Q: “Besides cash and commissions, what are some other effective salon employee awards? I want to do everything I can to motivate my staff to keep doing the great jobs that each of the is doing. I know that this is your speciality, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!”
A: I’m glad you asked this question because yes, employee motivation is important to me. In my job as a tanning salon business consultant, it’s something with which I help many salon owners.
Cash and commissions are important if for no other reason then as a “life maintenance” factor. Everyone needs to cover their basic obligations. All the recognition and “ata-boys” in the world won’t help if your tanning salon employees can’t pay their car insurance! One of the great motivators really is pay, especially when it’s “relative pay.” Salon employees – especially of the Millennial generation – love to compete in their own sometimes quiet way. They watch their numbers relative to their peers, and that includes the incentive pay they receive.
Pay attention to the reaction in an employee meeting when you hand out incentive checks in front of everyone and announce who got the most and the actual dollars they receive. BINGO! Motivation tends to flourish from that point forward. If it doesn’t, then you have the wrong people working for you. You want salespeople with a sales swagger and ego, who want to show up their peers and pocket the incentive rewards.
Employee of the month awards can be an effective form of motivation. If you choose to do this, make sure it’s based on objective recognizable criteria. Don’t do it with a mindset that you have to “take turns” in choosing a winner. You will never please employees being dishonest or trying to please everyone. Let the chips fall where they may. If the same employee wins each month, then that is the fair thing to do.
I like to base employee of the month awards on their numbers as a percent of improvement over the last month. That way, even low-selling employees have a shot at getting an award when their numbers are higher more in proportion to their prior month’s results. Always use sales numbers divided over each employee’s individual tans or visits they handled while on the clock. That keeps it fair for everyone regardless of shift times.
Lastly, nothing motivates more consistently as constant feedback about accomplishments and efforts. Sometimes, employees do their best but, because of factors they might not control, the “sales luck” is just not with them that particular month. Verbal and written compliments and reinforcements go a long way to getting these salon employees revved up.
On the Toolkit page, you’ll find the “MVP Report.” This organizes who your best salespeople are and ranks them by who proportionately sells the most tanning lotions, lotions plus services, and EFTs. It also shows you who has the least amount of EFT cancels. These all are critical numbers. Anyone who ranks at the top of your salon with that report are the employees you want to keep around because they’re worth their weight in monthly EFT draws.
It was a pleasure answering your question. I hope all this helps you sort out the issue of salon employee awards. If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask this tanning salon business consultant.
