The Constant
Starting at Impressions front desk in 2006 when he was 19 years old, General Manager Paul Petrowsky is a seasoned professional who owner Sarah Taylor says is responsible for much of her own success.
by Stacey Soble
Tech Pilots: Birds Barbershop Gets in on the Ground Floor with Facebook's Workplace
At the recommendation of another salon, Birds Barbershops' Jayson Rapaport gets into a testing program for Facebook's new Workplace program and discovers a valuable new tool for communicating with the company's 180 employees scattered across nine locations.
by Staff
July 18, 2017
As a test pilot salon for Facebook's Workplace program,Birds Barbershops' Michael Portman and Jayson Rapaport are discovering a valuable new tool for communicating with team members across nine locations.
3 min to read
When salon owners sign up to beta-test a new product, sometimes it's a great opportunity to sample an upcoming technology for free. While the company gets some real-world feedback on product performance, the salon learns whether this is a product worth buying once the testing period is over.
With more than 180 employees spread out through nine locations in Austin and Houston, Texas, Birds Barbershops' Owners Jayson Rapaport and Michael Portman are always investigating new technologies that help them communicate quickly and easily with the entire team.
Recently, Rappaport heard about Facebook Workplace from the owners of Milk + Honey, a chain of five Austin-based salons and spas, who are part of a pilot program established to give the social media giant feedback on the new worksite-based communication system.
“I thought it sounded interesting, so I petitioned Facebook five times before finally getting invited to be part of the testing program,” Rapaport says.
Facebook Workplace is different than a closed Facebook group, because an owner invites his or her employees to become members using a unique login that has no link to their personal Facebook pages. The new mobile and web app is part social network, part messenger and part productivity tool for teams, and it is only visible to people in the company.
“You can easily add or remove people who are part of the hiring or departure process,” Rapaport says. “We didn’t know at first if our younger stylists, who trend toward Instagram and Snapchat, would embrace it, but they love it.”
Fine-Tuning Communications
Within Birds Barbershops’ Workplace, the owners can set up individual groups, for example there is one called “Office Talk” just for back office staff, another for leaders of different locations and one for receptionists.
“We’ve found some great uses for it,” Rapaport says. “For example, someone can demonstrate a technique on a model in one location, and employees in other locations can watch it live. Or a manager in one location can post, ‘We’re down a closer,’ and, employees from other locations can pick up a last-minute shift.”
Rappaport does admit that the technology is a bit “Big-Brother-ish” as he can send out a communication, then he can track who opened and read the post and who didn’t.
Through the site, the Birds’ team set up “InstaBirds” where staff showcase their work, comment on each other’s images and support one another.
“It’s really fantastic for corporate information, such as ‘We are closing early today,’ or ‘Here’s information on the summer party,’” Rapaport says. “We only have one location in Houston, and they have been an island by themselves, but this communication tool brings us all a lot closer.”
Next Steps
While Birds will eventually be asked to pay for the service, Rapaport believes they will sign on full-time.
“It’s been very valuable,” he says. “We used to have an internal blog and newsletter, but this replaces all of that and the communication is all in one place.”
While Workplace is a fabulous method for managers to talk to stylists, Rapaport loves that it also encourages employees to shout out to each other.
“As your operation grows larger, it becomes more and more burdensome to communicate to your team---this makes it easy.”
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
More Salon Management
The Most Wonderful Time in Salons and Spas
Planning is in full swing for the most anticipated events and promotions for the 2026 holidays. As owners share their favorite ways to celebrate, they prove that a carefully planned event can also build culture, increase client loyalty, boost sales, and set a business up for a successful 2027.
by Stacey Soble
Leading with Empathy, Humility and a Mastery of Systems
When things run amok at Mane Attraction Salon, Owners Chris and Jenny Knudsen say General Manager Sami Hernandez is their go-to resource and ultimate sounding board. Meet Sami in this installment of Meet the Manager.
by Stacey Soble
Pagoda Brings AI-Powered Operations to Skinovatio Medical Spa Locations
Pagoda, a new AI-native operating system for scheduling, payments, patient records, marketing, and client communications, launches at Skinovatio Medical Spa in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
by Staff
How Women are Rewriting the Rules of Grey Hair
At a panel discussion hosted by L’Oréal Professionnel in Paris in early July, French Philosopher Sophie Galabru explored the cultural shift where women are increasingly choosing natural, personalized color results over traditional grey coverage. In an exclusive interview with SALON TODAY, Galabru and L’Oréal Professionnel Colorist Pierrick Beringer discuss this shift and how salons and colorists respond.
by Stacey Soble
Warm Leadership and Analytical Precision
At Salon Blonde, Director of Operations treats the staff as the salon's most important guests, while her wonderful 'nerdy' side, loves data, systems, and numbers. Find out how she makes Salon Blonde tick.
by Stacey Soble
Trotting the Globe, Forging Connections, Fostering Artistic Creativity
In an exclusive interview with SALON TODAY, Salon Owner Salvatore Minardi reflects on his past 18 months as Intercoiffure America Canada's World Talent Exchange Ambassador and how his experiences will help encourage cultural and artistic exchange and support greater engagement between ICA and the global organization Intercoiffure Mondial.
by Stacey Soble
Client Retention Guidebook
Everything you need to know about client retention as a salon owner.
Success Grown from Within
Owner Shelby Bills says her general manager, Sydney Osborne, reminds her of the power of leading with heart. Find out how Osborne became a great leader in our lastest installment of Meet the Manager.
by Stacey Soble
How Salon Leaders Can Process the Pain and Lead Forward When a Team Members Leaves Unethically
In her latest blog, Kati Whitledge identifies the five stages salon owners go through when a team member leaves the salon unethically, offering advice for each stage.
How AI Is Closing Revenue Gaps for Salons and Spas
The beauty and wellness businesses pulling ahead aren’t just working harder—they’re using AI to capture demand, personalize pricing, and convert more of every guest interaction into revenue. Here’s what the benchmark data reveals about the growing gap between AI adopters and everyone else.
Sponsored by Zenoti
The Premium Talent Magnet: The Modern Salon Playbook for Attracting Six-Figure Stylists
Stop chasing recruitment ghosts on generic job boards and start curating an elite team. Discover the framework that top-tier salons use to bypass phone tag, automate visual portfolio vetting, and attract high-earning, culture-first beauty professionals directly through real-time messaging. Turn your recruitment process into an exclusive brand invitation that keeps your highest-ticket chairs permanently filled.
Sponsored by Beautista
Five Revenue Leaks Hiding in Your Salon
Your calendar looks full, but is all of that demand actually converting to revenue? From phantom rebookings to underpriced peak hours, the 2026 Benchmark Report exposes five revenue leaks that most beauty and wellness businesses don’t even know they have.
Sponsored by Zenoti
The Heartbeat of Zandi K's Success
After moving to Colorado and teaching at a cosmetology school, Allison Stock joined Zandi K as a stylist, eventually becoming part of the Leadership Team, Education Team and Master Bridal Team. Today, as Director of Operation, Stock is Owner Nicki Wenz's right hand, managing human resources and operations, education and career development, and coaching and culture.
by Stacey Soble
Rethinking Retail in the Era of E-Commerce
In a world dominated by e-commerce, salon owners push back with proven strategies to increase retail sales while motivating team members to educate their clientele and delighting clients with retail-themed events and clever merchandising displays.
by Stacey Soble
The Harper Ellis Hair Co. Certification Program Teaches Stylists a Smarter, Safer Way to Install Extensions
The company's Concealed Bead Method is raising the bar for what professional extension education can deliver.
by Staff
The Micro-Salon Blueprint: How Kat Scott Quadrupled Income by Maximizing Her Suite
Scott maximized her micro-salon by transitioning from stylist to strategic owner, focusing on recruiting and station-sharing. By prioritizing her ownership role over behind-the-chair work, she grew her team to six stylists within the two-chair, 150-square-foot space before eventually moving to a larger facility.
by Staff