Ian Egerton discusses incentivising salary options for hairdressers and barbers

A common pay system in the salon and barbershop industry is commission. Nothing wrong with that option in a mature team with shared vision and clear sense of what must be done to a) meet the needs of a demanding clientele and b) how to earn more money!

Sadly commission often lacks the stability and structure for long-term growth (for either the business or employee).

With higher wage costs and a need for continued investment in training, you want greater control of what you are paying for and your expected return on investment. It is now more common for job offers to come with a base pay, a bonus structure and career plan (e.g. on-going training, industry events etc.) to stimulate even the most experienced stylist or barber.

Commission structures are limited to discussing money; they’ll say something like “bring in X-amount and get this percentage, bring in Y-amount and get that percentage”. Not very incentivising to most and not very customer focused! There is so much more your salary structure could do.

Build multiple salary levels with fully costed financial forecasts and include in multiple bonuses for achieving key levels of performance. Then when recruiting (or promoting an employee) choose the skill level you need for your team, assign a salary level and it will be easier to establish and monitor the value the employee brings.

For example, begin on a base salary of X amount, plus earn one of three bonuses. You could say “Achieve goals and bring all round value to the business and after successfully completing your probationary period we will promote you to the next level, and your bonuses will increase too”.

Another option may be “when you achieve your goals you have the option to attend training or an industry event”. Engage, communicate and give feedback, recognition and reward.

Loop HR software is designed to help you manage your salary program, bonuses and commission options with financial forecasting and tools to help you communicate with your team. Discover more, try Loop HR software for free for 60 days.