Career opportunities in salon management

Salon management involves building excellent relationships with clients,establishing a smooth functioning order and setting standards for overall beauty services, writes Gunjan Gaur

Management of any business is much more than just shaping the overall job and then assigning duties to employees. While assigning duties is a major task, the actual task is much more involved. It adds to the overall success of the organisation in several ways.

Salon managers are often accountable for scheduling staff members, training new front-desk workers and determining budgets. They have a highly important role as they are responsible for the day-to-day running of the salon. Managers ensure that the salon is running effectively and competently.

What does it entail?

A successful salon manager requires both talent and skill. An effective manager should be able to recognise, interpret, and relate the organisation’s vision back to their employees in order to maintain productivity. The person should go above and beyond their daily job responsibilities to manage a salon successfully. Strong communicative and management skills will also come in handy.

A prospective salon manager must maintain a high-level of professionalism and be able to work in a high-pressure environment. Excellent knowledge of the beauty industry and keeping up with the latest trends is important. The ability to work at flexible hours will get a salon manager more opportunities.

Every salon manager should know how to build a strong customer relationship so as to build a strong network. The course will empower one with soft skills along with the hard skills required to deal with staff as well as clients in order to survive in this competitive business of beauty. Some of the elements of salon management include:

* Legal responsibilities: Many rules and regulations apply to the business industry to ensure safety, responsible business practices and compliance with the law. The rules and regulations depend on what type of beauty salon a person is operating and what the location of the business is, as they are set by state boards and city codes. Therefore, the business must obtain the proper licenses and certificates to meet  legal standards.

* Retail sale: Retail is an essential part of any salon business and adds another dimension to a client’s overall salon experience. This means that a salon manager is helping the salon grow and succeed.

* Communication skills: Clear and consistent communication is essential for making sure a business runs the best.

* Staff management: Managing people can be the most challenging but rewarding part of running a business. The situations that require management of people can quite often involve a manager.

* Client care: A salon is not just about rendering the best services, but it is also a lot about customer service. Customer does remain a king in salon business and making them feel as comfortable and pampered as possible would always win repeat visits and a loyal client list.

* Store management: There are challenges ranging from separate trends from fashion to sanitation to safety concerns to managing a high turnover workforce. They also must be trained at managing the environment of the store.

Eligibility

A candidate may not require a bachelor’s degree but they should have a certificate course or diploma in business management to run a business. It will be more beneficial if the candidate has some practical experience in a management setting and has knowledge in beauty industry.

Analytical, decision making and verbal communication skills are the core competencies that salon managers are expected to master. There are various courses that range from certificate ones to diplomas to degrees in salon management.

A salon manager has to plan, design, implement and control the pay and benefits process for a company’s employees. In some organisations, it is a dual role that a manager plays or they are divided into two positions like human resources manager and salon manager.

Salon managers develop programmes that support a company’s competence to recruit, hire and maintain workers. Specific job roles include managing and administering compensation and benefits plans, conducting surveys and research, and scheming strategic plans to support company objectives. They may coordinate and supervise staff activities too.

With the growing demand in salon management and changing trends in the business environment, aspirants can take their career to a new height in this field. This profession not only provides a interested candidate an expertised career option but also caters to those who have the right entrepreneurial spirit.

It offers ample scope for managing a franchise or a prominent brand with multiple branches, which provides a candidate to grow to the top management level and if competent, it also opens up the option of venturing his/her own salon with substantial experience and expertise.

Despite the current limited job growth, managers can have the benefits to earn high salaries. The monthly income for these managers is about Rs 25,000-30,000 in the beginning and with a few years of experience, with relevant skills and expertise the competent individuals can earn up to Rs 60,000-1, 00,000 per month.

(The author is director, ALPS Beauty Clinics & Academies, New Delhi)