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When franchisees face high turnover, it can be easy to blame external factors like wage pressures, generational workplace shifts, or a tough hiring market. Retention can be treated like a high-level human resources metric or a number to monitor on the dashboard. But it can also serve as a sign to step back, reflect, and investigate.
To build sustainable multi-unit operations, we must stop treating turnover as an unavoidable cost of doing business and start using it to our advantage.
When an employee becomes disengaged or leaves the organization, it’s rarely due to compensation alone. More often, it stems from how they feel about the workplace as a whole. Pay may be part of the equation. But employees could also be pushed away by inconsistent expectations, operational friction, or poor leadership. When we fix the underlying issues, usually through stronger management practices, retention often takes care of itself.
Many leaders will claim they have an open-door policy, but just telling your team, “My door is always open,” is rarely enough to build trust. Frontline employees are not conditioned to approach their boss (or their boss’ boss) unprompted to share a complaint or discuss something that isn’t going well. You must bridge that gap ahead of time and create an environment where your teams truly feel that your door is open.
I make a point of sitting down with each employee at least twice a year. One of those conversations is their formal annual evaluation. The other is more casual, but I still set aside time for us to talk privately about how things are going, where they may need support, and what they would like to see change.
When someone new joins the team, I meet with them every two to four weeks at first. We’ll talk about how they’re doing, but I also ask what they like about the salon, what isn’t working for them, and whether there’s anything they think we should do differently.
Creating the relationships and level of comfort required for team members to speak freely about these things requires continuous effort. In the past, when we experienced higher turnover rates, I realized that catching issues early made the biggest difference. I like to catch things when they’re small to prevent them from becoming big. If you deal with a little smoke, you can prevent it from becoming a fire.
Another common driver behind poor retention is the disconnect that occurs between leaders and their frontline staff. Multi-unit owners can’t be everywhere at once, but this can’t be an excuse not to have relationships with your teams. Whether you’re personally managing your locations or hiring leaders to manage them for you, the tone set by both owners and their leaders can dictate how the entire employee experience goes.
I am in my salons consistently, and I think that both my presence and how I behave when I’m there shape how my teams view me. Employees need to see that leadership is in the trenches with them. I don’t walk in with my nose turned up and expect everyone to stand at attention. My team sees both sides of me: I can have fun, but I also work hard. I clean the bathroom just like they clean the bathroom. We are very much in it together; everyone understands that it’s a team effort all the way around.
This in-person time is invaluable. I recently had a new stylist who seemed to avoid me when I walked into the salon, and I realized she assumed I was going to be the “bossy boss” or judge her strictly for her work. Once she saw me sweeping up hair that she had cut, that barrier dissolved almost immediately.
Whoever holds that lead role at your locations needs to be building real personal connections. Make sure your leadership team makes frontline staff feel like peers, not subordinates. Employees shouldn’t fear someone just because they have a manager title.
Laying the foundation for connection with teams opens lines of communication that can help you address interpersonal and operational issues. As leaders, we must look for operational patterns and address them head-on with creative solutions. Connecting with your team, having tough conversations, and working through challenges together can help prevent turnover.
There are many factors that contribute to turnover or, on the flip side, drive retention. These trends can’t just be looked at as another number to watch and analyze later. There are real variables that can be identified and adjusted in real time. The holistic approach to retention requires a real look at how the business operates and how it’s managed. When you build proactive communication patterns, lead alongside your team in the day-to-day work, and solve small operational frustrations before they escalate, you’re able to build a workplace that people want to be a part of.
When your employees begin to look elsewhere, you should treat it as a nudge to analyze your business’ leadership and management. The retention solution may already be right at your fingertips.
Keesha Kitterman is a multi-unit franchise owner with Pigtails & Crewcuts. She operates the Wichita franchise locations.