As a salon owner or manager, why must you learn how to handle staff conflict in your beauty business?
Conflicts are expensive.
Instead of focusing on satisfying customers and generating revenue, conflicts cause employees to waste time fighting, avoiding, or sabotaging others. To your team, conflicts may just be indifference. But they may cost your salon or spa productivity, customers, and ultimately, money.
A study on workplace conflict revealed that employees spend up to 2.1 hours weekly dealing with conflict. That’s hundreds of thousands of naira down the drain once you realise that those hours amount to at least one day each month.
That said, conflicts are inevitable.
No matter how much you try to avoid them, conflicts happen. It’s normal. People working together closely are bound to step on each other’s toes every once in a while. Your goal should be to reduce it to the barest minimum while handling the ones that pop up effectively.
In this article, I’ll show why it’s important for your team to get along, ways to prevent conflict, and how to handle staff conflict in your salon or spa when it arises.
Why is it essential for salon and spa employees to get along?
Your team is the core of your business. Their skills and personalities are what make your beauty establishment truly exceptional.
While everything from upscale interiors and top-of-the-line products to expensive equipment and branding are important, your business will simply fail without highly trained and motivated employees to provide the services.
Imagine having great staff, in addition to everything you need to take your salon to the next level, but they just can’t seem to get along.
Your salon or spa will lose in many ways, including:
- Low morale: People who don’t get along create a toxic work environment, leading to dissatisfaction and a lack of motivation.
- High absenteeism: Conflicts will cause staff to want to stay away from each other, and sometimes, that also means staying away from work. This will result in increased sick leaves and unexplained absences, disrupting the workflow.
- Reduced productivity: Conflicts and poor communication among employees can slow down daily operations and affect service quality.
- High turnover: Conflicts can create unhappiness and dissatisfaction among staff. Employees are more likely to leave if they feel unhappy or dissatisfied.
- Increased customer complaints: A tense atmosphere resulting from conflicts can negatively impact customer service, leading to more complaints from dissatisfied clients.
- Poor customer retention: Clients who notice the strife at your establishment may choose to take their business elsewhere, impacting customer loyalty.
- Decreased revenue: All these factors above will ultimately contribute to a decline in overall business performance and profitability.
Now that you know what conflicts in your team can cost your business, how do you resolve conflicts between team members?
7 tips for dealing with employee conflicts
The following are seven ways to resolve conflict in your salon or spa:
Tip 1: Recognise that there is a conflict
The first thing you need to do is to recognise that there’s conflict in the first place.
Here’s how to identify workplace conflict before it escalates:
- Monitor conflict markers. When your employees are not getting along, it can often reflect in reduced productivity, increased customer complaints during certain shifts, missed deadlines, rise in sick leave or shift swapping shifts, disrespect or tension.
- Communicate regularly. Engage in informal one-on-one conversations often. Hold department meetings regularly (at least once weekly) so people voice concerns. Treat employee complaints seriously, even if they seem insignificant at first. Over time, small issues can develop into huge problems.
- Keep an eye on toxic employees. Some staff members are always at the centre of conflict. If you have one or more, watch them and the people they work with.
Tip 2: Identify the source of the problem
Once you’ve confirmed that a conflict exists, the next crucial step is to pinpoint its origin. Identifying the root cause can be challenging but essential for effective resolution.
To accurately identify the source, consider these steps:
- Direct reports: Pay attention to direct complaints or feedback from employees involved.
- Observations: Note any patterns or behaviours that indicate conflict, such as avoidance or tension during interactions.
- Third-party: Ask staff members who aren’t directly involved in the conflict. They can offer an unbiased perspective on the situation.
Some potential sources of conflict in your salon or spa:
- Personality differences.
- Poor communication.
- Gossip and rumours.
- Changes.
- Competition for resources
Tip 3: Address the conflict quickly and directly
Address conflicts as soon as you notice them. Ignoring them and hoping they’ll go away on their own can lead to bigger issues, impacting morale and productivity. Additionally, address the issue head-on instead of going around it.
That brings us to the next tip.
Tip 4: Meet with affected employees in private
Bring all the conflicting parties together. Inform them about the purpose of the meeting, including acknowledging that you know there’s a problem and stating the issue so everyone present is on the same page.
Avoid handling the conflict in the presence of other employees who aren’t involved, as it might make things worse by causing someone to lose face or be open to further ridicule.
Tip 5: Listen to all parties involved
Give everyone involved a chance to state their version of events without interruptions from you or others present. Make sure each party hears the other’s concerns. Listen attentively to identify any underlying work conditions contributing to the conflict.
Tip 6: Find common ground
Ask each employee involved what specific outcomes they’d like to see at the end of the meeting. Then, confirm with other parties involved if those outcomes are agreeable. Get everyone to work through any objections to the outcomes by reaching a compromise:
Here are a few things to note when trying to reach a compromise:
- All problems must come with solutions. Insist that while all concerns are welcome to be raised, a solution must also be suggested at the same time.
- Stay focused. Keep the conversation about the conflict at all times and forbid any personal attacks.
- Don’t involve other employees. If someone suggests that others outside the meeting feel the same way, assure them that you’ll speak with them at another time after this issue is resolved.
- It ends today. Let them know that the issues must be resolved today. And if no resolution seems possible, state the next steps you’ll take, like disciplinary action or letting them go. Also, let them know they can come to you if similar problems happen in the future.
Tip 7: Follow-up
After you resolve the conflict, state the follow-up actions you’ll take to ensure the problem stays resolved, such as checking up on the involved parties from time to time to see that all is well.
Steps to take when the conflict involves the salon owner or manager
It’s one thing to mediate over a dispute between your staff, it’s entirely another if the conflict involves you. Naturally, your reaction would be to assert your authority and remind them who’s boss.
However, this may not be the best way to handle things, especially when you’re the one in the wrong. Instead, consider the following actions:
- It’s easy to blame your employees for their part in the conflict. First, take time to do a thorough self-assessment and take ownership and responsibility for your part in the conflict.
- Disputes can quickly get emotional. But make a conscious decision, followed by effort, to keep your emotions in check.
- Invite the other party and state clearly what you believe the problem is and how you feel about it. Be firm but gentle.
- Next, listen to their point of view without interrupting.
- Reach a mutually beneficial solution.
- Afterwards, follow up by checking in with them routinely to see if they’re okay.
How to prevent employee conflicts in your salon and spa
Conflicts are indeed inevitable when people work closely together. However, they can be minimised.
Here are some practical ways to prevent conflicts
1. Be proactive
As soon as you see the beginnings of discontent brewing, act immediately to prevent things from escalating. Don’t wait to be sure. Call the employee exhibiting conflict markers and get to the bottom of the issue.
In this way, you’ll be able to prevent most, if not all, conflicts.
2. Set a good example
Everything rises and falls on salon or spa leadership. If you wish to have a conflict-free workspace, eliminate the likelihood of conflict with staff.
Be respectful and easy to work with. Give clear, doable instructions. Set clear expectations. Provide all necessary resources. Don’t micromanage them. Offer constructive criticism and support. Treat everyone equally; don’t play favourites.
When you do these, you set the standards that your employees are expected to treat one another.
3. Acquire additional training
As you already know, conflict prevention and resolution are must-have skills for salon and spa managers. While some people are more inclined towards them than others, they are not skills you’re necessarily born with.
So, if you know you’re not very good at handling conflict, it’s time to do something about it. Start by getting professional training in conflict resolution.
Then, you can include conflict resolution training as a part of other salon or spa training programs.
4. Let your team know what’s expected of them during a conflict
During recruitment, outline the conduct expectations clearly. Let them know what’s acceptable and what isn’t, especially in aspects like privacy, respect, gossip, and bullying.
Additionally, outline your policy for dealing with conflict so that staff will know what to do, such as who to talk to and what to expect.
A transparent policy on conduct will equip your employees to avoid conflicts.
Conclusion
Employee conflicts are inevitable in your salon or spa. However, they can be largely prevented if you implement proactive measures, including enforcing a conduct policy and improving your conflict resolution skills. If, despite your preventive measures, you have a conflict in your hand, the tips in this article will show you how to handle staff conflict like a pro.
