Want a Justification Report for a Hair Salon

Strayer University - Morrow

October 27, 2014

Statement of the problem

The salon is one of the most profitable and enjoyable business ventures. When the staff is managed properly, the salon performs well as it retains its current customers and attracts new ones. For instance, a highly motivated salon employee will treat a customer in a friendly and respectful manner. The employee will also keenly attend to the needs of the customers. In return, the customer will feel appreciated and would tell other potential customers about the need to visit that particular salon. However, one of the greatest challenges the salon manager or owner faces is in managing his or her staff (Ward, 2012). The salon employees do not always perform to the expectations of the employer and the customers they serve. Some of the staff issues that negatively affect the performance of the salon include absenteeism, drug abuse, mood swings and quarrels with customers among others. Therefore, staff management is a problem that should be addressed in order for the salon to achieve its set goals. The manager of the salon should formulate and implement effective strategies to deal with such problems (Spiess and Felding, 2008). Alternatives In order to solve the problem of managing the salon staff, the manager should consider adopting the following strategies: The manager should hold periodic meetings to discuss staff development issues. Every employee who works in the salon should attend these meetings. The frequency of holding meetings should be at least once in a week. The manager should take the responsibility of setting out the meeting’s agenda. This agenda should follow a plan, direction and a specific outcome, which the manager intends to achieve. The meeting should entail discussion of issues the staff is facing, problem-solving, resolution of conflicts as well as planning for the next steps the business intends to make. In addition, during this meeting, the manager shall follow up on each employee’s work. Employees who could have performed highly could be rewarded and recognized for their efforts. These meetings will also provide an opportunity for the clarification of the results, agreement on the next tasks to be done and an opportunity for the manager to hold each worker accountable for their results (Levy and Weitz, 2007). Another way to solve the staff management problems at the salon is by offering training programs. The manager of the business should invite other professionals trained in other fields that deal with stress management, financial planning and health among others. These programs will help to deal with common problems faced by employees. For instance, if the employees are taught ways to handle their stress, they are more likely to perform better at work, even when experiencing their personal problems. This practice will also enable them to take care of the areas that affect their personal lives so that they dedicate more time to work. This way will result to higher output and profitability of the whole business (Spiess and Felding, 2008). Criteria In order to determine the best option between the alternative of periodic meetings and training programs to solve the staff management problems, the salon manager should follow the following criteria: First, he or she should consider the cost of using either of the two methods in relation to results. To find out an effective method, he or she should involve their employees to come up with the most effective method. Under cost, the manager should also consider his financial capabilities to choose an alternative that can be sustainable. The second criterion to consider is practicality of an alternative. The manager should adopt the option that will work best without compromising the required results. For instance, he or she might opt for holding a weekly meeting instead of hiring experts to give trainings in various topics as the trainings may cut into the working time. The third criterion to use is the time it will take to implement the chosen alternative (Spiess and Felding, 2008). The manager needs to achieve the desired results sooner than later hence he shall choose the alternative that will be easier and quicker to implement. Holding weekly meetings may be easier and more affordable compared to organizing in-house seminars to discuss the various employee development issues. Fourthly, the alternative to be chosen by the manager should be considerate of the desirability of the alternative by the employees. The best way to achieve the desired alternative is to involve them in deciding the option to use before implementing it. Lastly, the alternative to be chosen should consider its impact on both the manager and the employees. The manager should adopt the alternative that has the most impact on the outcome. In order to know which alternative has the most impact, the manager should review, research and consult other businesses that are using the same strategy. Then, he should result in choosing the alternative that yields a more favorable outcome (Ward, 2012).

Method In order to find out the most effective method, the manager of the salon should use the following strategy: He or she should create questionnaires covering both the two alternatives and then distribute them amongst his or her staff. The questionnaires should ask the employees’ opinions on the strategies intended for the business. The questions should be specific yet cover all the areas of alternatives offered. The questions should also give the employers a chance to give his or her short and summarized views for convenient decision-making. Once the questionnaires have been returned, the manager should gather the results, analyze them and table the results. Then, he or she should communicate the outcome to the results to his or her staff to prepare them for the implementation process. After the outcome, the manager will then prepare and avail the necessary resources for the implementation of an alternative (Ward, 2012). Conclusion In order for the salon business to succeed, the manager should have excellent management skills and implement effective strategies. In the scenario of a salon business, employees are paramount since they are the ones directly involved in the delivery of actual services. Therefore, the business should formulate and implement a strategy that helps their staff to give their best at all times. I would highly recommend the idea of holding staff meetings regularly to discuss and sort out employee issues before they get out of hand. This idea will encourage teamwork and good relationships among everyone. In return, the business will experience fewer conflicts and more profitability.

References

Levy, M. and Weitz, B. (2007). Retailing management. Boston (MA): McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Spiess, W. and Felding, F. (2008). Conflict prevention in project management. Berlin: Springer.

Ward, H. (2012). Ultimate salon management. [London?]: Louise de Bas.