Ready to unravel the fascinating world of Gen Zs and their impact on the salon industry? Brace yourself as we talk about the unique characteristics and expectations of this dynamic generation, who are set to comprise 30% of the workforce by 2030. We'll examine their profound concern for green initiatives, community impact, and their quest for financial security through diversified revenue streams. Discover how your salon's reputation could be the determining factor in recruiting these forward-thinkers and listen in as we share practical tips on boosting your brand's image.
As we steer towards the conclusion of our conversation, we dive into the unique qualities Gen Zs bring to the professional world, their influence on the cosmetology industry, and the necessity of supporting their professional growth. If you've ever wondered about creating a clear and enticing career path for your employees, then this podcast episode is your treasure map. We'll be offering insightful advice and strategies to engage and recruit this upcoming generation into your salon and equip you with practical tools to enhance your salon's recruitment strategies. Get ready to transform your understanding of this generation and propel your salon to new heights.
Ready to unravel the fascinating world of Gen Zs and their impact on the salon industry? Brace yourself as we talk about the unique characteristics and expectations of this dynamic generation, who are set to comprise 30% of the workforce by 2030. We'll examine their profound concern for green initiatives, community impact, and their quest for financial security through diversified revenue streams. Discover how your salon's reputation could be the determining factor in recruiting these forward-thinkers and listen in as we share practical tips on boosting your brand's image.
As we steer towards the conclusion of our conversation, we dive into the unique qualities Gen Zs bring to the professional world, their influence on the cosmetology industry, and the necessity of supporting their professional growth. If you've ever wondered about creating a clear and enticing career path for your employees, then this podcast episode is your treasure map. We'll be offering insightful advice and strategies to engage and recruit this upcoming generation into your salon and equip you with practical tools to enhance your salon's recruitment strategies. Get ready to transform your understanding of this generation and propel your salon to new heights.
Well, hey there, welcome to the Salon Ownership Made Easy podcast. As a former Salon owner, I know how tough it can be to deal with things like hiring new team members, managing your KPIs and fixing everything that seems to break in the salon. It's enough to drive anyone crazy. But don't worry, I'm here to help you navigate the ups and downs of the industry. Let's face it beauty school didn't prepare us for the real world of Salon ownership, but with the right techniques, systems and mindset, you can achieve amazing success. With over 30 years of experience and four successful salons under my belt, including two that hit over seven figures, I've learned a thing or two about what works and what doesn't. So buckle up and get ready for some practical tips and real talk. Let's do this. You know how recruiting and onboarding can sometimes feel like a maze. Yeah, we've all been there. But here's the deal the new generation, our Gen Z superstars, are taking the stage and we've got to be on our A game. Yeah, picture this. First impressions count like big time. It's not just a relationship thing. It's the same thing with recruiting. But let's take a look at some statistics before we talk about our recruiting methods.
Speaker 1:
Okay, according to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, gen Zs, who were born between 1997 and 2013, are set to make up 30% of the workforce by 2030. And guess what? They're already dominating the cosmetology school scene, with 95% of cosmetology school graduates being Gen Zs. Yeah, now there's a 2023 Gen Z and Millennial Survey that tells us what these future leaders expect. Gen Zs continue to believe that business leaders have a significant role to play in addressing social and environmental issues. Think about that. They're looking for the green salons. They're looking for salons that make a difference in the community, not just doing hair. They're most important. Concern, though, is the high cost of living, and they worry about living paycheck to paycheck. A big misconception is that Gen Zs don't want to work, which is not true. They only want to work up to 30 hours for your company, though, because they want to diversify their financial security with other revenue opportunities. Think about how many online opportunities there are. Another work study by Adobe revealed that Gen Z, what they seek in the workplace, they're looking at your brand's reputation. Employee reviews are important, and so are the perks of working for your company, like competitive pay, work-life balance and benefits that really. These are non-negotiables, so let's take a look at if you are recruiting right. Think about that for a minute. Are you just putting out there the hey, we're hiring? You might be doing it wrong. Maybe that's why nobody's knocking on your doors right now.
Speaker 1:
Here's five things you can do to improve your engagement, especially with these Gen Zs. Okay, first of all, think about your brand reputation. Does your brand even have a reputation? That's the first question. How do you even get a reputation? You're like Denise, I'm posting on Instagram. Nothing's working well, no, no.
Speaker 1:
Ask for reviews. The number one way to improve your brand reputation is by asking your guests to post reviews. Yes, on Yelp or on Google. Ask every single time. We used to use our computer program, forest, that already embeds that into the email that goes out after your guests' experience it automatically when they check out, it sets up an email that goes out and says hey, did you like your experience? Why don't you leave us a review? And we got so many reviews that way. It was wonderful, because what it does is it makes you go up in the Google search or in Yelp. Yeah, trust me on this, okay, okay, here's number two thing you can do Employee reviews. Do you even have any? You should be shouting out like employee of the month, employee of the week, maybe posted at the front desk, maybe do an employee's product of the week, but employee reviews matter. So encourage your team to spread the love with positive reviews about your salon.
Speaker 1:
Remember when we were talking about on I think it was our last podcast and if you didn't listen to it, go back and listen to that Encouraging your team to talk about their experience in your salon. Maybe videotape them and put it on your career page on your website so future stylists can actually look at them and listen to their experiences. And if you don't videotape it, you can write it out, just have your employees review. Or you could go and send your employees into the beauty schools instead of yourself and have your employees talk about what is going on in your salon, whether it be education, maybe it's. You do charity events, maybe you help out at the YMCA, I don't know. I mean all kinds of things, but your team can speak loud and clear for you and it speaks volumes. And again, in number three, like I was talking about before, an employee's spotlight Use your website to spotlight your employees and you can do quotes, you can do videos, you can showcase their talent. Maybe somebody just went and did an extension class and they've really been practicing on their extensions. Well, shout out from the rooftops. People need to see that you're proud of your team. They need to see that your salon is the salon that they can grow at.
Speaker 1:
Which leads me to number four career path. Do you have a career path? Most people don't. They just say, hey, here's our commission rate or here's our hourly rate and that's your career path. That won't cut it anymore. You have to have a career path. If you need help with that, reach out to me. We had a career path set. It wasn't set in stone, but everyone knew what benchmarks they needed to hit to get promoted. If you need something like that, I can help you. I can send you a template for that or I can send you a copy of what we used. It really really did spell it out.
Speaker 1:
If you do have a career path, you need to let people know what that is. So you need to talk about what your stylists earn, what your support staff earns. Maybe you say stylist's earning potential range from 40,000 to 160,000, depending on your level and your demand of time, things like that. Maybe your support staff starts at $15 an hour and you can get monthly bonuses in the form of, maybe paid time off or maybe, if they sell so many gift certificates or retail or they upgrade some services, maybe you pay them for that and they get extra. So it kind of gives them some incentive to work up and beyond what they're supposed to.
Speaker 1:
You know, not just answering phones and number five, and this is big, big. You've got to be flexible on the scheduling. I know gone are the days that you say, hey, you got to work five days a week, pick a weekend. You know you just can't do that. I mean, there's salons out there now that aren't even open on the weekends. Now I am not the one that believes in having your salon just open nine to five, because you do have to be open when people are available to come in and not everybody's available. They're working nine to five.
Speaker 1:
But maybe think about this, have a flexible schedule. Maybe you offer more than one shift per day. We used to offer nine to three, three to nine. We were open seven days a week and we were able to take I think at the time we had eight stations, but we had like 20. Stylists in those eight stations, because we had split shifts. You pick a shift. But we also had a few part timers who were stay at home moms. Maybe their kids got off the bus at 2.30 and they couldn't even work that, but they wanted a part time gig, and so there was a few of those. Now, what's the difference between part time and full time, you ask. Well, the part timers didn't get the full benefits, they didn't get the 401K package, but they were still very important to our team and for how we ran our business.
Speaker 1:
So you need to at least tell potential hires that you have a flexible schedule, that there's more shifts, there's more flexibility, that you want to match their vibe and their financial goals. You know it's that work life harmony thing and you want to tell people that that's what your goal is too. Look, I know this day and age, the game has changed. The hiring game has changed and we can't let old dots, old ways of doing things as salon owners. We have to pivot. We have to. We have to meet them where they are and be okay with that. It's okay because I guarantee you, if you don't change your thinking and your ways of doing things, you will not be around next year. Yeah, it's simply that.
Speaker 1:
So I encourage you to maybe implement some of these strategies that we just discussed. Maybe reach out to me or leave me a message in my Instagram and tell me what's worked for you. Maybe you have a different idea of what could work and you can help others salon owners, because we're all in this together, right? So I do invite you to share your experiences and your success stories with other salon owners. I think that would be fabulous, all right? Well, there's five pointers on how to at least get the Gen Z's attention. Then it's up to you to wow them with your culture, your career path, your education systems, your vibe in your salon, all the things right.
Speaker 1:
So I hope this has helped you. Until next time, remember, when you know better, you do better. Thanks for hanging out with us on today's podcast. We hope you found it interesting and learned something new. If you liked what you heard, hit that subscribe button so you don't miss out on future episodes. We're always open to your feedback and suggestions for topics to cover in the future, so don't be shy. Drop us a line on social media or shoot us an email. Thanks again for listening and we'll catch you on the next one.