Post Pandemic Culture: Chasing Change or Driving Change, It’s Your Choice

Post Pandemic Culture: Chasing Change or Driving Change, It’s Your Choice.

We’re all tired of hearing about how much life has changed in the past few years, but that doesn’t change the fact that life has, indeed, dramatically changed. When all everyone wants to talk about is Covid and how much life is dramatically different, Covid burnout is real.

At first glance, it seems that nothing is as it was. Priorities for employees and clients have shifted. Rising costs, altered client patterns, and the changing workforce sometimes seem to have us all on edge. We’re all scrambling to pick up the slack with such unprecedented unpredictability.
However, at the heart of it all, people are still people…and business is still business.

The culture of your salon can help you weather the storm. Now is not the time to be reactionary, it’s an opportunity to drive the change that you want to see at your salon and with your staff. Take a look at the entire client and employee experience, and ask yourself if it’s what you want it to be. If it isn’t, what areas could use some work?

Although individual salon culture is unique to each salon, there are several things everyone needs to take a look at to make sure you’re positioned for the future. If all of the following are the same as they were three years ago, it is very likely that you need to drive change before you find yourself behind the eight ball:

• Do you have flexible scheduling options for stylists and staff?
• How comfortable are you with the training methods for your front desk and reception team?
• Is your image online in line with the demographic you serve? (if you haven’t updated lately, likely not)
• Imagine yourself as a client, what experience are you getting and what experience do you want?
• Is your salon a clean, comfortable, and safe environment for staff and clients?

The changes brought by the pandemic aren’t over, but it does help to have an evolving plan to stay ahead of the curve. Evaluate and re-evaluate your plans frequently. Carefully watching the needs of employees and clients can allow you to spot areas that need work long before they become real problems. In a post pandemic world, your salon’s culture can be a bright and happy spot for your clients and staff.

[this article was originally written for the amazing folks at Salon Today]