We’ve all worked with the person who’s just not the right fit at the end of the day. Maybe it’s somebody who’s always ruffling the feathers of everybody else on the team or who rolls their eyes every time you announce something new. Don’t let one bad apple spoil the bunch; you need to figure out how to fire or phase them out in a way that they can become successful.
This isn’t about cutting people out or ruining careers; it’s about protecting your current culture and allowing those who just aren’t a right fit to thrive where they’re truly meant to be. Sometimes the best thing you can do for somebody is to let them go.
It is so painful to think about letting somebody go; wouldn’t it be better if you could convince them to quit? You can. Let’s start with setting yourself up for termination success.
Set up a salon culture where open communication is the norm
Stylists should trust ownership, and ownership should trust stylists. I think a lot of times there’s this barrier where stylists feel like they can’t tell the owner anything. Break down that barrier by being the safe zone. If someone said they need something, don’t say no right away. If you want your team to have open communication with you, be willing to listen, even if what they’re saying is insane or you don’t have an answer. Because when they trust you, it changes the way you lead your team as a whole.
Have a contract in place for everybody who works in your building
If they work in your salon, you need to have some kind of agreement with them. It’s a really dangerous place to run a business from if you don’t have anything to document the nature of the relationship.
Commission – Commission stylists should have an employment contract with an offer letter and all the things. Legally, you have to have those things in case you let somebody go, and they decide to take you to court over it.
Booth renters – Booth rental contracts should state how the business runs, what is expected of a booth renter, and the terms of the rental agreement. These contracts should expire every six or twelve months and should be renewable. Talk to renters about their contract every year and what’s working in your business relationship. They might not be your employees, but they are renting space in your house.
If you don’t expect it, you can’t inspect it
You can’t tell a stylist how annoying it is when they don’t clean up after themselves in the lab if you don’t have any rules about it. But if you say that each booth renter is expected to clean up after themselves with each guest they see, you can hold them to that.
Think out what happens if the rules aren’t followed, especially if you have a contract with terms and conditions, and create a written warning system to document it. Every time there is any kind of repeat or major offense, you need to have written confirmation that you had the conversation, this is what you expressed, and the person sat across from you, listened to your words, and signed it. Period.
Now if you’re doing all of that, do you think anybody is surprised when you fire them? Never. Because you’ve sat down and talked a gazillion times.
Communicate every time something goes wrong
As salon leaders, there’s nothing we can just brush off. If a stylist does the same thing wrong every single week, it has to be taken care of. You set the tone with your communication and leadership skills.
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Minor incidents (dress code violations) – Send a text message. Try to be really discreet but don’t let anyone get away with the small infractions.
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Bigger issues (blocking off the schedule without approval) – Call that stylist to your office or a private space and explain why that won’t work. It’s a problem that has to be dealt with, but it’s not so serious to set up a meeting.
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Serious offenses (altercations with another team member or a bad run-in with a client) – Go to a private place outside of the salon where you can talk. It isn’t optional, and if an employee refuses to do it, that could be grounds for termination. Going outside doesn’t always have to be a bad thing, but if it is more serious, it needs to be handled with a more serious tone.
Set deadlines
If something isn’t going well with a stylist – they’re under-performing or messy in the salon – set a deadline. If it’s something simple, like not cleaning out their color bowls, the deadline is tomorrow. If it continues to happen beyond today, lay out the consequences that will happen. If it’s someone under performing clientele-wise, tell that stylist they have 30 days to get five referrals. Either they rise to the occasion, or they don’t.
Make it realistic and set them up for success before setting the deadline. Make it very clear, very defined, so there’s no grey area.
If you’ve done all that and your stylist is still giving you trouble, you have to let them go.
When you fire somebody, have a plan in place before the termination happens. Keep it short and sweet. Even if they see it coming, they probably don’t expect it to be today. Tell them today if their last day and explain how it’s going to go.
Have a witness available for a few reasons. Legally, it’s a good idea to have a third party watching and also actually help to cut the tension, so it doesn’t feel like you versus them and gives them an ally at the same time.
If you have a shared booking system, they should not be allowed to access the books. Let them know you will contact their guests and offer to wait a day or so until they get their new salon information. If they don’t want to speak with you, offer that they can text it to someone or call the desk.
Nothing will slow your growth faster than a salon filled with the wrong team members. If you don’t cut them loose, you’ll lose other top performers, or worse yet, you’ll lose your footing as the culture of your community suffers. If you decide to fire or phase out a team member, be confident, create a culture, have rules, and enforce them.