Articles

Staff Recruitment

Trying to find someone new to join your team can be a daunting task whether you are a salon/spa manager with a team of 20 or if you work alone and are venturing into hiring someone for the first time. You have a vacancy that needs to be filled but have you thought about your ideal candidate? If you could have a wish list of all the skills this person would have, or the personality traits that you think would be a good fit what would they be?

There is so much more to hiring a new team member than the interview itself and the more prepared you are the more likely you will find yourself a great addition to your team. Here is a brief list of the things you should have in place before you even contemplate meeting with someone for an interview:

• Job description – One of the most important parts of the interview process often overlooked. How can you interview someone for a position if you haven’t set out in detail what that role will entail? What is the job description, what do you expect from the person who fulfils that role? Decide what qualifications/skills/characteristics you are looking for and what you will not compromise on. Having a definite idea of what/who you are looking for is essential as it is easy to make a candidate fit just because you like them even if they don’t meet your criteria.

• Prepare your interview questions – Have a list of interview questions prepared before you meet any candidates. It is easy to forget to ask questions when you get caught up in the process. Ask open ended questions so that you can learn as much as possible about the candidate instead of a yes/no response. You want them to give you examples of how they have handled certain situations or clients in previous roles and not just hypothetical examples. Ask them how they have dealt with a client complaint or reaction during a treatment. An example of an open ended question I use is – Can you tell me about a typical day at work/college and what your favourite part of that day was and why?

• Trade Test – Firstly decide on what will be included in your trade test and secondly when will you get them to perform it? A typical trade test will include waxing; nail painting and maybe a massage or facial aspect depending on the position. I think it is also important to decide when you will get the candidate to perform a trade test. You may decide to go through the interview questions and then perform the trade test in one complete session. However I prefer to go through the initial interview first and then decide if I need to trade test them. If they haven’t impressed me so far or do not meet my criteria then it is a waste of both mine and the candidates time. If they have met the criteria it gives me another opportunity to meet them to make sure that my first impressions were correct and to see if their skills also match my criteria.

The key is not to rush into anything, which isn’t easy when you are turning business away but it will be worth it in the long run. I made mistakes when I first started employing people, I had the end goal in mind of filling a position yet had never really thought through WHO I wanted to fill that position. Don’t just settle for someone who nearly fits your must-have criteria. If they don’t match up in an interview they definitely won’t once their probation is over. Even if you are desperate wait for the right person, in the long run your business will benefit and it will save you unnecessary stress!


Where do I advertise?

Once you have decided on what position you need to fill and the requirements you have you will then need to look at the advertising options available to you. The first hurdle is going to be where and how you advertise, the size of your business and budget will play a huge part in narrowing down your options.
In most salons/spas you will get contacted quite regularly by people who are looking for work by phone/email or in person. I recommend asking all potential candidates to send through an up to date CV with a cover letter explaining why they would like to work with you and what qualities they can bring to the position. You can keep this on file for any future openings and then contact them to see if they are still available. I find this works well and it doesn’t cost you anything either!

Let’s take a look at some other options available to you depending on your budget, starting with the least expensive first:

• If you have a company website you should advertise the position directly.

• Place an ad on sites such as gumtree or your local job centre which is usually free. If you are a member of any organisations such as The Guild they may have a recruitment section where you can also place your ad for free. You can also use sites such as Beauty Finder and Professional Beauty online.

• You could place an ad in the local college or private training centres sometimes have a job board where they advertise current openings for students.

• Speak with your product house reps, they travel all around your local area and may know of someone who is looking for a new position.

• Place an ad in your local paper and on their website.

• Place an ad in one of the industry magazines, I would recommend this more to a larger spa/salon who want to reach a wider audience as it will be more expensive.

• Using a recruitment agency may be a more expensive option but it’s also a cost and time effective one for those whose budgets allow. The initial leg work is done for you and once you have presented the agency with your criteria they then find candidates who they feel will meet it. Most agencies interview and trade test the candidates first so if you have stated they must be great at massage then they will make sure of this first and only send therapists who are great at massage and love to do it!

Recruitment can be a daunting and lengthy process especially when tackling it for the first time but with some careful preparation and planning it won’t be long before you find the next addition to your growing team.

Kelly Shaw

Kelly Shaw is Managing Director of k:SPA, and part of the Beauty Finder expert author team.