8 minute read
Digital Workflow Systems Your Beauty Salon Needs to Save Time
In the bustling world of beauty and aesthetics, salon owners like you who started operating in the last five years often face diverse challenges stripping their time away. Managing a small team, marketing, admin, and customer service duties is the glamorised hustle that often leaves you overwhelmed. The result? You lack direction, consistency, and strategy to keep your salon thriving sustainably.
But what if we told you there’s a way to regain control, save precious time, and elevate your salon to new heights? All you need is to have a handful of workflows in place. In the realm of beauty, you’re accustomed to following precise steps to make your clients achieve stunning results—a perfect manicure, a flawless makeup application, or a rejuvenating facial. Just as these routines ensure the desired outcome, workflows in the business world are step-by-step processes designed to streamline tasks, boost efficiency, and produce consistent, high-quality results.
Implementing a workflow begins by identifying the actions needed to complete a task and devising precise plans for their execution. To create a workflow, you will also need to consider data collection – gathering the information needed to complete a workflow – task assignment, and a problem-solving phase, where you determine how to handle potential obstacles linked to that workflow.
Workflow Impacts on Time
Time is your most sought-after asset. Yet the constant hustle means that you stretch yourself thin and are unable to allocate sufficient time to each essential facet of your salon operation. Take client satisfaction, which lies at the core of every successful salon. When you lack time, you may find it challenging to provide the undivided attention and personalised experiences that discerning clients seek. This, in turn, can lead to reduced loyalty and missed opportunities for word-of-mouth referrals.
Workflow systems are designed to map out every step of a process, identifying redundancies and inefficiencies. Take, for instance, the appointment scheduling process. Without a wellstructured workflow, this task can become a timeconsuming ordeal. However, with a streamlined digital workflow system in place, appointments can be scheduled effortlessly, freeing up valuable time for other critical activities.
Workflows can also help you optimise resource allocation and recurring costs. Imagine having the ability to order beauty products precisely when needed, avoiding excess inventory costs or last-minute rush orders. Workflow systems make this precision possible, contributing to cost savings that can be reinvested in enhancing customer experiences. In short, if you find yourself replicating a task over and over again, you should turn it into a workflow system.
The Best Workflow Systems for Beauty Salons
Treatment Delivery
Quality and consistency are crucial for your salon to thrive. A treatment delivery workflow means that any member of your team doesn’t have to waste time figuring out the next step and exceed the client’s expectations. This workflow should be created for each treatment you offer in-salon and here’s how to create them:
First, write a detailed checklist with the tasks needed to deliver a successful treatment. Then, collect data by outlining the information needed from clients to complete the treatment. Move on to task assignment by writing down the techniques, skills, products, and training needed by therapists to complete the treatment. Finally, focus on problem-solving and make a list of common questions or problems that arise while delivering the treatment and how to solve them.
For instance, the workflow for a facial will include a skin analysis where you’ll collect data from the client, including their skin concerns. Then, the checklist will outline its delivery, from exfoliation to mask and facial massage. Your workflow should also outline the products and hand techniques used for each step, and how trained therapists should overcome skin reactions or client discomfort.
Client Salon Experience
Client salon experience is all about the impression your business makes on clients when they walk through the door, into the treatment room, and settle their invoices. Turning your client salon experience into a workflow ensures that each new face experiences consistent and quality customer service, no matter what team member they encounter.
To create this workflow, use our checklist, data collection, task assignment, and problem-solving method. Put yourself into your client’s shoes and outline the impression your salon makes when they walk through your doors, the greeting they receive, the check-in process, the wait time, the steps that come right before their treatment, the post-treatment consultation, the payment process, the next appointment booking, and finally the farewell. Outline the data needed from clients before their treatment begins, write down which team member the client will interact with, and the problems or questions you often encounter during the check-in and check-out process.
Overall, this workflow is all about the journey a client experiences only before and after a treatment. By creating it in detail, you will be able to train your staff more quickly and save time operating your business.
Team Onboarding
Team onboarding in your salon is the foundation upon which your staff’s success and your salon’s excellence are built. Transforming this crucial process into a well-structured workflow guarantees that every new therapist receives a consistent and high-quality introduction to your salon’s culture and operations.
Before a new team member steps foot into your salon, outline the entire onboarding journey. To create your workflow, take into consideration the checklists, training resources, and time allocation needed for them to get up to speed. This meticulous planning extends to the first-day schedule, including orientation and
introductions to team members, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and setting performance expectations. Throughout your workflow, you should also consider gathering essential data from them such as personal information and employment documentation, training needs and skill assessments, availability and scheduling preferences, and emergency contact information along with any health considerations. Then, consider who will mentor them and what tasks and responsibilities they will have going forward.
Throughout the onboarding process, anticipate common challenges and questions that may arise, address issues related to technology access or equipment, provide solutions for procedural or policy-related queries, encourage open communication and feedback to identify areas for improvement, and continuously assess the effectiveness of the onboarding process, making adjustments as needed.
By meticulously crafting this team onboarding workflow, you empower your salon to seamlessly integrate new talent, ensuring that every new team member contributes positively to your salon’s growth and reputation while reinforcing a culture of excellence.
Bookkeeping
Financial management plays a pivotal role in sustaining and growing a salon. There are many components to a business’s finances and to ensure nothing falls through the cracks, you must have an efficient workflow. Before brainstorming your workflow, you will need to consider all revenues and expenses linked to your salon. First, print out your bank statements for the last year and identify all your financial flow. Your checklist should include payroll, supply orders, digital subscriptions, and any recurring costs your salon has handled within the past year.
Then, consider how you will streamline your financial document, including the tools, and team members assigned to the task to ensure all expenses are categorised regularly. The goal is to make it easier to coordinate with your bookkeeper with whom you should consider scheduling a monthly or quarterly meeting, according to your needs.
A robust bookkeeping workflow evolves with your salon’s needs. Regularly audit financial processes to identify areas for improvement. Adjust procurement strategies and cost-saving measures in response to market fluctuations. By implementing a bookkeeping workflow, you will quickly find that you have more control and time over your salon.
Organise Your Workflows
Now that you’ve diligently structured multiple workflows to streamline your beauty and aesthetic salon operations, there’s a crucial step to ensure they serve their intended purpose: easy accessibility. After all, the last thing you want is for your well-thought-out workflows to become another stack of forgotten folders or scattered digital documents. To harness the full potential of these processes, consider the game-changing solution that is a Digital Business Manual.
Your time is a valuable resource, and the workflows you’ve established are meant to free up more of it for you. With a digital business manual, you can safeguard the time you’ve invested by centralising all your essential processes in one easily accessible digital hub. Say goodbye to the frustration of searching through piles of paperwork or numerous digital folders. Instead, envision a system where all critical information is just a click away.
Ready to take the next step toward efficient workflow organisation and reclaim more of your precious time? In the last magazine edition, we shared a step-by-step guide to building your own digital business manual. But if you need extra help, consider enrolling in our upcoming Digital Business Manual workshop. In this course, we’ll guide you through setting up your own DBM, complete with over 50 essential processes. It’s your opportunity to create a streamlined salon management experience, ensuring that your workflows remain easily accessible and highly effective.
YOUR WORKFLOW CHECKLIST
- Write a checklist of tasks included in your workflow.
- Write down the data needed to complete the workflow.
- Note the skills, techniques, products, etc, needed to complete a task.
- Assign tasks to relevant team member.
- Identify potential problems and their solutions.
At Digital Health Co we blend our beauty background and tech expertise to bring you curated, effective, and growth-centric digital solutions. We understand all-too-well your treatments and services, your clients’ needs, and your business goals.
Learn more about Digital Health Co
https://digitalhealthco.com.au/mocha
