How Would Your Team Members Rate & Review You as A Boss? By Clive Allwright

The Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend has long been etched into our hearts as the hairdresser’s weekend. We all had our various reasons to celebrate this year. It was our first “Hair Festival” industry style event for many years. Followed by the glittering Australian Hair Industry Awards night at the Sydney ICC. Congratulations to all the amazing finalists and winners.

It was a brilliant night and weekend full of frivolities. It was certainly a fantastic feeling being back amongst our friends and hair idols, face to face once again.

June 11th also marks my sober anniversary; I am very proud to say I am now well into my 4th year, free from alcohol & drugs.

I would also like to congratulate my good friend Dario Cotroneo in being awarded Hall of Fame in honour of the late Dennis Langford. I am proud of you mate!

Another highlight from the weekend was working with the young “Hot Shots Team” with 6 previous winners of “Hairdresser of the year” at the Open Mic presentation with my mate Gary Latham. It was so great to see the highest levels of passion, confidence and professionalism shown from all the next young generation of superstars.

Which got me thinking “Why do we struggle to attract the next generation of future hairdressers?”

I was informed it was a hot topic at some of the other open forum discussion events over the weekend.

We work in an industry where results matter, we only get paid from what we produce. It’s no surprise client reviews are super important when attracting new clients intro our businesses. We are all focussed on ensuring our clients receive the best customer service, hair cutting, colouring, refreshments, professional advice etc.

We welcomed the mystery shopper / client idea to randomly test our professionalism.

How would you feel about being rated and reviewed by your staff, in order to attract more staff?

Maybe the industry could introduce an “Undercover Boss” style program. Placing young people into our salons to highlight our downfalls and also our wins. We might possibly then understand why so many young adults choose to stick their fingers up at our industry and walk away!

I am so tired of hearing “Young people just don’t want to work” anymore. Young people often just don’t want to work with us, and we need to understand why and hopefully try to change that. Some of our own kids wouldn’t choose to work alongside us, maybe some just don’t want to end up working like us!

Why aren’t we bussing groups of school leavers into our industry open forums, in hope of us all understanding this generation better? Then asking the tough questions to the school leavers, why don’t they want to join our industry? or why they don’t see our industry as a serious long-term career?

Listening to the people who have chosen to leave our industry all together would be more confronting. Imagine asking the once young and upcoming stylist when she left to have a baby. Why didn’t she return to work in a salon? Was it because of the rising costs of childcare and she couldn’t afford to come back to work on a hairdresser’s salary? Or did she just decided it was all too hard managing expected KPI’s alongside family life with limited flexibility on offer?

We are often so focussed on how the free coffee is presented to our guests in the salon. But when does the person actually making it, serving it and washing up afterwards become invisible?

How would you change the way you operate your business, if your staff could rate and review you as a boss?

I have been so privileged to work with so many young people starting out in our industry for the first time. I have personally trained hundreds of new assistants with our company Piloroo.com. You would be shocked to learn of some of the stories that get back to us in the way some of these young people are sometimes treated. put in the hard work. However, when young kids enter the hair industry, they often soon discover it’s like navigating a mine field. They realise that all salons operate very differently. Some employers don’t even offer any training or treat their assistants as if they are low paid apprentice cleaners until they eventually leave. Then complain they are lazy and unmotivated.

I need to be clear, the vast majority of salons we deal with are incredible salons with beautiful people and treat their staff amazingly well. That’s why they are so busy and need extra assistants from us in the first place. Some salon owners sadly think it’s okay to poach our Piloroo assistants without paying our minimal recruitment fee. 90% of the assistants eventually come back to us when the offers of cash and promised shifts eventually dry up.

Maybe we should add another awards category that celebrates our best and kindest employers that focus on wellbeing in the workplace. Celebrating employers that nurture young minds into a world of creativity in becoming whomever they want to be.

Maybe running a successful business nowadays means focussing a little more on letting people can choose a better work life balance. Working the days that suit everyone. Maybe the possibility of being offered into a profit share in the success of the business.