How to prepare your salon to open for business

There’s no doubt that Covid-19 has had one of the biggest impacts of our lifetime. After this long period of lockdown (particularly for the health and beauty industry), the future is clear for hair salons and we eagerly await an announcement for beauty salons & spas. With July just around the corner and the likelihood of your salon doors being open for business soon, it’s important that you have planned to reopen in the safest way possible.

Sure enough, it’s going to take a while to adjust to “the new normal”. New processes are always a challenge to adapt to, but during these times it’s essential to maintain the safety of yourself, your staff and your customers.

Here are some helpful tips to inspire your reopening plan:

Plan

There never has been a better time to get that planner out and make a list to tick off (Mrs Hinch style). Write down your ideas, procedures and plans to communicate the changes to your clients.

Your clients

How many clients can you allow in your salon safely? Will you have a priority booking system to allow the cancelled appointments to re-book? How will you manage appointment bookings?

Pricing

Reopening your salon and adhering to the current guidelines may affect your overheads. If you can’t serve as many clients, your income will be affected. Consider this before you begin communication with clients.

Staying organised

As you’ll be aware – things are going to be a bit hectic when you reopen. What procedures can you put in place to manage this? Can someone else help with answering the phone? Can you improve your booking system?

Communication

What methods of communication will you use to keep your clients updated with procedures and changes? Has there been a change to your service offering? This all needs to be communicated clearly.

Staff

Have you began reengaging with your team yet? How do you plan to train them to follow the new procedures? You’ll need to consider your HR policies in terms of any HR legislation. For advice on this, look at your industry association such as the NHBF.

Cleaning

Before opening the salon – a deep clean is a must.

It might be beneficial to move any clutter from shelves, cupboards to make ongoing cleaning easier – they can always be put back once restrictions ease. Have you thought about your regular cleans in-between clients? It would be a great idea to publish your cleaning policy – this will put your clients at ease.

Processes

You need to consider every element of the customer experience and staff. Is there anything that you can cut out to minimise physical contact? Have you introduced contactless payments?

PPE

Have you stocked up on all your PPE? Don’t forget toilet paper and surface wipes as well as your usual masks, sprays and hand sanitiser. Part of PPE includes uniform – if you don’t have currently have a uniform, then this is a perfect opportunity to introduce a uniform to protect both your staff and your clients. As a trusted uniform supplier, we have a wide range of products available.

We hope that you have found this information useful. There is lots of information and guidance available online but we recommend looking at your industry provider such as the NHBF for further advice and information.

 

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