The beauty industry, especially the salon and wellness sector, is complex. It is a skill-intensive industry. It includes salons, spas, barbershops, and massage and waxing franchises. The market has undergone extensive changes to keep up with the changing customer expectations and ongoing global COVID-19 outbreak.
Amid the pandemic, the market was estimated at US$138.9 Billion in 2020, whereas it was US$144.48 Billion approximately in 2019. This has slowed the growth rate of the beauty and wellness industry. The market value is likely to reach US$191.6 Billion by 2027 at a CAGR of 4.7% during 2020-2027. But, many marketers estimate that the growth will drop to a 4% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) due to the pandemic-induced economic crisis.
As the market is struggling with a slow growth rate, it has impacted every player. Recruitment has been affected due to health safety, irrespective of the job role–be it stylist, masseuse, manager, or support staff.
So, employers must be innovative with their recruitment procedures. Here are six cost-effective hiring strategies every employer in the beauty and wellness industry must consider.
1. Choose The Correct Recruitment Solutions
Technology has radically changed the way businesses work. It applies to the beauty industry as well. The days of attracting potential job seekers by pasting a “Hiring Now” note on the door are long gone.
Industry-specific online job boards, professional networking sites, and ATS recruitment software have digitized the industry. This has made it possible for business owners to reach out to applicants from a wide area.
Furthermore, artificial intelligence or machine learning-based applicant management solutions have made recruitment processing easy. They can easily eliminate repetitive tasks. Recruiters can now concentrate more on value-added responsibilities.
Some of the time-consuming tasks that can be automated with ATS systems are:
- Advertising the open roles
- Tracking job applications
- Posting on social media
- Pre-screening the candidates
- Scheduling job interviews
- Conducting background checks
- Rediscovering past candidates and employees
2. Encourage Internal Movement
Many times employers do not recognize the skills of their existing employees and miss out on an excellent hiring opportunity. For instance, your current salon manager may be a great masseur. But due to the lack of encouragement, they may miss a perfect opportunity to enhance that skill. Also, hiring internally is much more cost-effective than hiring an external employee.
So, it is vital to encourage internal mobility. In simple words, internal mobility is moving from one job to another job in the same company. It is a great trick to reduce hiring costs.
3. Interview Virtually and Ask For Customer Testimonials
The virtual interviewing process has gained massive momentum in the past couple of years. Besides, the COVID-19 pandemic has also made conventional face-to-face interview processes risky. Therefore, employers prefer to interview potential candidates online. The remote interviewing process has:
- Made appointment scheduling easy
- Eliminated the risk of unconscious biases
- Reduced hiring time
- Shortened waiting period
- Reduced hiring cost
Alternatively, customer testimonials have become crucial to prove your service credibility. For instance, a hairstylist or makeup artist can show their portfolio as their work samples. But for masseurs, office assistants, managers, or support staff, customer testimonials and recommendation letters from previous employers are two of the most valuable credibility documents.
4. Incentivize Employee Referral
In the beauty and wellness industry, networking plays a significant role. One of the most cost-effective ways of hiring is accepting employee referrals. So, when one of your existing employees recommends their peers, you can assure that the candidate is aware of your salon’s work culture and is adept for the job.
Hiring through referrals is five times more successful than regular hiring. Ensure your company has an incentivized referral program. If your employees can earn cash rewards, they are more likely to refer their peers. This makes recruitment procedures fast and more cost-effective.
5. Create A Talent Pool
Think about how often you hire new people in a year. You should have a talent pool saved if it is more than once. So, how do you create a talent pool? Keep hiring status open all-around the year. Your salon or company’s website should always welcome job applicants.
Integrate your system with recruitment management software. It will automatically keep received job applications and CVs sorted into a potential candidate or non-candidate categories. So, you can have a sufficient list of prospects at all times. Alternatively, do not delete the job applications and profiles of candidates who were unsuccessful the first time. You can always consider them for future roles.
6. Optimize Social Media & Digital Marketing
Remember, in today’s digital age, every job seeker goes through a company’s website and social media pages before applying. So, having an excellent social media presence is as important for employers as candidates.
Did you know almost 70% of hiring managers prefer social media for hiring because of its high success rate? Also, 71% of recruiters have effectively reduced hiring time and cost. So, take advantage of social media and digital marketing to establish yourself as a reputable brand. How do you do it? Simple, follow the steps below:
- Post attractive images of the works your salon or wellness center has done.
- If you are a product-based company, share the images of your creations and their benefits.
- Get customers and staff to share their experience working with you.
- Create a compelling SEO-friendly website and keep it updated.
- Do live shows on social media to let people see your work in action.
Channel the potential candidates to your hiring site from your social media pages. Make the job application process and pre-screening process easy with an applicant tracking system.
Key Takeaway
We hope you found some of these tips helpful. Remember, having a cost-effective hiring strategy does not only mean spending less money. It also means using the correct and most strategic ways to get the best value for money. So, while spending hard-earned money on recruiting employees, choose the right HR recruitment software and recruitment CRM software. Fill job roles with quality candidates without blowing all your funds.
Iskra Banović is our seasoned Editor-in-Chief at BlueFashion. She has been steering the website's content and editorial direction since 2013. With a rich background in fashion design, Iskra's expertise spans across fashion, interior design, beauty, lifestyle, travel, and culture.
