Employee engagement is an important part of running your business. The people who work for you will directly contribute to your company’s performance, and engaged employees are your best bet for a productive working atmosphere. Employee engagement is crucial for beauty and wellness operations. Your employees’ levels of engagement can directly influence the success of your business, affecting things like client satisfaction, staff retention, and productivity. 

In fact, according to Gallup, disengaged employees are responsible for $1.9 trillion lost in productivity nationally. This article will explore how to engage employees, detailing different employment engagement strategies you can use to improve your work environment, as well as how it can impact the future of your business. 

Keep reading for a guide on how to engage employees and ensure you’re curating a healthy environment for success.

What Is Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement is a way to measure not only how satisfied employees are at their jobs, but how committed they are to their roles and your company’s success. Yes, a job is a way to make money to live (duh!), but when you hire employees, you want to look for particularly motivated candidates who want to build something bigger and better with you. 

Employee engagement comes in many different flavors, but it typically relates to a positive and rewarding work environment, open communication, and having clear goals to work toward. 

3 Reasons Employee Engagement Is Key for Your Beauty & Wellness Business

Employee engagement can be the difference between a 3-star and a 5-star rated business. Below, we break down a few reasons why having smart employee engagement strategies is key for your company’s success. 

1. Better service quality

Engaged employees are what help drive the quality of your beauty and wellness business. As a service-based business, how your staff interacts with the clients is everything. When employees are more engaged, they are more likely to deliver high-quality services, personalized attention, and an unforgettable experience – which definitely can’t hurt your professional reputation. 

2. Increased profitability

Knowing how to engage employees means knowing how to keep your staff happy and fulfilled. The better your staff performs their duties, the better the client experience – and the more likely you are to retain and attract new ones. Loyal clients may even increase their services if they truly enjoy the type of curated experience your business provides.

3. Improved work atmosphere

When everyone is on the same page, working toward the same goal, it facilitates a collaborative environment that encourages and enables everyone to do their best. Aside from being great for morale, a positive work atmosphere means better productivity, better relationships between staff members and their clients, and just an overall vibe that people want to be a part of. 

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10 Ways to Engage Employees in Your Beauty & Wellness Business

If you’re looking for how to engage employees in your beauty and wellness business, look no further. We’ve put together a handy guide of ways to engage employees that can boost your business – as well as how your staff feels about working there. 

1. Start with the hiring process

Hiring new employees can be a stressful process, but it doesn’t mean you should rush through it or hire the first person willing to work for your wages. It’s important you know what to look for when interviewing candidates to ensure you choose the right one. 

Finding the right candidates and accurately assessing their skills and dedication can make the difference between actively engaged employees who are committed to your company’s overall success, and those who wouldn’t care less if it all burned down. 

2. Encourage professional development

Invest in your employees’ professional development by providing access (or simply just encouraging them) to attend beauty and wellness conferences or panels. These events can offer development for both hard and soft skills, career coaching, or even gaining experience in a selected beauty and wellness field. 

You can also personally provide additional training or recommend courses to employees who want to expand their knowledge and improve their professional capabilities. Be supportive of the staff members looking to grow – it can encourage them to grow along with you!

3. Offer incentives

Another one of the many ways to engage employees is incentives. Bonuses, gift cards, promotions, and extra time off are all different incentives you can offer to employees to keep them engaged. Even strong words of praise or public recognition can be enough to boost the vibe of your beauty business. 

Reward your staff for their exceptional service while also avoiding unnecessary punishment for mistakes, which can dissuade them from taking potentially beneficial risks in the future. (Besides, most employees feel bad enough as it is when they mess up!) Giving employees something to work towards can be a highly motivating factor in their commitment to you and your company. 

4. Keep a well-maintained workspace

A workspace that is clean, organized, and well-maintained can change how your employees feel about showing up everyday. It’s important that your staff understands that you, too, are committed to their health and safety, and that their comfort is also a priority in the place they dedicate so much of their time. 

Even if you don’t have the budget to create a luxurious atmosphere, you can still make small changes like optimizing space, providing ergonomic tools, or implementing relaxing decor. 

5. Seek input and feedback

Be open to input and feedback from your staff – after all, they’re the ones who your policies affect the most! Is the new equipment boosting efficiency? Is the CRM software making everyone’s lives easier? Have you been an effective leader? Are clients getting enough out of their experience? 

These are just some of the questions you’ll want to run by your employees to get an honest report of how you’ve been running your business. Open communication means your staff can offer their genuine feedback without fear of retaliation, which can be a helpful way to grow together as a business. 

6. Provide benefits

As a beauty and wellness provider, your staff is also a reflection of your business practices. If you can provide them, health benefits help show a commitment to wellness and give employees peace of mind. Vacation days, flexible hours, and other benefits can help prevent burnout in your staff, and also that you value their time and recognize their work ethic. 

If you own a fitness business, you can offer benefits like freebies or discounts on training, equipment, or supplements. If you own a salon, you can offer steep deals on hair care products or services. 

7. Get (a little) personal

Your employees are human beings with their own lives, interests, and hobbies outside of working for you. While it’s important to stay focused on the job, it’s also okay to get to know your employees personally to form a stronger bond with them. It can be as simple as asking about their goals or background, or even just showing an interest in the things that interest them. 

You don’t have to become besties to have a good working relationship, but it’s helpful to know a few things about your staff to show how much you value them not just as workers, but as people. 

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8. Incorporate team-building 

If you’re looking for how to increase employee engagement at your business, you can try incorporating team-building exercises. Team-building exercises foster trust and encourage employees to work together towards a common goal, providing a greater sense of purpose and sense of unity. 

These exercises can also help employees get to know each other a bit better, which can break down communication barriers and improve their relationships with one another. 

9. Keep it real 

Be transparent about your goals as a business and what you expect from your employees. Nobody wants to be lured into a role that isn’t what they signed up for. While your company policies will make it clear what you expect from your employees, it’s a good idea to communicate this both during the interview process and during the on-boarding process. 

You should also be honest with your employees about how business is doing, including current challenges or any changes to business goals or mission. When your employees understand the business process and the challenges you’re facing (if any), it helps keep everyone on track to building toward success. 

10. Use staff management software

The right beauty and wellness management software can be a complete game changer for your business, especially if it comes equipped with tools that let you and your employees track tasks, share feedback, or communicate with one another. 

Your software can also free up your employees’ time, giving them more agency to interact with their clients and take on other tasks. 

How Can You Measure Employee Engagement?

There are a few different ways you can measure your employee engagement. 

• Surveys: Brief questionnaires that allow employees to leave any questions, comments, concerns, or thoughts regarding business flow or productivity. The right questions can reveal valuable insights from your employees and allow you to more finely target areas of improvement. 
• One-on-Ones: One-on-one meetings with your staff can help you get a direct line to how things are going, and allow your employees to further express themselves in a private setting. With one-on-ones, staff members can have more time to talk about the topics that matter specifically to them, giving them a chance to be heard and valued. 
• Performance Metrics: Analyzing performance metrics like employee retention rates can help you see your level of churn and provide you with much needed information about how your workers interact with your business. (i.e., if you notice you lose a lot of employees around the holidays, it may be worth it to re-check your policies.)

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Keep Your Staff Engaged with GlossGenius

Happy employees are more productive, easier to work with, and just overall better for the brand. And why wouldn’t you want your employees to be happy! It takes a great balance of skill to create the kind of workplace people look forward to, and that type of atmosphere can not only benefit your bottom line, but massively enhance the customer experience as well. 

Gloss Genius is an all-in-one tool that makes the perfect partner for your beauty and wellness business. Manage your numbers with features like Payroll and Finances, or keep the pulse on your team and your journey to success with Reports & Analytics.