Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are a must-have when you run a multi-location salon and spa. Why are SOPs so important? Because they create the processes that deliver a consistent brand experience at every location. Multiple locations mean business is booming, but if you lose control of quality or efficiency, that success can be easy to lose. When your salon or spa offers the same experience at every location, you keep growing your client base—and your profit.
SOPs Solve the Big Challenges in Multi-Location Management
Standard operating procedures offer plenty of advantages for any salon or spa, especially when you run multiple locations. While your multiple locations speak to your business success, they also introduce plenty of challenges, and SOPs help you manage them.
They can help with multi-location management hurdles like:
- Brand consistency: When you open more locations, you run the risk of disrupting the brand. Different aesthetics or customer experiences can influence client perception of the brand and can make it challenging to build loyalty. Integrating quality control processes and training in SOPs can help in this area.
- Operational efficiency: Practices like managing inventory, overseeing finances, and scheduling appointments are key to running your business and keeping clients happy. Without consistency, these needs can go unaddressed at one or multiple locations. Software automation is a great way to standardize operations.
- Quality control: Service quality is a big part of your branding. When multiple locations are involved, it can be challenging to keep track of performance across each one, and if one or multiple spots fall behind, the entire brand is at risk. Salon SOPs help you establish systems for collecting customer feedback and monitoring performance to ensure all locations meet the same expectations across the board.
- Employee management: Team communication is tricky with multiple locations, especially when your employees work at different ones in any given week. Poor management can result in mixed-up schedules and missed shifts, making it harder to serve your clients. SOPs for scheduling, picking up shifts, and requesting time off can streamline staff management and ensure employees know where to be and when.
Where You Need to Standardize
The SOPs for your spa encompass several areas. Understanding where you need to build SOPs makes the process of introducing them easier for your team. Some of the core areas that benefit most from standardization are:
- General operations: Consider every process your salon or spa relies on to run, from scheduling appointments and processing payments to the treatments you offer. These are all areas where you can introduce SOPs to make workflows clear for every team, at every location.
Example: Your spa might offer several skincare packages. Document what’s included in each to ensure your team knows how to provide the service, and that the service remains the same at every location. - Products and equipment: Your products and equipment create your brand experience, so it’s essential to keep these consistent across locations.
Example: A loyal client buys the same product from one of your salon locations, and it’s not available when they go to a different one. Keeping the same stock will prevent this issue and keep clients satisfied wherever they go. - Staff training: The way your employees act says a lot about your brand. A standardized training process for employees ensures your team delivers the same high-quality experience to your clients regardless of location.
Example: You have a client who usually frequents one of your spa locations and they’re used to being offered their choice of essential oils. If they end up at another branch of your business, your staff should know to offer the same comforts & perks they’re used to receiving at their usual location.
Centralize Everything to Power Your SOPs
Centralizing SOPs for your beauty salon or spa is key to making these processes manageable across multiple locations. Software designed specifically for this purpose is the best way to easily access all processes in one place.
Scheduling and Staff Management
Depending on how many salon or spa locations you’re running, you might have tens or even hundreds of employees. Staff management becomes more complex as your team grows, but having a single hub for managing schedules, tracking hours, and managing payroll makes it so much easier. Accurate timekeeping minimizes administrative challenges and reduces scheduling mistakes that leave your employees confused & unhappy. Centralized staff management can also streamline promotions and pay raises to ensure your team earns what they deserve, helping you retain your top talent.
Inventory Management
Salons and spas have plenty of products to manage, and a centralized inventory makes every product trackable at every location. Relying on each location to manage their own inventory requirements puts more stress on employees’ shoulders and increases the risk of stock discrepancies. A centralized inventory enables specific administrators to handle ordering requirements for all locations, with order histories and volume insights right at your fingertips.
Team Communication
Your team needs to be up to date on scheduling, promotions, policies, and other key information at all times. Keep your multi-location salon or spa functional with a shared platform for team communication. This platform can include internal policy documents, FAQs, and connections to leadership for one-on-one meetings. When every member of your team is on the same page, you create happier employees and, ultimately, a more consistent client experience.
Stay in the Loop with KPI Monitoring
Key performance indicators (KPIs) show you how well your locations are performing. When selecting software for your SOPs, learn more about the KPI monitoring capabilities. Monitoring is a core aspect of quality control and can help maintain a strong, consistent experience at every location. KPIs that are important to monitor include:
- Performance reports: Performance metrics might encompass number of appointments per month, monthly profit, and customer reviews. These areas can tell you when a location is falling short and may need some extra support to stay on par with your other locations. For example, if appointment numbers are low, you might increase marketing efforts for that location to raise local awareness.
- Inventory requirements: Your inventory can tell you a lot about your clients and your business. What products do you sell the most? The least? Are there any patterns in usage that can help you standardize ordering schedules? When you understand the meaning behind your inventory behaviors, you can make data-backed decisions that keep your clients happy.
- Employee patterns: Employee management is a notable challenge when your salon or spa business grows quickly. Patterns in scheduling and employee performance can be helpful KPIs to understand how to improve scheduling practices and keep every location operating smoothly. These patterns might include employees who commonly pick up shifts, the shifts that make the most money, and the employees who tend to get the highest reviews from clients.
Manage Your Multi-Location Business with Meevo
Meevo is a dynamic spa and salon management software that takes the guesswork out of key processes like inventory management, employee oversight, and performance monitoring. Beyond features designed to help you with business operations and salon & spa SOP development, Meevo also makes it easy to manage your clients and enhance your approach to marketing.
Get your personal consultation today to see what Meevo can do for you!
