HJ VOICENOTES

Owner of Bloggs Salon, Joe Hemmings, shares why he thinks employment is essential for the future of hairdressing

JOE HEMMINGS

"THERE IS SUCH A DIVIDE BETWEEN THE FREELANCE AND EMPLOYED MARKETS RIGHT NOW. BUT IHAVE FOUND PEOPLE ARE CRAVING REAL EMPLOYMENT AGAIN – THEY WANT TO BE LOOKED AFTER”

Last year, I felt incredibly stretched between work and family life. I could sense my employees wanting a connection with me as a salon owner again. My staff didn’t want endless flexibility and freedom; they wanted to be part of a team. As a salon owner the biggest skill you need is picking up on what your employees want.

There is such a divide between the freelance and employed markets right now. But I have found people are craving real employment again – they want to be looked after and they want to be able to switch off when they leave the salon. I think salon owners can really deliver on the positives of being in a team. We must run our businesses with paid holiday, health insurance and further perks.

Personally, I don’t think co-working spaces will work long-term. The individuals working there are just that – individuals, and they want to run their businesses their way. Yes, you can offer business coaching, but it will always be their way of operating.

And when it comes to the issue of apprentices, we need traditional salons for the future of our industry. I don’t agree with learning hair full time at college without any salon experience. For hairdressing, you need to learn the soft skills that you only learn from working in a salon. If you look at the building industry, where college-only learning is more common, you’ll notice that the newbuild houses that are being built by the college leavers aren’t built well (I know because I live in one!) I'm a sports fan and I think of the Youth Academies in sport, growing your own is the best way to nurture talent.

Yes, there is currently a shortage of apprentices, but we tend to blame freelancers for issues with employed salons. We have to look at ourselves. Apprentices are often used as cheap labour. I get a lot of CVs from Level 2 learners whose salons have let them go as soon as it came to paying them more. That’s not a freelance problem, that’s bad salon ownership.

Love it or hate it, the upcoming generation want progression quickly. It’s good for the salon when stylists take opportunities like fashion week and hairdressing competitions. But you need to be transparent and consistent. The business has to come first, always.

In 2010 we made the decision to close on Saturdays, but we’re reversing this decision – and it’s the younger members of the teams that have driven this change. They want to work weekends as they don’t have young families yet. Post-covid, there’s a yearning for more structure. I can see my team split into the following categories – the 35+ sector want clarity, 25–35-year-olds want flexibility and the 16-24 year olds want structure.

My team want somewhere they are proud to work. That doesn’t just boil down to a pay cheque, it’s about what the company stands for. One of my daughters has additional needs and is non-verbal. Seeing the world through her eyes has made me rethink everything. At Bloggs we don’t just cut hair, we make positive changes within our business and wider community.