Often times if a new employee is not performing as expected you can trace it back to improper training.  During the first few months of employment the employer and employee decide whether or not the union is a fit. Here in Alberta the probation period for a new hire is 3 months and in that time both the employee and employer can terminate employment without notice. Be sure to check your province or states labour regulations when setting your probation schedule.

The goal of any training process is to provide the easiest and most accurate avenue to integrate a new employee into your company. If you have clear expectations and guidelines it should be very evident if your new hire will become a long-term employee by the time the probation period is up. To better demonstrate this I will break down the elements of a training process and describe their purpose.

The Training Guide: When employment commences, provide the employee with a complete schedule as to the events that are to occur over the duration of probation. For example if day 1 is meeting the staff and orientation, day 2 may be the introduction to the handbook and signing of contracts, day 3 may be front desk orientation and so on. State when performance reviews are to take place and when the permanent contract will be signed. This guide should outline the exact probation schedule.

The Probation Contract: Simply put, this is the contract stating starting salaries, service, retail and referral goals and the expectations to be met to a permanent employment position. Also included should be the conditions that would terminate employment such as late arrivals, failure to pass certification, sick days and any other things that would warrant an immediate dismissal. Although it is not always required by law that you provide a dismissal reason during the probation period I think it fair to let people know your guidelines.

The Employee Handbook: If constructed well, your employee handbook should be the question and answer guide for new hires. It deserves a complete article on it’s own to list the contents but in a nut shell it should contain everything from where you keep the toilet tissue to the vision and mission to how they advance in the company to what warrants a dismissal. But it MUST include your company policies and training procedures.

Policy Certification: This is the process used to certify new hires on your salon policies. These are your scripts used in service procedures and explanation of salon rules, guidelines and a “how we do it here” documentation.  What happens in certification is the employee is tested on the employee handbook and is required to achieve a pre-determined mark to secure employment. The goal is for the employee to have a full understanding of the company when it comes time to conduct services,

Procedure Certification: Now it is time for the technical training procedures. The reason this is left for last is because it is the sum of all components in the training process. Because policy certification is complete, the employee is expected to serve all clients they recruit during this process with the salon brand, marketing strategies, scripts or policies and front desk procedures. Also in this certification, include a passing requirement to secure employment. It is up to each salon and the employees experience as to how many technical services are required to complete certification. Even senior technicians should be required to conduct one of each service in the salon to ensure all components of the visit are being implemented.

There you have it, the training process. If your salon does not have an employee handbook or training process and you want an easy convenient way to get started, you can purchase a ready made template at http://www,sossalonoperatingsystem.com/SOSOwners.html