L I T E R A C Y I N T H E

H A I R D R E S S I N G S A L O N

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THE LITERACY SKILLS OF YOUR EMPLOYEES COULD BE DIRECTLY AFFECTING YOUR SALON

Clients are demanding higher levels of skill and service than ever before. All salon

staff, including apprentices, need to meet and exceed client expectations.

Skills such as speaking, listening, reading, writing, numeracy, information

technology, problem solving, team work, self-confidence and learning how to

learn need to keep pace with increased business demands.

of people EMPLOYED in New Zealand businesses have literacy skills

B E LO W the minimum level required for

o p t i m a l everyday life and work. This is a level determined by an

international study of the adult literacy skills in OECD countries (1996).

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“You don’t

have to know

everything about

hairdressing to

use strategies to

teach it.”

A WORD FROM THE HITO CEO

After years in the hairdressing industry, I am excited to be working with industry

to raise awareness of literacy issues and how these could be affecting the

productivity and profitability of salons.

It is important for people to be aware that everyone has areas that they may not

be as strong in Literacy. This doesn’t mean that they are completely lacking in

these skills.

Waste product from incorrect mixing and measuring, errors in client cards or

bookings, incorrect comprehension of a consultation with a client or mistakes at

the reception will all affect the customer satisfaction, retention of clients, the stock

bill and profits.

Providing an environment that supports staff and their learning will result in

positive staff who are confident to undertake any task in the salon.

Erica CummingHITO CEO

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“Literacy improvement impacts on my salon in ways that you don’t think

about until you realise things that were a problem are no longer occurring.

We have experienced lower wastage of colour products, less time wasted

on the phone booking appointments, less confusion over client names

and what services they are having, better understanding of retail products

and therefore more sales of these products. All of which result in a better

bottom line profit at the end of the year, a happier boss and happy staff!”Allison Murray-TraversSALON OWNER – HAIR TECHNIQUE, WANGANUI

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WHAT LITERACY SKILLS ARE NEEDED IN YOUR SALON?

Improving the literacy skills of your staff will help your business grow its client base, retain clients and adapt to future needs.

On a typical day, the literacy skills vital in a salon, include:

1. Good communication

Answering the phone

Listening and responding sensitively to client needs

Interacting with stylists

Explaining procedures and options to clients

2. Calculating weights and measures

Mixing colour for accurate tone and quantity

Sequencing and timing chemical procedures

3. Reading instructions

Client cards

Mixing colour (from written instructions)

Making appointments

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4. Following instructions

Assisting a stylist

Assisting the salon manager

5. Recording information accurately

Filling out client cards

Making appointments

6. Problem solving

Making decisions under pressure or when other staff are busy

Reading clients hair condition and growth pattern

Recommending appropriate procedures

7. Taking responsibility

Informing the Manager when equipment is broken

Following up on client questions

8. Reading Health and Safety rules

Reading and understanding health and safety information on chemicals

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DO YOU NEED TO IMPROVE POOR TEAMWORK OR COMMUNICATION, REDUCE WORKPLACE ACCIDENTS, MISTAKES, AND CLIENT COMPLAINTS?

Your staff may not have the literacy skills they need to operate effectively and efficiently in your salon.

Have you noticed the changes in salon practices over the last ten years or so – less time allowed for each client, a far greater

range of products to work with and multiple treatments for more clients are placing higher literacy demands on your staff.

Business owners and operators have reported these benefits from increasing the literacy skills of employees:

• Higher customer satisfaction

• Improved communication and teamwork

• Instructions understood & followed

• Less supervision needed

• Higher quality results and fewer mistakes

• More efficient use of chemicals

• More committed employees

• Reduced staff turnover

• Improved safety

• Improved confidence of staff.

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“As a hairdressing educator it is important that we support our learners

and expand their literacy skills when delivering our sessions in the

classroom. By embedding tasks to support literacy we can promote life

skills along with hairdressing specific skills. This gives apprentices more

confidence not only with their career but also with their personal life skills.”Donna BowmanTUTOR – SCHOOL OF HAIRDRESSING TECHNOLOGY, SOUTHERN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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WHAT LITERACY SKILLS ARE NEEDED IN YOUR SALON?

Improving the literacy skills of your staff will help your business to grow its client base and adapt to future needs.

On a typical day, the literacy skills vital in a salon, include:

1. As an employer, think about what you expect of your staff in terms of

Communicating with clients, co-workers and you

Following instructions

Problem solving

Working with chemicals

Explain to staff the skills they need to do a good job and help them build those skills

2. As an employer and trainer, remember that people learn best by

Understanding the purpose of the task

Seeing the task being done

Trying, making mistakes, experimenting

Talking, questioning, listening

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3. When your employee hasn’t completed a task well:

Check that you clearly explained the task

Did you demonstrate how to complete the task?

Ask the employee what they understood they needed to do

Explain why the task was necessary

Look for other ways of explaining task

Pair the person with a fellow employee who can explain tasks clearly

4. As an employer and trainer, encourage your employees to gain hairdressing qualifications:

Ask about what your apprentices are learning in class and discuss ideas with them

Provide opportunities to put their learning into practice

When you are doing something in the salon, link it to the theory of their learning

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“As an assessor/tutor of apprentices during Off Job training, I have

found the HITO student diagnostics a valuable tool prior to meeting the

apprentice. This enables me to prepare lessons more effectively to better

meet their needs.”Michelle EatonOFF JOB TRAINING TUTOR – EASTERN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

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WHAT’S HAPPENING TO IMPROVE LITERACY IN THE HAIRDRESSING INDUSTRY?

HITO is committed to improving literacy levels in the industry.

We:

• Are supporting the up-skilling of Off Job Trainers to enable them to build the

literacy skills of apprentices

• Have identified the literacy demands of hairdressing

• Created a literacy tool called Aquarius which can be used in training to identify

and improve literacy gaps

You can:

• Offer support to your employees to develop the literacy skills they need to do

their job well

• Ring your HITO Sales and Liaison Managers and ask for help in getting literacy

support for an apprentice

• Get more ideas by visiting: www.workbase.org.nz

• You can access Aquarius on the HITO website here:

www.hito.org.nz/aquarius-online

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“The literacy work that HITO is carrying out is making a significant

contribution to increasing employers’ awareness of literacy and numeracy

issues in their workplaces, and is equipping them with the knowledge to

address those issues.”Nicky MurrayPROJECT MANAGER – LITERACY AND LEARNING

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PEOPLE

+ LITERACY

SKILLS

= CONFIDENCE

HITO NATIONAL OFFICELevel 1

95 Thorndon Quay Wellington 6011

PO Box 11 764, Manners Street Wellington 6142

T: (04) 499 1180 | F: (04) 499 3950

www.hito.org.nz