salon Summit? And what was your involvement at it?

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Sure. So the Summit, as Zoe said, was the second year running and it was really focused on helping salon owners drive their business through using data. And my involvement came because I not only own a salon, but I also have a consulting company where I work with salon owners who employ millennials. And thatโ€™s most of us and we have really felt the struggle, in many cases, not just in the US, but around the world to drive performance in millennials and how we use data with them. So thatโ€™s kind of how I got involved with the Summit is, speaking about our primary employment group. Right now, thatโ€™s the generation thatโ€™s making up most of our staff.

Killian Vigna: I suppose, just to jump into it for anyone listening out there, first off, what are millennials? Who are they and what do people think theyโ€™re like?

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Yeah. So the millennial, the age range varies depending on what data you look at but most consistently, itโ€™s somebody that was born between 1980 and 1999. So, they make up a good chunk of the work force, in fact, Gallop Organization tells us that by 2020, theyโ€™re going to be 50% of the work force. I always find that when I talk to most salon owners, we passed the 50-50 mark a long time ago. Way before the rest of the worldโ€™s work force.

So, they are a force to be reckoned with. I mean, thereโ€™s 80 million plus of them and thatโ€™s the largest generation to date in the workforce. Now, the generation coming next is actually going to be larger. So that will present a whole new challenge for employers but theyโ€™re a big group and they have a different set of expectations because theyโ€™ve grown up with a different world than what their parents did and thatโ€™s true of every generation. But, in particular, there has been this mass technological change that was really present in the life of a millennial primarily between the ages of 11 and 19. I mean, things like the internet launching in their youth.

You know, that launched in โ€™91 so you could have been around 11, somewhere 5 to 11 years old and the internet shows up. You know, and then you get Facebook in 2004 and you get Instagram in 2010 and iPhones, and so theyโ€™ve just grown up with a different, a different life, a different access to things than any generation in history. And itโ€™s created employer challenges because employers feel like they want instant gratification and they feel entitled and, you know, thereโ€™s some truth to a lot of that. But what I like to think about is the psychology behind why they act that way. Because the reality is theyโ€™re going to show up however they show up. And itโ€™s up to us to figure out how we employ them and drive their performance in the salon.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: Of course. And what about in your salon? So, how do you meet your millennialsโ€™ expectations or even just interact with them? Because, obviously, you said you agree and disagree with certain parts of the whole impression that people have of them. How do you deal with it?

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Yeah. So the biggest thing that I think is most important that I focus on in my salon actually begins with how I recruit my staff. Because, you know, youโ€™ll hear people talk about, is it a millennial thing? Is it just a personality thing? All generations have had their headaches. Thereโ€™s a lot of chatter in every direction. But, the reality is, you know, you need to be employing the right people for your business. And millennials are really looking for purpose. And theyโ€™re really looking for meaningful work. So, I think itโ€™s the employerโ€™s responsibility, and I take this very seriously in my own salon, to recruit people who align with who I say we want to be.

You know, what do we value? So, to do that, I make sure that everything from my job description to my interview questions really are lined up with the values in my business. So, I would always tell any business that I work with, you know, you should have something between three to five key values written out. And you should be able to design your interview questions and your job posting, even, should be attracting people who care about those things.

For example, in my business, we say friendliness is one of our values. So, Iโ€™m going to make sure that Iโ€™m crafting questions to find out how much people value being nice to each other, to their team, to a client, to the boss, kind of all around.

So, it starts there. So how you recruit. And then, the next piece of expectations is how are you helping them grow? Millennials tell us in all the research that they pick a location to work because they believe that location can help them reach their goals. But, what they also admit is they donโ€™t personally know what the stairway in between where they are and where they want to go looks like. They have no clue.

So, we have to have a real strong system for growth and thatโ€™s performance standards. That is a mentor, you know, someone to help them when times are tough. And I think, most importantly, itโ€™s someone to give them feedback. You know, when are you doing a great job and when could you step it up and try something different. So thatโ€™s really what we focus on, is how we recruit and then how we keep them growing in the business.

Killian Vigna: So, just on the recruitment side of things then, because youโ€™re saying that itโ€™s trying to identify your own values and make sure they align with that, do you find it makes recruiting that little bit more difficult because youโ€™re not just hiring a skill set, youโ€™re making sure itโ€™s the right millennial that will fit with your brand, with your values, with your culture. Does that make recruiting a little bit harder, does it make it longer?

Stephanie Fox Jackson: It can. It really depends on what the pool of applicants looks like. And, I personally, spend a lot of time in the schools in my area to, I speak to them. Not about my salon specifically, I actually like to do little classes on how should they pick the right salon. Because I think itโ€™s a disservice to all salons owners to just hire whoever.

The students donโ€™t know how to find the right salon and they might land there and realise pretty quickly, itโ€™s not the right fit for them and thatโ€™s bad for all of us. You know, nobody wants to invest in the on-boarding and training and starting a clientele build and then lose someone. So, it certainly can, but your gut kind of tells you, ah, this is not the right person. And I think the worst mistake that salon owners can make is to be in a pinch where they need somebody and they ignore that feeling. Because that never works out. It always turns into something thatโ€™s not great a few months down the line.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yeah. Weโ€™ve heard loads of stories about that. Hiring under pressure and just, yeah, filling in the gap. Yeah.

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Yeah. Not good.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: In your salon, Iโ€™m curious, percentage wise, would you say thereโ€™s like 50% of millennials working for you or 75 or even 25? Just curious to see the breakdown within your own business.

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Yeah. We are 90% millennial, myself included.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: Wow, okay.

Killian Vigna: So is that, thatโ€™s an actual preference for you to go with millennials then, is it?

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Itโ€™s not necessarily a preference, but it really is the work force. If you think about the age range of the millennial, youโ€™re anywhere from 38 to, you know, 38 and younger. 18 is kind of the cut-off now for generation Z thatโ€™s coming next. So, if youโ€™re between 18 and 38, youโ€™re technically classified as a millennial. So, think about who attends cosmetology school, you know a lot of the students coming out are 18 to 24 so thatโ€™s really the work force.

Killian Vigna: So I suppose, without giving anyoneโ€™s age away there, so youโ€™re saying itโ€™s kind of about 90% are millennials. Is there much of an age gap, then, between the other 10% and, or were they there before millennials were coming in? Do you find if there are any kind of difference between the age gaps?

Stephanie Fox Jackson: So, my other age range, theyโ€™re in their mid-40s and even I have a mid-50s team member. And, you know, itโ€™s funny because as much as I study millennials and work with teams to build higher performing millennials, Iโ€™m very much of the mindset that humans are humans and weโ€™re all looking for the same thing. And most importantly, theyโ€™re looking for some kind of connection.

Millennials, in particular, the reason they show up so differently is that when things feel difficult in their work, they have social media and everybody theyโ€™ve ever met in their life, including strangers that theyโ€™ve never met, all of their lives look prettier, right? It looks like their life is easier and better and so itโ€™s very easy for the millennial aged person whoโ€™s only known this crazy technology around them, to really be able to think, oh, grass is greener over there, Iโ€™m out.

And what you find with older generations is that they grew up in a time-frame when that wasnโ€™t the case. They didnโ€™t have their life on a highlight reel and everybody elseโ€™s life on a high-light reel. So they, often times have a little more ability to recognise, โ€œthis is a hard time for me but it doesnโ€™t mean I should jump ship.โ€

Now, thatโ€™s not always the case, I really donโ€™t think itโ€™s just a millennial thing. I think itโ€™s a people thing. We want to be connected to. And, I certainly, especially my team member thatโ€™s in their mid-40s, she can act, you know if I was going to stereotype her, very millennial sometimes. And sheโ€™s not a millennial.

Killian Vigna: So you donโ€™t find that thereโ€™s any kind of, I suppose, friction or difficulties between the two there?

Stephanie Fox Jackson: No. You know, I think in my team, because we really work with strong values and like I mentioned earlier, friendliness, I hold that very strongly in my business. I will hire based on that and if people are out of line from a value, then, we have feedback around it. And so I think it comes down to if youโ€™re the owner, are you really good at being candid? And having, if necessary, a tough conversation? Otherwise, people will take over. And you certainly could have difficulty from one generation to the next.

Even without generation, just from talent level, you could, and Iโ€™ve experienced this in my own salon, and had to work with teams on it, where my senior stylists are frustrated with the entry-level stylists. And theyโ€™re all millennials. But, maybe entry-level stylists are not really picking up the slack, you know. And shop duties is always, the cleaning piece, is always the conversation it seems like.

So I think the leadership in the business has to be able to step in and help guide that or it will become a divide. Whether itโ€™s about the generation or just tenure in the business. You know, thatโ€™s just natural, I think people get this territorial component to what theyโ€™re doing at work. So, I think thatโ€™s where leadershipโ€™s really got to watch it and make sure they help guide those conversations.

Killian Vigna: So youโ€™re just talking about leadership, then. One thing I wanted to say is, weโ€™ll get into the compensations and benefits a bit more into the show, but what I really want to know is, the motivational factor, how do you drive motivation in your salon? Do you actually allow your staff members, especially the millennials, to have more reign in your business, more kind of like a stakeholder role in your salon?

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Yeah. In some ways I do. I, and this comes from my research and my personal preferences as a millennial. You know, the days of a business thatโ€™s a hierarchy, where thereโ€™s a boss that gets to be the end-all, be-all decision maker, those days are really gone. Millennials really want to be part of the conversation, they want to feel like the work theyโ€™re doing is meaningful, they have a purpose there, they can be heard. And so, what I do in my business is I share, very transparently, whatever weโ€™re working towards or on or, it could be something as silly as talking about schedule changes with the whole salon. Maybe weโ€™re extending hours and I want to get everyoneโ€™s feedback and pulse on it. I really include them in those things so that they feel like theyโ€™re not just being told this is the new way.

And certainly people in my business kind of surface to the top. That become my people I really rely on to go to. But I pitch most things to the whole team and I encourage them to have peer-to-peer conversations, have peer-to-peer accountability, and certainly to have transparency with me. That thereโ€™s always an open door to talk about things which gives them a sense of being part of something bigger.

Thereโ€™s certainly financial opportunity in a lot of salons, to actually be a legitimate stakeholder, to have a percentage of ownership in the business. I donโ€™t personally do that. But I know thatโ€™s one of the growth paths that many business are choosing when theyโ€™ve got the profit margins in their business to make those choices. Theyโ€™re choosing that as a retention mechanism.

Killian Vigna: I mean, youโ€™re still giving them enough responsibility to pitch their own decisions, their own ideas, their own processes, like you were saying, even right down to when do we open and close the doors. Because if anything does become a bit of an issue, you can always turn around, โ€œwell, you were involved in that decision process.โ€

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Yeah.

Killian Vigna: Like, you agreed to that. You actually came up with that idea yourself, or whatever it be, you were involved from day one, it wasnโ€™t me turning around and going, this is how weโ€™re doing it now.

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Yeah. Iโ€™ll give you an example. I have three senior staff members who, just in the last month, have come to me because they wanted to talk about what we call our back bar charge. And itโ€™s a percentage that comes off of the service before the commission is paid out. And it helps cover the cost of hair color and shampoo and all the supplies. And they wanted to know why is it what it is? And we, personally, use the 10% metric which is pretty standard, and they wanted to know how was that money spent? And is there any way to reduce that? You know, they wanted to have conversation about it. And so we did. We had conversation and we came up with a plan for when they might be able to have that reduced based on both the business needs, by looking at our P&L, and based on what they really feel is fair. So we kind of met in the middle.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: Interesting. I want to touch back on something that you said about the money as a motivational aspect. Do you find, whether it is within your salon or within your research, do you find itโ€™s always has to do with money related or actually the benefits and perks are kind of something that people find more attractive? Whereโ€™s the line?

Stephanie Fox Jackson: My personal belief is that everybody fits into two buckets. And I call those buckets your financial and growth bucket and your culture bucket. And I think of it as we each have a foot in both. Weโ€™re straddling these buckets and at some points in our careers and in our lives, we care more about the culture that weโ€™re involved in. And there are some points in our lives where we care more about the growth opportunity and the money. And in the hiring process, I think itโ€™s important for a business to really know what type of employee they need to be attracting.

For example, a start-up really needs to find people who are going to be so in love with the culture because thereโ€™s not a lot of money to play with. Somebody that maybe has been in business for 20 years might have more financial perks to offer. But, everybody that youโ€™re hiring is going to have some weigh-in on both of those because we all care about both. So, itโ€™s about how we recruit the right ones for our business and then once theyโ€™re in our business, we have to be able to be open with them about where we are and where they are.

And thatโ€™s what, where goal setting, I think, comes in. And offering a variety that overlays the whole business. That at least gives everybody a little bit of perks financially and a little bit of some cultural pieces. Whether itโ€™s flexible scheduling or team outings or, you know, in my business we do what I call a gratitude practice. Where the salon actually has kind of a fun way of saying thank you to the entire team every month.

We do it once a month and itโ€™s, it could be something like a gift card to Starbucks. We might pick a five dollar gift card and just write a little hand note to everybody and say, thank you! Sometimes we bring in lunch that month. We do silly things, weโ€™ll buy donuts and say, โ€œwe donโ€™t know what weโ€™d do without you.โ€ We just pick something fun every month and we just say thanks.

Killian Vigna: Thatโ€™s kind of cool because itโ€™s something different. Itโ€™s not just, can I have a salary raise the whole time. Because when we sat down with our education team yesterday, our education team have all come from the salon industry and weโ€™re working with them this week to compile some of these questions. And it basically came down between two things. It was money or freedom and flexibility. So, the fact that you were saying those little quirky rewards, it just adds a third element. Itโ€™s not A or B. Just to bring it back to the A or B, though, have you ever found your new staff looking for the likes of more flexibility and freedom for benefits?

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Yeah. Do you mean their schedule?

Killian Vigna: Yeah. I mean maybe start earlier or finish earlier or maybe take a half day on a Friday, I know thatโ€™s not realistic, but maybe take a few hours off earlier one day a week. Rather than giving them a pay raise. Do you get me, every year?

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Yeah. I think thatโ€™s a big thing. That people are asking about when theyโ€™re getting hired. I see some people still show up and theyโ€™re like, I want to work, I want to work as much as I can. And other people show up and theyโ€™re like, I want to work 30 hours and these are the days I want to work. So, I think whatโ€™s important for the business is that the owner or the manager, whoeverโ€™s making those decisions, really is super solid on exactly what they can do.

Because if youโ€™re not solid on what you can do, then youโ€™re going to end up saying yes to something thatโ€™s going to hurt your business or youโ€™re going to say no to something that might hurt your relationship with an employee. So, I think being open to being flexible is essential in todayโ€™s salon world. You have to be flexible but you can have conversations like, โ€œI would love to meet you in the middle with having half a day off on a Friday, realistically, we could make that happen every six weeks. We could move to more but this is where we can start.โ€ Youโ€™ve got to have that negotiation open at least.

Killian Vigna: Yeah. Even that, thatโ€™s a great benefit in itself to have. The reason I asked the question was because I kind of found it funny where the younger side of the team were all saying, oh no, Iโ€™d much rather have more money when I was in the salon. But then the older side of the team were saying, I would rather have a couple of hours off a week here or there.

Which nearly brought it into a debate, not a debate but a conversation of, have you ever noticed, I suppose, younger people looking for more money and to work more hours but then as they get older, and start settling down, to start going, alright, well, maybe a bit more flexibility, less money. But then as they, I suppose, have settled, and have family and getting older, again, it starts changing again. So, do these benefits and compensations, do they change with age?

Stephanie Fox Jackson: I think that that is something that I see all the time. Somebody that is new into their career, thatโ€™s really money motivated because they know that they have to be, right? They have to start making an income and that first year in a salon, is a real financial struggle. It doesnโ€™t matter where you are in the world. That first year you are hustling to make enough money to feel like youโ€™re comfortable. And then, things really can change for you, after that first year.

But, definitely I see people in my business, and this is going to depend on the growth rate in a specific location but by about three years in, two and a half years in, theyโ€™re starting to want to make schedule adjustments because they feel like, almost like theyโ€™re making more money than theyโ€™ve ever made and they kind of forget or donโ€™t realise that thereโ€™s so much more potential. So they say, โ€œoh, well, I want that half a Friday offโ€ or, I think itโ€™s, again, up to the leader to really have a nice coaching conversation around when itโ€™s the right time to make schedule adjustments. Because itโ€™s easy for the millennial to get to the place where they feel like theyโ€™re making so much money but really theyโ€™re not making that much money. Theyโ€™re doing great, theyโ€™re making more than theyโ€™ve ever made but thereโ€™s still so much untapped opportunity for them. And if we let them dial back too soon, they can hurt themselves.

And so Iโ€™m just open and honest with my team about that and I do definitely make exceptions as peopleโ€™s life changes. Because I think as people have children, or get married or just have big life changes, theyโ€™re either more available or less available. And I find that working with that helps retain staff versus pushing against it.

I have a stylist who was one of my educators who had a daughter two years ago and, you know, for about a solid year sheโ€™s like, I canโ€™t participate in education in terms of teaching. Itโ€™s just too much. And Iโ€™m like, great, I totally understand. And now, sheโ€™s raising her hand again, like, okay, Iโ€™m ready Iโ€™m bored. I need to get back involved. So I think if you work with those people, they really appreciate it and respect you.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yeah, and off the work-life balance topic, I was having this discussion recently with someone and it was kind of like we both had the same stance on some certain aspects of it where we were focusing very much on our career and this and that. But at some point we also understood that some of the people would rather have more time off or time to focus on their family and things.

Now, there is some sort of like this trend around work-life balance. That itโ€™s like almost seen as if you donโ€™t have it, youโ€™re weirdly imbalanced or something and you shouldnโ€™t, do you know what I mean?

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Yeah, I do.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: Itโ€™s like thereโ€™s a huge stigma, almost, around it where I just think that itโ€™s a choice. You know, if I want to put those many hours into building my career and pushing, and pushing and then, when I do re-evaluate my life, I donโ€™t know, Iโ€™m, I donโ€™t mind saying it, Iโ€™m 27, going to be 28, but like say at 35, if I have a kid, maybe I will want to slow it down a little and actually focus more on my family and stuff. But I shouldnโ€™t feel the pressure of needing to have a work-life balance if I donโ€™t, if I actually find comfort in being imbalanced. How do you manage that? Because Iโ€™m sure it happens all the time.

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Yeah. I think itโ€™s a case by case basis. I think that in my own business, I just have some set standards that we canโ€™t really adjust but Iโ€™m open to conversation for all people based on where they are I their life at that time. So I have some team members, for example, that want to work four days a week and theyโ€™d rather work a long shift and just have those three days off.

And then I have other people who would rather work five days a week and theyโ€™re fine. And I have some people that want to work part-time. And so, for me, itโ€™s about offering up any and all of those options. As long as weโ€™re open about what works for the business and what works for them. And that itโ€™s always about both. Itโ€™s never just about them. And itโ€™s never just about us.

Killian Vigna: Yeah. Absolutely, I mean, yeah, you have to take the business into account but you still you want to retain your staff, you want to retain your team.

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Yeah. And I try to do my best if somebody comes to me and they say, for example, โ€œI would like to have one Saturday off a month.โ€ But if I donโ€™t have enough staff to accommodate the business that would be lost on that one Saturday a month, then I canโ€™t say yes to that. But what I can say is, okay, hereโ€™s when I would be able to say yes. So, if you can help me get us to here, you know, maybe we need two more staff members and maybe, this typically comes up with people that are in leader positions or education positions. And I can use that to leverage, if youโ€™re willing to help me get somebody to our new talent level and through the training, then I can say yes to that. So letโ€™s work on it.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: So essentially you have conversations one-to-one with these people. Do you base these accommodations on how long theyโ€™ve been in the salon or long theyโ€™ve been in the industry or, it really doesnโ€™t matter about the experience or the number of years but more so about how willing theyโ€™ll be to actually give to your salon when theyโ€™re in work?

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Yeah. I think itโ€™s a mixture. Theyโ€™re certainly conversations that really arenโ€™t available to somebody until theyโ€™re at a certain point in the business. Like having a Saturday off, it doesnโ€™t make sense for the growth of a new stylist. So you probably need to be three and a half to five years in before giving you a Saturday off with consistency. Of course vacation is different or requesting off. But to actually have that part of your schedule, is not going to be a conversation weโ€™re going to entertain too early in your career. And Iโ€™m going to help you understand why that is. But, I definitely think that what I think is most important is how they show up and are they, do I feel like they care at the level that I care? Are they willing to invest their time, and their energy or is it all about them?

Because if Iโ€™m seeing the, this is really all about me, that typically becomes somebody youโ€™re not going to retain long-term. Because itโ€™s always going to be how are you making them happy? And I always caution that kind of leader layer in businesses that we are not responsible for your team memberโ€™s happiness. They are. And all we can do is create the best environment we know how and be fair and try to create a model that allows for them to grow and prove that they can grow and then they get to decide. You know, is that something I want to be a part of or that not something that I want to be a part of.

Killian Vigna: Yeah. Youโ€™ve essentially got to, you have to earn your place first before you go asking for days off here or there and benefits left, right, and center.

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Yeah.

Killian Vigna: Thereโ€™s still boundaries there.

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Exactly!

Killian Vigna: Cool, well, Stephanie, thatโ€™s been absolutely brilliant. I suppose just before we wrap up the show, do you have any, I suppose, advice for a salon owner whoโ€™s, either a new salon owner or someone whoโ€™s just taken on their first wave of millennials? Or even if theyโ€™re having their first tough conversation of, alright, what do we do with compensations, benefits? Do youโ€™ve any kind of advice or first tips for salon owners to take there?

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Yeah. I would say that most important in growing a team of millennials, is that, number one, back to the hiring. You need to make sure youโ€™re hiring the right millennial for your business. So get very solid on who you want your business to be. What energy and feelings do you want to come from it? What do you value and create all of those questions to interview around that, so you recruit the right people.

And then, once you get them into your business, you need to have a growth path, you need to be able to show them, this is level one, this is level two, level three, or however you label them. But they should have goals and expectations in each of those levels. So itโ€™s never a guess when I can get promoted or how. Itโ€™s very clear. In order for a millennial to grow through your system, you have to be willing to give feedback.

So, if you have this great growth benchmark for how they can get there, as their leader you need to be candid and you need to give them advice and suggestions and feedback, even if itโ€™s hard because thatโ€™s the only way their going to go through your growth path and if theyโ€™re not moving through your growth path, theyโ€™re not hanging around.

So, I think that, find out who you want to hire, recruit for those people, get them in, show them how they can grow and then be actively part of helping.

Killian Vigna: Listen Stephanie, itโ€™s been amazing having you on the show and thanks very much for joining us.

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Yeah. Thanks for having me. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Zoe Belisle-Springer: Thanks, you too.

Stephanie Fox Jackson: Thank you.

Killian Vigna: So, that was Stephanie Fox Jackson from the Canvas Salon in Ohio. And she was just shedding some light around the whole compensation and benefits for millennials. So this new wave of staff coming into salons. And for the second half of our show, is our award-winning, blog content writer, Zoe Belisle-Springer.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: Oh God. Just showering me with compliments here! So we have a few things coming up. Our first webinar being the Salon Instagram Masterclass on Monday, July 9th at 10:00 AM UK and Ireland time or 7:00 PM Australia Eastern Time. So for US salon owners, we understand that this time doesnโ€™t exactly suit so thereโ€™s another option for you when you sign up for this webinar. So just follow the on-screen instructions.

Our second webinar coming up is the Ultimate Salon Reception Webinar, which is a brand new webinar that weโ€™re running. Itโ€™s about creating a signature reception. Because we all know that reception is the heart of your salon, itโ€™s often the first and last touch point for your clients. How do you get it to perform on the level that it can actually grow your business? So itโ€™s a two-part series, the first part is on Monday, July 30th and the second part is on Monday August 6th. I know itโ€™s a little while from now, but better sign up and put it in your calendar straight away.

And so those two webinars, July 30th and August 6th are both at 3:00 PM UK and Ireland time or 10:00 AM US Eastern time, they are both an hour long. And if you want to sign up to any of these webinars, all you have to do is go onto our Facebook page in the Events section, find the webinar of your choice, follow the link to get tickets. The tickets are free as usual, just to save your spot on the day. And once you fill in your details, youโ€™ll get a link in your email to sign in on the day.

So, thatโ€™s it for us today, if you have any questions and feedback, you want to let us know who you want next on the show, feel free to leave us a review on iTunes or on Stitcher. Weโ€™re always looking for suggestions on how to improve the show. Otherwise, have a wonderful week and weโ€™ll catch you next Monday.

Killian Vigna: All the best!

Thanks for reading!

#LetsGrow


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