Salon work experience benefits both students and your salon or spa. For students, it gives them their first taste of working in the hair and beauty sector, helping them learn key skills. For your salon or spa, it offers a pair of extra hands and encourages new staff after their work experience. So that you offer the best work experience possible, we share several key tips to benefit you and your students.
What salon work experience can benefit your team?
What do you want when taking on board students for salon work experience? Perhaps your team are struggling to find time to clean down their workstations between clients, or time to prep all their equipment. Whatever the case, your learners could help! This will help them understand the importance of a clean environment post pandemic measures, and how to prepare salon equipment.
Find out what your students are after
An important step is finding out what your students want from their salon work experience! These may be based on the type of course they’re on, such as an apprenticeship or the increasing T Levels for Hair, Beauty and Aesthetics. For example, some courses require hands-on experience of 45 days or over 300 hours in your salon or spa. This is in addition to individual goals, such as a student wanting to boost their confidence with client interactions. No matter the case, make sure you cater to your students’ needs as best as possible.
Make sure you have the correct insurance
If you do take on board a student, it’s vital you have the correct insurance before they start! Students on work experience should be treated as employees at the salon or spa, including when it comes to insurance. Most liability policies will cover students under the basis they are an employee, but it is worth checking with your insurance provider. We have a breakdown of the types of salon insurance and why you should have them, if you are ever unsure.
Set expectations for the salon work experience
Your new students may not know the ins and outs of the an average day until they arrive. With that in mind, it’s worth outlining their expectations on a day-to-day basis. What time do they need to be in every day? Is there a specific uniform they need to wear? Will they need to help with front of house calls and booking in clients? Setting these expectations will make the daily role of your students clear. You can then manage and motivate your salon students through positive reinforcement when they carry out these expectations successfully.
Make sure your students are trained
This may sound obvious, but you would be surprised how easy it is to forget this part! Your students have come to you for salon work experience, which should include any training for their day-to-day role. After all, if learners take bookings at any point, they’ll need to know how to use your software. This could help students with their continuing professional development on their course, all with a little bit of salon software training. Once trained, your learners will be in a good position to continue with your business (if you want), as work placements can be a good lead into a part-time role!
Salon by Premier Software® can not only help your business with bookings, automated marketing promotions, staff scheduling, gift card management, SMS and email functionality and plenty more, but Salon can improve efficiency and increase profits. There are also plenty of training options for your new students. To find out more how Salon can help you, book a free presentation below.