Developing passion

With the help of some of the biggest names in the industry, we look at the importance of training and education within your salon and how to decide where your team need refreshing.

As a professional within the salon sector you will have undoubtedly experienced a range of training as part of your journey, but in an industry which never stand still, with constant innovations and evolvement, keeping on top of regular education is paramount to the success of a business.

By investing in yourself or your salon staff you are advancing the continued accomplishments of your company or business, which in turn, can lead to greater opportunities in the future.

Laura Elliot, Head of Education at Neal & Wolf, explained that their insalon and academy education is always based on what the salons ask for and seasonal trends: “If we see a specific need and a common theme in terms of certain struggles or problems, we very quickly pull the educators together and brainstorm how to answer their questions whilst making it enjoyable.”

Gaining further training, experience or endorsements not only offers leverage within a salon in terms of greater client experiences, but these achievements are a great addition to any marketing strategy. If you have invested time in to gaining an accreditation, you must remember to get this in front of your audience as this could be what sits in between a potential new customer booking an initial appointment. Reputation is so important to consumers these days. With hundreds of new salons opening year upon year, it has become a competitive space, meaning added value goes a long way.

Laura said: “The biggest advertising a salon can do in my eyes is shout about their achievements on social media, promoting their certain individual skill sets and how they got them.”

With training and education being key to the longevity of a salon business, it is important to ensure you opt for an established training provider. Lisa recommends attending a course with a colour house rather than someone independent: “The reason for this is that you know the message and product information is completely accurate. When a salon advertises a stylist’s completion the salon can hashtag and tag the colour house which can increase clientele and online traction.”

Salon owners may or may not be trained in all areas of treatments and services. For example, a salon owner may be trained in hair and not have a clue about the beauty treatments on offer. Due to this, Salon System Educator, Lisa Stone, suggests investing in courses that will give you not only qualifications to carry out the services should a therapist call in sick but it also means you have a better understanding of what your therapist should or shouldn’t be doing.

“Courses that are essential for running a business such as health and safety, business skills, leadership and management, professional standards, first aid, social media, and marketing.” Lisa added.

Experienced therapists need to keep up to date with current trends in order to stay relevant. Upskilling is important to learn more advanced techniques which may not have been available when originally training or to build on knowledge which is already there.

Lisa gave the example that an experienced waxer could take an advanced waxing course or speed waxing to help improve on time and increase revenue, they could learn intimate waxing and take their waxing skills to another level opening their business up to new clientele.

So, is it beneficial to undertake courses outside of our industry too? According to Lisa, absolutely!

As someone passionate about mental health, Lisa undertook a course on mindfulness course to help with coping mechanisms for the stress and strain of everyday life.

“From doing this I felt motivated to learn to become a mindfulness practitioner, as I could see the benefits this could have on my clients.

“It also encouraged me to incorporate mindfulness mediation into my treatments and has helped my clients get the best experience from my services.”

With there now so many courses available, research is key in order to find the right one for you. You may be newly qualified or just want to expand your skillset.

When searching for a course, Ruth Atkins, Salon System Educator, advises not just going by the price; it’s important to bear in mind that this is an investment and you need to understand what you are getting in return as well as the basic training.

“For example, in addition to teaching the latest lash techniques and creative trends, Salon System’s Creative Lash Technician course also covers health and safety, client care and troubleshooting, promotion and marketing, as well as a brand new interactive Lash Pamper Party concept to help professionals boost their revenue and promote their business.” Therefore, this is a reminder to bear in mind exactly what the course includes as for a few more pounds there are likely to be other factors involved.

It’s imperative to regularly refresh your skills within the beauty industry as there is a vast amount to keep up to date with. Ruth agrees that the beauty sector is evolving at an alarming rate with new products, techniques and technologytake your eye off the ball for a moment and you’ll soon be left behind. Clients are scarily up to date and will definitely begin asking about new treatments or trends. Nothing is more embarrassing then not being able to answer, regardless of your opinion on the treatment.

Sean Hanna, Owner of the L’Oreal Professionnel salon, seanhanna, explained that he can always tell the difference in expertise between staff with more and less training.

“The broader the skill set, the more ability the stylist has to appeal to a wider audience. They have more confidence which in turn helps them build clients more quickly and they can charge more for appointments and services,” Sean added.

Advice is something which the hair and beauty salon is certainly not short of, but when it comes to guidance surrounding training and education, Sean explained that by sharing ideas with other business owners is what helps him: “I often become inspired by what others are doing and then personalise the ideas to fit my own brand. Industry publications are great too, as are organisations such as the Fellowship.”

Jake Unger, Head of Education at HOB Academy, revealed that with HOB’s incentive – Promotion through Qualification, it allows individuals to progress to the next level: “It’s essential that the training and skill level works parallel with what each team member is charging.

“For a stylist to move to the next level it’s important for them to demonstrate that they have the skill set to be comfortable and are able to perform at that level. Our aim is to encourage them to consistently educate and develop themselves so that moving up to the next level is seamless and even expected by clients.”

By having a team each of different skillsets works really well in order to appeal to a broader audience as each client will be working with a different budget.

Lesley Blair MBE, CEO of BABTAC & CIBTAC, sees the importance in clarifying the difference between qualifications, accredited short courses, non-accredited training and in-house salon training and also to point out that currently there is no regulation governing the standard of training required to work in our sector.

“While this might sound good in terms of salons being able to be as unique as they wish, the danger of an underqualified salon owner making decisions without the underpinning knowledge necessary to ensure the safety and security of their staff and clients is a real concern. Government regulated qualifications are available but can only be awarded by Awarding Organisations (AOs).

“These qualifications are treatment based and each modality takes into consideration the nuances of different businesses while still ensuring that the underlying health and safety and professional protocols and standards are maintained. They are also mapped to a National Occupational Standards (NOS) and these are updated regularly in line with new innovations, technologies and therapies. A professional and appropriately qualified salon owner would therefore be far more adept and

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Lesley revealed that at BABTAC they have been advocating their own members to market accreditations for a very long time. It forms part of the promotional strategy for the new consumer campaign which they have just launched at Parliament.

“As an Ofqual regulated Awarding Organisation we are well placed to know the difference between regulated qualifications and actual validated accredited Continual Professional Development (CPD) training and courses that potentially aren’t fit for purpose or mapped across to the National Occupational Standards (NOS).

“One of the greatest issues we face currently is the lack of regulation governing our industry, including governance of training criteria and content and how courses can be marketed and sold.”

Lesley sees that there is a dual need here not only for professional businesses to promote themselves and their worth (given their level of skill) but also to educate the consumers of the very limited legislation currently governing our industry (many of whom are oblivious to this fact) and provide them with the tools to make informed choices.

This is the main objective of BABTAC’s new TIME Campaign: “As one of the few organisations who self-regulate our members we have a robust verification process which includes pre-requisite learning requirements to insure different modalities. Our members receive Qualified, Verified and Insured Member assets and we encourage them to display these proudly in their salons, while also promote their verified skills and standards to their clients and potential clients across all their marketing platforms (digital, social, email, CRMs, traditional etc). Any qualification done by our sister organisation CIBTAC, is Ofqual regulated (by government) and any Short Course accredited by BABTAC has actually been through a vigorous application process overseen by our highly qualified educational team.”

As already mentioned, there is little to no legislation governing the hair and beauty sector or the standardisation of training or accreditation and even who can claim to be a ‘certified accreditor.’

Lesley explained to ensure that the training you provide really is fit for purpose it is very important to choose an accreditor that actually does have the expertise to oversee this: “Having our own in-house Ofqual regulated Awarding Organisation (CIBTAC) allows us to provide expert oversight to ensure that each centres training is appropriate and maintains the highest standards.

BABTAC & CIBTAC as an umbrella organisation is a Regulated Awarding Organisation and a Self-Regulating Governing Body in one - we can provide both the expertise and knowledge required to provide and assess training & qualifications while concurrently self-regulating our own members to ultimately ensure the highest levels of professionalism possible.”

Leigh Kerr, Director of Rainbow Room International’s Academy and current British Hairdressing Awards Educator of the Year sees that hairdressing is a bit like learning how to drive. Your SVQ teaches you how to learn all the necessary manoeuvres and how to be safe. But we all know that your first year on the road is what really makes you an excellent driver: “Hairdressing is the same. Just because someone has passed their SVQ, there is still a good year at least of learning ahead of them. And understanding that they are responsible for having that discipline to learn more to further their career. Regular one-to-ones with your team and access to further training where needed is vital to ensuring they feel supported and can upskill and refresh where necessary.”

Demonstrate your commitment to staff training and development from the moment a new employee joins you and continue to stay on top of it to ensure you don’t fall behind. It is experience which contributes to a greater reputation and will therefore generate more custom.