Elena Lavagni, co-owner of Neville Hair and Beauty London and L’Oréal Professionnel Partner, advises how to spot signs of burnout and ways to prevent it.
Everyone deserves to be happy, and it’s the manager’s job to ensure they have a happy and contented team, no matter how busy the salon gets. A happy team usually means happy clients – so it makes good business sense too.
The Signs of Burnout:
1-Poor Time-Keeping:
The first sign that a team member may be experiencing burnout, and struggling with the pressures of their workload, is lateness. If a team member who is usually conscientious and punctual starts arriving for work late and seeming flustered, there’s a chance they are suffering some level of burnout – either mental, physical or both.
2-Lack of Motivation:
If you notice that usually-enthusiastic members of your team are suddenly lacking in motivation, this can be another red flag. Watch out for team members becoming lazy in the way they communicate with clients, perhaps they have lost their usual sparkle. Keep an eye out for team members either taking longer than usual to complete an appointment or rushing their time with clients. Either scenario can suggest a loss of enthusiasm for their work, which can have a long-term effect on your business.
3-Loss of Focus:
When a team member is suffering from burnout, their stress levels and anxiety can lead to their mind constantly overflowing with thoughts, leading to a lack of focus. Look out for team members making silly mistakes whilst distracted, such as getting clients’ names wrong or forgetting important steps in the consultation.
How to Prevent Burnout:
4-Make Health a Top Priority:
It’s important to prioritise the mental and physical health of our team members above making a profit. We need to be prepared to give our teams the rest they deserve, even if this will mean more pressure on salon owners.
5-Have an Open-Door Policy:
Team members need to know that it is fine to come to you with concerns about their health. Listening and communicating with the team is paramount. Make sure they know that your door is always open and that there will be no judgment if they come to you with issues concerning their health. Looking after each other is what a real team is all about, so seek help from other team members if you see someone in distress.
6-Find Solutions:
Once you listen to a team member and take on board their concerns, there is nearly always a solution. Sometimes it can be as simple as verbally recognising the extra hard work they are putting in to ensure your clients are happy during a busy period. In some more serious cases, you may need to work out a way certain team members can have a little more free time, even if that means taking on more hands-on work yourself.
Find more business articles here
