How decisions are made

Every decision takes into account three constituent groups; the Salon as a business entity, the Clients and the Staff. Most decisions affect all three groups, and all three groups often have conflicting interests. It’s usually a balancing act.

The first priority is always the “Salon as a business”. Since we want to keep operating the salon, we ask; “will this decision negatively or positively impact the long term viability and profitability of the business?” To remain open the salon has to be profitable.

The second question we ask is how does this decision affect Staff and Clients? The interests of Staff and Clients are at odds more than you might think. When these interests conflict we usually lean toward benefiting the staff over clients, but not always. It depends on the magnitude of the impact the decision has on each group.

The third question we ask is “how does a decision about one person affect everyone else at the business?” People frequently ask if we can start doing something new, stop doing something, or for something to be changed. Every change affects all constituents and we try to have one set of rules for everybody.

If you think the “Owners” are a missing constituent group in this discussion, they’re not. The Owners interests are the same as the “Salon as a Business”.