Do We Need Assistant Managers on Every Shift?

We schedule one-on-ones with our team members regularly. Our usual process is they meet with their immediate supervisor most of the time, but each quarter they will have one with me, the owner. We have an open door policy, so theoretically anyone can come to us any time with an issue, but the formality of a one on one allows us to reach out and specifically ask if they have any concerns. It's also an opportunity for us to communicate any performance issues we may have with them and to talk about what's going well.
On our last round of one on ones, as I was speaking to people, there was a theme. At one of our locations, they all seemed to think something was missing in our management structure. Of course no manager can work all the time, so there are entire shifts where she is not there. The common complaint was that when she is away, about half the people slack off. (Interestingly, everyone agreed that half the people slack off, but no one admitted to being in that half). Meanwhile, the manager was going through a rough time - feeling very frustrated with her position and considering giving up the manager role. Something had to be done!
The team seemed to think that we need an assistant manager or shift leader of some sort so there is always a "manager on duty". I have always been opposed to this, as adding a layer like this seems to me that you are creating a position of "tattletale" and no good would come of it. Plus, I have empowered each of our employees to take care of issues as they arrive as they see fit. If we disagree with how something was handled we'll talk about it later, but they have the power and authority to "make things right." Of course that works more with customer service issues as opposed to teammates not pulling their weight. But we agreed to consider having "someone" in charge at all times.
I won't just throw someone into an ill-defined role, so we asked for interested parties to attend some leadership classes before we decide on who will lead what shift, and what the specific role of the shift lead will be. We had 3 volunteers (actually 2 volunteers and 1 we asked to attend because of her potential). I ordered each of them the book "The Speed of Trust" and we are using that to lead some of our discussions.
In our first meeting we talked about what the Shift Lead should and shouldn't be responsible for. We used the Manager's job description as a guide since, presumably, they would be taking on some of those roles in her absence. The consensus of the group was that they don't want to be responsible for discipline or having talks with people who aren't doing what they should. They really do see this as a tattletale role. One of them said she felt like the mere presence of an authority figure would keep people in line. Maybe she's right. But I still hesitate to create a tattletale role. I pointed out to them that others will look at them differently. How will they feel when conversation stops when they walk in the break room? Do they understand that their every move with be examined under a microscope? If they "report" to the manager someone's failure to take clients to chair promptly, will the rebuttal be that the shift lead was 3 minutes late to work so who is she to talk? I agree with them that we have a problem if people aren't doing what they should in the absence of a manger, but I disagree with this approach.
The more I think about it, I see two separate issues that we need to deal with, and neither of them will be solved with a shift lead. First, the team wants a go-to person because they feel uninformed. They want someone there who can answer all their questions, all the time. 99% of the time, the question is something that has been answered (repeatedly) already. So we need a resource people can go to as needed to get information. We decided on a Team section of our website. It's not visible to the public because it doesn't appear in the navigation bar, and it's password protected so only the team can access the information. So far I've put general news/current event/current promotion type things on the front page, plus I've added two other pages, one with important dates (meetings, Christmas party) and one with Team FAQ to answer some of the questions we get a lot. We will keep this updated so instead of information just being deseminated at huddle then posted on the wall for a while then tossed, they have a permanent location for information.
The second issue is trickier. We have let our culture deteriorate to the point that we have slackers. We need to work on our culture so everyone on the team feels an obligation to the team and the clients to perform at all times. We need to work on accountability and respect. I don't have an easy answer for that one, but it will be the primary focus of our salon-wide training coming up in 2 weeks. We have a coach from Live, Love, Be coming in from CT to spend two days with us and we'll see if we can unleash a little more passion for what we do. Then we need to continue working the culture so we don't let it deteriorate again.
I haven't told the team yet, but the managers and I have decided not to add the Shift Lead positions. Instead we want to harness the energy of those potential leaders to help us shift our culture to one of accountability. I don't want to keep people in line by having a company tattletale looking over their shoulder. That's not the environment I want for our salon and I think it would damage our culture even more. But it will take the efforts of many to make the change. I'll keep you posted!

Getting Away from it All

In a couple of weeks my managers and I are leaving town for a two-day planning retreat. It's going to be a busy two days in which we plan to tackle:

• 2013 financial projections
• Equipment purchases / upgrades
• Staffing levels and compensation
• Updated job descriptions for all positions
• Marketing and promotion plan for all of 2013

We'll also spend quite a bit of time trying to solve some of our biggest problems.

• Updating our employee manual so everyone is on the same page
• Designing a training program that works given our small size and limited resources
• Discussing our retailing system and how it should be revised to be more effective

We won't have all the answers in just two days, but hopefully we'll come out of it with a game plan.

We are going about one hour out of town and staying at a hotel where we have also reserved a meeting room. Just so it's not all work and no play it happens to be near a huge outlet mall.

It will be challenging to stay on task in order to push through our full agenda. If our retreat is successful I think we will be starting out 2013 in a good place and may make this an annual event.

How to develop great salon managers

I am grateful every day that our salon has such terrific managers. I'm also regularly shocked at what I hear about managers at other salons. Typical complaints are that the manager plays favorites, cuts hours without explanation, disciplines in front of others (including clients), or does nothing at all. The most common complaint I've heard from individuals who have held manager or assistant manager positions at other other salons is that they are given responsibility without authority.

So the first place to look for a good salon manager is in the mirror. No, I don't mean the owner needs to be the salon manager. I mean you must be committed to letting them do their job and providing appropriate training and support to help them succeed. Taking a reliable stylist and naming them manager with little guidance and support is a recipe for failure.

None of my managers had any supervisory experience before taking on a management role at our salons. And they are shockingly young to have so much responsibility. I can't imagine my 25 year old self successfully managing a team.

The individuals we chose as managers share some qualities. They are each mature and reliable, they hold themselves to a high standard, and they care about the success of the business. But I'd say the single most important quality they possess is that they don't shy away from difficult conversations. They don't LIKE to have tough conversations, but they don't avoid them.

One of the keys to the success of our management team is that we do, in fact, act as a team. Each week, the four of us meet for two hours. Because we don't have appropriate meeting facilities, our bank is kind enough to allow us to use their conference room. If you can find a way to meet offsite, I highly recommend it. At each meeting, among other things, we discuss any personnel issues that arose in the past week. Sometimes issues have already been handled, other times we discuss a plan of action.  If the action plan includes having one of those tough conversations, we decide who will have the conversation with the team member and we discuss the best way to approach the conversation, based on our knowledge of the employee and their personality. If we've had an on-going issue with a team member the conversation may be escalated to me as the owner. Otherwise, the direct supervisor will speak with the employee. Conversations are always done privately and respectfully (they can be firm and still meet those criteria). Depending on the offense, a follow-up conversation may be scheduled. We also make sure if the problem can be solved with additional training, we not only provide training, but remind the employee that it is their responsibility to let us know if we are not giving them what they need to succeed.

Our weekly meeting provides the managers with the support they need to succeed. It's not fair to toss a young, managerially inexperienced person into a leadership role and expect them to succeed without support. The weekly cost of the meetings is not insignificant when you consider the hourly rates the managers are paid (remember, we're Team Based Pay so everyone is hourly). But the intangible cost of NOT having the meetings would be considerable.

Running a 2-location business

Obviously you can't be two places at one time, so how do you manage a two-location business? Well, you don't do it alone. Our success relies on a team of leaders, each with specific responsibilities, but supported by the group.

Each of our salons has a Stylist Manager who is the direct supervisor of the stylists in her location. Previously we had a Spa Manager who supervised the spa staff at both locations, however, with her recent departure, the stylist managers have taken on the additional team members.

In addition to the two stylist managers, we have a Director of Operations and the owner. The Director of Ops manages the front desk team (at both locations), does all purchasing of retail and professional supplies, manages the schedule (days off, etc.). As owner, I handle bookkeeping and finances, technology, marketing and strategic planning.

Each manager conducts one on one conversations with their team on a regular basis. One location conducts them every month, the other has decided to go every two months. As owner, I have one on ones with the management team but also with each employee at least 4 times per year. If a team member is having a 1 on 1 with me, they will not have one with their direct supervisor that month. Having 1 on 1's directly with the owner allows each person a chance to communicate directly with me and to discuss any issues they may have with other managers. Of course, we have an open door policy and team members are encouraged to come to us with issues as they arise, but the formality of scheduled 1 on 1's ensures we will have regular time with each of our team members.

The four members of the management group meet each week for two hours. Our meetings cover personnel issues, upcoming leaves, future training or meeting agendas, necessary purchases, incentives or contests, compensation, monthly specials, etc. The group acts as a sounding board for a manager who has a particular personnel issue to deal with. Together we will form a strategy for dealing with a particular problem. Sometimes the stylist manager or DOO will deal with the issue alone, other times we will tag team and talk with someone together, or an issue will be escalated to the owner - it all depends on the situation and our desired outcome. The regular meetings and support of the fellow managers has helped each of us become more effective in our roles, and helps to hold us accountable for our particular responsibilities.

It's important to note that these meetings are not an opportunity for the owner to preach or push down decisions. The four of us work as a team to run the business. I truly want and respect their opinions often defer to their wisdom. Too many times an owner will assemble a management group in name only, but they are actually closed to new ideas generated by the group.

If you don't want the entire burden of running the salon on your shoulders, you must assemble a group of trusted team members and work with them.