April Musts

SPRING TIME IS OFTEN associated with spring cleaning, and in the salon and spa that means anything from de-cluttering the backroom inventory to downsizing to rearranging retail. Don’t forget though, part of keeping your salon and spa ship-shape is knowing and understanding all of your state board regulations and being prepared—anytime—for an impromptu inspection. Otherwise, you and your staff members could be in for some costly and crippling fines Consider:

DO A LICENSE CHECK. Establish a spreadsheet that tracks all expiration dates on required licenses as well as liability insurance, and send reminders to staff members with pending dates. If your state requires you to post licenses, make sure all licenses are correctly posted.

READ THE RULES. Contact your state board and share their book on statutes and regulations with your management team. Look for areas where you may be in violation and develop plans for quickly resolving those issues.

DEVELOP INSPECTION SHEETS. At Ginger Bay Salon and Spa in St Louis Missouri., staff members used regulations as guidelines to develop their own inspection sheets and they randomly inspect each other. “This peer-to-peer inspection raises the bar for everyone,” says owner Laura Ortmann.

SHARE THE REPORTS. Should you have an inspection, copy the inspection report and share it with your team. The report shows exactly what the salon is being graded on, and creates an opportunity to celebrate your successes and spotlight trouble spots.

OPEN YOUR DOORS. Periodically, Ortmann invites members of her state board in to speak to her employees. “For example, when nail services were getting a lot of press about sanitation concerns, we invited a speaker to talk about proper sanitation procedures.”