There’s no “right” way to be a leader. Every person who enters a leadership position has different ways of motivating and guiding their staff while managing the daily demands of a business. As the workforce continues to evolve, leaders must balance strategy with employee expectations in order to foster a business environment that promotes growth. Here are three trends that leaders must implement in their business culture in order to retain employees and boost their bottom line.
Promoting and Investing in Continuous Education
Our industry continues to see a boom in education and employees now expect access to professional development. 76% of employees want opportunities for career growth, so leaders must find a way to fund continued education as well as provide a career path for employees to retain employees and keep them motivated.
Studies show that access to continued education improves an employee’s motivation, morale, and the likelihood of sticking around. Consider creating ‘career paths’ within your business. This gives your team milestones in their career to work towards, thus increasing work ethic and motivation.
Cultivating Engaged and Motivated Employees
A healthy business culture is greatly dependent on your employees. Employees who feel under-appreciated can quickly turn your work environment toxic. This can lead to several issues in your business such as disengaged employees, employee turnover, unsatisfied clients, and can even affect your bottom line if your team isn’t rising to their true potential. Making your employees feel valued is a necessary element in creating a positive work environment and a team who will work together towards a common goal. Furthermore, employees who feel appreciated are much more likely to come to work motivated and go above and beyond in their daily tasks.
Encourage Team Members to Be Brand Ambassadors
When employees share your marketing messages, your salon or spa can expand its social media reach and get measurably better results than other marketing strategies. Suppose you’re a mid-sized salon or spa with a total of 2,000 followers altogether on Facebook, Instagram, etc. Now, let’s say you have 20 employees, each with (a relatively modest) 300 followers of their own, for a total of 6,000 unique followers. If employees share posts, tag or mention your business, etc. you can boost your audience from 2,000 to 8,000–instantly.
It’s not just about the social media followers. Word-of-mouth recommendations from family and friends are widely seen as more relevant and trustworthy than social media blasts from business accounts. One recent study found content shared by employees receives 8x more engagement and is re-shared 25x more frequently than content shared by business accounts. Even more impressive? Potential clients developed through employee social marketing convert 7x more often than other leads.
Keep in mind that this type of marketing culture comes from a team that loves that they do. Great leaders must cultivate a healthy work environment with a team that feels valued. There’s nothing worse than being forced to promote a cause that you don’t believe in — especially on your personal social media page.
3 Things You Can Do Right Now to Be a Kick-Ass Leader
A few small changes can make a huge difference in how others perceive you. Kick-ass leaders are usually the inspiration behind a powerful team, and an unstoppable team is a force to be reckoned with. Download our free guide and discover three easy action items to become a better leader, as well as mantras and compliment cards to help your team feel valued.
