ENGAGE THROUGH ACCOUNTABILITY
Instilling ‘Accountability-based Leadership’ throughout your entire salon team is essential, especially during economic times. It builds loyalty and trust, and it helps your team meet the salon’s top objectives. Bob Prosen, president and CEO of The Prosen Center for Business Advancement (bobprosen.com) provided SALON TODAY with examples and easy-to implement techniques salons and their leadership can do to run a successful business.

“Team members believe they can rely on one another. They take ownership of their actions and take charge in situations without needing to be told what to do,” said Prosen. “With accountability, your organization runs much more smoothly because people get things done.” Prosen suggests that you should hire people who are ‘smarter than you.’ It’s essential in your salon the people you hire get their commitments done on time, responsibly. As Prosen puts it, “Hire smart.”

At your salon or spa, accountability impacts the client experience. “It makes sure your team creates the, Why would I ever go anywhere else? experience from the moment the client makes the appointment to the follow up after,” said Prosen. In your salon, make sure your front-desk assistants and stylists are implementing their best practices to clients while confi rming appointments, greeting them during their visit and while booking a follow-up appointment. “It ensures you can talk about your service guarantee, because everyone on your team is making a commitment to the client and to one another,” said Prosen. If an event does arise where there’s a customer complaint, scheduling issue etc. your team should know how to ‘make good immediately.’ This is all part of taking pride in ownership.

So what does accountability-based leadership look like in your salon’s daily operations? Prosen says accountability based leadership:
  • Impacts how you deal with staffing and personal problems—this can be the Achilles heel of most businesses.
  • Drives every step of the salon process from the moment your client walks through the door until the time they leave.
  • Makes it possible to inspire your employees to work hard and do a great job.
  • Makes clients want to come back, even when times are tough.
As a salon owner, if you consistently achieve your objectives and implement good accountability-based leadership skills at your salon, you will have more time to do the things you love. You will be able to effectively deal with performance problems without confl ict, and you will create an accountability-based culture built upon results.


More articles in this series, 2010 Vision: The New Rules of Engagement:
2010 Vision: Engage New Business
Engage Your Employees
Engage Your Conscience
Engage Through Marketing
Engage Your Social Media Networks
Engage Your Budget
Engage Through Accountability
Engage Without Compromise
Engage Our Future


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