Salon Culture is that invisible, yet tangible, energy that distinguishes the salon or spa, binds its team, and attracts clients. These ST200 honors clearly define their vision and mission, while consistently creating concrete activities ...
Having a strong culture helped the team from Signatures Salon in Lake Charles, Louisiana, pull together and reopen as soon as possible after a drunk driver crashed into the front of their salon.
5 min to read
Salon Culture is that invisible, yet tangible, energy that distinguishes the salon or spa, binds its team, and attracts clients. These ST200 honors clearly define their vision and mission, while consistently creating concrete activities and traditions that drive the culture.
ALLURE DESIGNS IN BEAUTY Libertyville, IL alluredesigns.net Shelly Malizola SQUARE FEET: 3,200 TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 15 AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $48 CULTURE: creative, passionate, integrity BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda, Bumble and Bumble COLOR: Aveda TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, Demandforce ASSOCIATIONS: CC, PBA “I take time each year to hand-write thank you notes to each and every employee. We constantly talk about numbers and performance, but I feel it’s also important to let the staff know what they mean as individuals and as a team.”
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BOBBY COOPER SALON Indianapolis, IN bobbycoopersalon.com Bobby Cooper, Sarah Cooper SQUARE FEET: 2,200 TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 17 AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $67 CULTURE: consistent, positive, team-oriented BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Oribe, Kerastase, Viviscal COLOR: Matrix TECH SUPPORT: Milano, Demandforce, Booker ASSOCIATIONS: Intercoiffure, PBA “We host Bobby Cooper Salon Team Day at an offsite location, and teams are announced for a city-wide scavenger hunt. Each team receives a sealed envelope with four locations and $25. The goal is to get your team to each location, take creative pictures there and return before a designated time. We always end the day with a lip-synch challenge.”
CENTRE SALON, LAKEWOOD Lakewood, CO centresalon.com James F. Pacifico SQUARE FEET: 3,300 TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 24 AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $30 CULTURE: fun, guest-focused, constant improvement BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda COLOR: Aveda TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce “We encourage our team to create ‘above and beyond’ experience by empowering them with autonomy, training them to recognize opportunities and inspiring them to think outside the box. We document all stories and celebrate ‘above and beyonds’ at our pre-shift huddles.”
GINGER BAY SALON & SPA St. Louis, Missouri gingerbay.com Laura A. Ortmann and Jeffrey N. Evenson SQUARE FEET: 10,000; 2,800 TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 105 AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $47 CULTURE: purpose, mastery, selflessness BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda COLOR: Aveda TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, Demandforce, WebOpenings, SpaBoom ASSOCIATIONS: PBA, 2 to 10 Network “I hired a Franklin Covey facilitator to coach me, and to work with my leaders to define and cultivate our culture. She has been working with us since 2009. With her help, we learned how to keep the culture relevant every day.”
INTEGRITY LASH Pasadena, CA integritylash.com Tussanee Luebbers SQUARE FEET: 2,000 TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 12 AVERAGE LASH SERVICE: $105 CULTURE: integrity, innovative, professional BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Bella Lash, Revitabrow TECH SUPPORT: Booker, Locbox, MailChimp ASSOCIATIONS: PBA, NEESA “Aside from daily huddles, we also have monthly team meetings where we take the staff out to a nearby restaurant, buy lunch and spend some time looking at the bigger picture. At these meetings we also share the Employee of the Month.”
NAMASTE PURE DESIGN SALONS Denver, CO namastehair.com Rick Van De Riet and Tommy Pernell SQUARE FEET: 450; 800; 1,600 TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 35 AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $45 CULTURE: “I honor you.” BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda COLOR: Aveda TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Mail ASSOCIATIONS: PBA “Our culture is going the extra mile to honor people. For example, if we hear one of our long-term guests is going through chemo, we offer them six weeks of free massage. If we are out of a specific product, we will locate it at one of our other locations and deliver it to the guest’s home.”
PARIS PARKER SALONS & SPAS Hammond, LA parisparker.com Debra Neill Baker and Edwin Neill SQUARE FEET: 6,800; 1,900; 8,800; 600 TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 214 AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $48 CULTURE: inspired, educational, supportive BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda COLOR: Aveda TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce ASSOCIATIONS: ISBN, PBA “Our culture is very influenced by Qnity, which teaches beauty professionals how to build their individual businesses in ways that are in line with our practices. Each team member goes through the program and we’ve added their tools to our culture.”
SALON LAURIE & COMPANY Baltimore, MD salonlaurie.com Laurie K. Schroeder SQUARE FEET: 1,100 TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 22 AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $69 CULTURE: “Unlike any other!” BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aquage, private label COLOR: Goldwell TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, Demandforce ASSOCIATION: PBA “Being a team-based pay salon creates the team atmosphere right from the beginning. Our annual salon retreat is all about the team! Each year I create competitions that produce some of the funniest ‘smack talk.’”
SIGNATURES SALONS Lake Charles, LA signaturessalon.biz Wendy White-McCown SQUARE FEET: 1,500 TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 24 AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $40 CULTURE: family, integrity, efficiency BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Bumble and Bumble, Intelligent Nutrients COLOR: Wella, Pravana TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce “In May, our salon was extensively damaged when a drunk driver plowed through our front entrance. Within an hour of the crash, our salon team came together ready and willing to do anything to help clean up. Within 48 hours, we worked to salvage what we could and set up a temporary location.”
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SPA BLEU West Dundee and South Barrington, IL spa-bleu.com Tammy Coakley SQUARE FEET: 3,600; 2,900 TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 70 AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $65 CULTURE: passionate, caring, accountable BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda COLOR: Aveda TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, Demandforce ASSOCIATION: PBA “After Serious Business, a group of five team members approached the management team about developing Spa Bleu Ambassadors. There is one from each department and they attend and run our monthly calls and take turns presenting ideas for building team culture.”
Additional Honorees Blo, Raleigh, NC Brown & DeLine, Ann Arbor, MI Canvas Salon and Skin Bar, Powell, OH Clive and Co, Dallas, TX Cortello Salon, Jacksonville Beach, FL DV8 the Salon, Grapevine, TX Elements of Style Salon & Day Spa, Eldersburg, MD Evolve Salon and Spa, Center Valley, PA Habitude Salons and Spa, Seattle, WA Impressions, Mequon, WI John Robert’s Spa, Mayfield Heights, OH Lux Salon, Fullerton, CA Neroli Salon & Spa, Milwaukee, WI Nuovo Salon Group, Sarasota, FL Nurtur the Salon, Columbus, OH Paul Kenneth Salon & Spa, Woburn MA Progressions Salon Spa Store, Rockville, MD RedBloom Salon, Calgary Scott J Aveda Salon, New York, NY Studio Be Salon, Ft. Collins, CO Tangerine Salon and Spa, Murfreesboro, TN The Black Cat Salon + Spa, Kailua, HI The Circle Salon, Chicago, IL
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