6 Team Building Activities for your Salon

Team building activities are an essential part of managing staff, and this is perhaps especially true in the hair & beauty industries.

A strong company culture revolving around collaboration and productivity is essential for any business. As a salon or spa owner, you’ll have to work hard to get the ball rolling for your crew. To help you build up a great team dynamic, we’ve compiled a list of six team building activities that you can use in your salon.

Review competition

Hairstylists know that whenever they do a great job, the client is so thrilled that they rave about the service. Even better when they do this online via Facebook or a review website.

Set up a contest between your stylists to see which one can receive the most positive reviews over the course of a week or month. Tell your staff to encourage clients to post reviews online. It might even help to mention it’s part of a contest! You could even use automated follow-up messages to remind clients where to post their reviews. The winning staff member then receives a prize, like a gift card or bottle of wine.

Not only will this improve staff morale as they read reviews, the business will also benefit hugely from the influx of positive online mentions.

Group meditation

Another idea is to start holding optional 5-10 minute meditation sessions with your team everyday before the workday starts.

Meditation is super popular right now, and has been shown to improve concentration, increase happiness, and reduce stress. All of which are areas that salon and spa employees struggle with due to the fast-paced nature of their job.

The best part is that you don’t need much to get started, just chairs for your stylists to sit in and maybe a meditation app that is good for explaining the basics. Headspace is one of many apps that could help get meditation up and running in your team.

Host events for families

There is no better way to build a stronger relationship with someone than by getting to know their families and close loved ones.
Planning events for your staff’s families at work is a great opportunity to better understand each other’s personal lives & responsibilities outside of work.

Consider planning a little party or dinner for any upcoming events like Halloween, or St Patrick’s Day. Just make sure to pick an event that people are unlikely to have prior plans for, or host it at a time they are likely to be free.

An even simpler option is to just host a movie night every now and then.

Volunteer together

Volunteering and finding avenues to give back to the community together is a great example of team building activities that improve your staff morale while also strengthening the brand of your salon.

Volunteering builds camaraderie and helps your team work together for a shared cause. The positive energy is sure to spill over into your workplace!

Group lunches

Taking the team out for lunch is one of the most common team building activities there is. It’s always nice to get your stylists out of the salon every once in a while and everybody loves sampling some of the local cuisine.

Try and schedule a day each month to treat your team to a nice meal at a nearby restaurant. It’s great for decompressing and for catching up with what everyone else has going on outside of their work lives. Also, consider taking turns in letting each stylist pick a place to eat so that you all aren’t stuck going to the same restaurant each month.

Many managers see this type of activity as an unnecessary expense, but the benefits for your team’s morale are worth a lot more than what you’ll pay for a meal.

Clubs related to staff hobbies

Don’t forget that your stylists have interests outside of doing hair for a living. Take the time to figure out what they’re into doing in their free time and consider forming a club revolving around their similar interests.

Some interests that you could possibly form a club around are:

• Books
• Yoga/fitness
• Pottery
• Cooking
• Sports
• Painting/Drawing
• Hiking

Of course not everyone in the salon may be keen to participate. Despite this, those that do participate will build a strong bond and improve the mood of the salon overall.

Your dream team is waiting! Now that you understand how to build a better team, go ahead and get started putting some of these team building activities in place. As always make sure to go over the ideas with your staff so that they can give their input as to what would work best.