I’ll preface this by saying never underestimate how much your salon or spa is going to end up meaning.
As soon as you take the first step to open your business, right up until it becomes your full purpose, it’s going to make your whole world rock.
Somewhere in the middle of this you will have to employ staff. This is where you’re going to have to fast track delegation skills, to protect your future legacy.

This will be D-Day for you –  first Delegation Day.

Your Employee Is A Person, Your Client Is A Person.

A large part of not wanting to release pressure, by delegating tasks or responsibility is actually fear-based.
You have worked so hard to build up clientele and you don’t want your employees to come along and muck things up, or lose precious clients! But you are not superhuman, you need others to succeed.
What you have to do here is stop yourself from seeing employees as employees and clients as clients.
See them all as – people.
Here goes:
Don’t think of an employee as someone you are irreversibly yet uncontrollably responsible for (this is what your boss head will be telling you).
Equally don’t think of a client as someone who wants perfection from you, only you (this is what your nostalgic yet overly-protective business head will be telling you).
Both are wrong.

 

If you can get your head around the fact that your employee is just a person like you and your client is just a person like you, then you can start to get your head no-one is out to mess up your business (staff) or  cause trouble by being fussy (clients).
They have actually all turned up to help.
– By growing your salon and by giving you money. It’s really that simple. Nobody is out to destroy you, they have all turned up, for you. Soothe your soul by reminding yourself of this. There’s an abundance of work everywhere and even at worst, if the appointment you give your employee with your beloved client doesn’t go well, then you can sort it out. Always.

You Can’t Always Have Control, But You Will Always Have Reign.

Introduce staff to tasks and clients slowly. If things are going peachy, great – Give a little bit more reign and trust.
If things don’t go well tighten the reigns again and lessen the responsibility of the delegation, until the therapist is a bit more experienced or well-practiced.
Always keep a close eye, even if you have to knock on a salon door during treatment, to check if everything is okay.

Try to let go a little at a time. This is hard, but it still has to be done – unless you are happy to remain a one-man band forever.
Having an open, trusting relationship with staff and telling them your fears will also help. Let them know your feelings and how important these tasks and duties are to the smooth running of business. Tell them how important the clients are, how hard you have worked to build up loyalty.

How to really get your head around delegation.

You must not let feelings or emotions towards clients or business spiral out of control at the point of your first delegation. See your staff and clients as people, rather than personal responsibilities. They are your responsibility to a certain point (it’s all happening on your shift)  but remember you simply cannot control everything in your premises forever. Learn to let go of some reigns.

Last tip- When introducing clients to new therapists who are going to be enthusiastic! Introduce the therapist with confidence and pride.
You have to, you hired them, so remember yourself the qualities you first saw. Reassure clients that you’re certain their treatments will be perfect, and if not she always has the choice to come back to you.

I hope you have enjoyed this post can keep a sane head when delegating in the future.
You have been blessed with a dream salon, now you must stretch it’s capabilities to thrive. Let other people help you to lessen the load.

 

Have you ever been hesitant when delegating? Are you at that point where you need to right now?

Please feel free to comment below.