When employees choose to leave, it usually is NOT about money. In most instances, they feel they are just stuck at a certain level of authority, success, or growth they obtained working in their current role.   (And no one likes to feel stagnant… )⁠ ⁠

Once an employee feels this way, they are likely to begin looking for a new position- a position they believe will elevate their skills, influence, or scope. However, whether the next position can provide this or not is really a toss-up.  Therefore, as the leader of your organization, you need to be in close contact with your team members and develop a keen sense for stagnation.  For top employees, you will want to see how you can create a more dynamic career path for them within your organization.  This is definitely a win: win, for as your employee grows often so will your business. 

In this article, I will walk through 5 key ways that you can work to reduce turnover on your aesthetic team.  These practices help you maintain that close contact to your team members important for retention.  Building a resilient and healthy team culture takes an investment of your time. Fortunately, it is an investment that will benefit not only your team, but also your operations, client experience, and profitability!

 

Regular Team Meetings & Communication

One of my favorite ways to encourage communication between aesthetic leaders and their teams is with weekly leadership meetings. While I have found that many physicians are resistant to consistently scheduled team meetings, those who prioritize this simple business strategy seem to have higher functioning teams overall. 

Regular team meetings will help keep your team connected and engaged in the operations of your business. They promote feelings of reliability and security for your team members. When meeting with your team- encourage their involvement in business procedures. Listen to team feedback and act upon it! When your team feels heard and valued, they will become invested in the success of your business.

For your business to operate efficiently, there has to be intentional communication. Lack of communication will lead to poor team culture, feelings of disrespect towards leadership, and terrible client experiences. Be the leader who encourages open communication with your team members. 

Open communication does not stop with clear expectations or performance reviews. It also encompasses understanding your team members on a personal level. When you know what motivates, stresses, encourages, and supports your team members personally, you will learn how to adapt your communication style and communicate more effectively.

 

Team Building

Team building exercises and events are a great way to boost morale, increase loyalty, and show your appreciation. Intentional team building promotes a healthy team culture and creates a more engaged team. Not to mention, businesses with engaged employees see a 22% increase in profitability*.

One great way to boost team connection is through an avenue of internal communication. Typically, I see small practices utilize private Facebook Groups for this, although there are many platforms that you could choose. An internal group provides a space where team members can converse and develop deeper personal connections. As a leader, it is a simple but effective way to boost team morale by posting funny posts, memes, and taking the time to interact within the group. 

Here are a few more of my favorite ways to get teams connected!

• Cater individual lunches⁠
• Start team meetings (virtual or in-office) with fun icebreakers⁠
• Express gratitude for each other’s services⁠
• Leave positive reviews for one another⁠
• Offer specific praise to team members⁠
• Schedule virtual activities like a happy hour or game night⁠
• Celebrate team member birthdays and achievements⁠
• Use a wall to display team photos and notes⁠
• Host themed virtual team meetings

A connected team is a strong and productive team. Be sure that team-building exercises and experiences are a consistent part of your business operations.  This is definitely one of the best ways to retain talent.

 

Hold People To Standards

As your practice changes and grows, you will undoubtedly experience different levels of growing pains.  Sometimes, team members have to learn how to do things differently or more consistently. ⁠ ⁠

While building a resilient business, training team members to say things differently, schedule appointments differently, or approach differences can be difficult or uncomfortable for many leaders to address.

As a leader, you need to be encouraging and firm. Your team needs to understand that you will call them out on issues and have expectations for the work that they perform. It is also important they know you will celebrate their wins and support their growth.

⁠I believe in leading with compassion. However, changes decided within your business about team scripts, operations, tracking KPIs, cleaning procedures, growth goals, etc., can sometimes be met with resistance. Accept responsibility for these decisions, ensuring follow through with both empathy and expectations of compliance. Create limits and stay firm.

As you and your team work on cultivating a resilient and adaptable culture, tough calls will become easier for them to respect. Tough business decisions will likely always be uncomfortable, but that discomfort means team members actually care about the culture they have built- which is a good thing!  Practice developing a mindset that is alright with meeting resistance from your team, especially when you know that the decisions you make are going to ELEVATE your practice!

 

Get Curious, Not Furious.

Instead of becoming angry or upset with a dilemma that arises within your business, consider getting curious instead.⁠ Let me explain- ⁠

When you approach an issue out of frustration and accusation, it can stir up negativity among your team. ⁠ ⁠However, when you approach the problem intending to investigate the concern and understand the root cause of the problem, you avoid disrupting team culture. Curiosity can help diffuse the situation and shed light on parts of the issue that you had not realized.⁠ ⁠Here is an example:⁠

Say that while prepping for your leadership meeting, you have identified an issue with your photos. You are unsure whether it is a team issue or an operational issue, but you keep getting inconsistent before & after photos. During your meeting, you and your team discuss what the core issue might be. Are you having problems with your equipment? Are you taking shots from the same angle?

While trying to identify the root cause, you realize that the same nurse takes 90% of the photos. Is it a training issue? Does she not want to comply? ⁠

After asking the practice manager to shadow the nurse for a few hours, you realize that it is not a training or people issue. She is very pressed for time. Her schedule is full of additional cleaning requirements, and she is often in a rushed state while snapping photos. After identifying the core issue with curiosity, you can work with your team to implement a solution.⁠

In this example, it could have been easy for the leader to become upset and accuse the nurse of not caring about her work. Instead, the problem was identified through this spirit of curiosity and handled with less frustration. ⁠Open communication and curiosity are the most effective solutions to resolve issues that arise in your business!⁠ ⁠

 

Incentivizing Work

Recognizing initiative is the number one way team members say their leaders can inspire them to produce great work. Global studies prove that when it comes to inspiring people to be their best at work, nothing else comes close—not even higher pay, promotion, autonomy, or training.* 

Rewarding your team for a job well done does not have to break the bank. Find creative ways to appreciate and incentivize your team members that are within your budget! Choose incentives that you know will resonate with your team members, selecting them with care and thoughtfulness. If your team believes this to be an insincere act, they will not be motivated to excel at their work.

You can hand-pick incentives for each team member deserving of recognition. OR you may find it beneficial to offer a variety of incentives and allow team members to choose from those. I encourage you to think outside the box when selecting rewards for the entire team. Here a few of my favorite incentive options! 

• A handwritten note
• Lunch with you 
• Wall of fame
• Ability to leave work early

Another incentive technique that works well is to offer specific praise to a team member regarding an achievement, an act of kindness, or positive client review they received. Do not let the recognition of individual team members stop with you. Create a way for your team to recognize one another! A fun way to implement this is with a team board in the break room where each team member shares a photo or compliment about someone else. Encourage specific compliments and ask team members to add to the board at least once a month. 

By encouraging appreciation, you can help your team not focus as much on work-related frustrations. Pettiness and drama usually melts away when everyone is choosing to focus on the good they see around them.

 

A Final Thought

Be vulnerable and ask your team what you can do to make them feel included, engaged, and committed to your practice, your goals, and your shared success. Have fun as you engage with your team. Having a great team is the greatest asset your business can have.

Ensure that you provide more than “a job” to your team if you want to retain them for the long-term. Your employees can find “a job” anywhere- give them more than a job. It is essential that your team members feel that you have a mutually beneficial working relationship. Invest time in the professional development of your team with as much intention as you expect them to invest in growing your aesthetic business.  Hopefully, you are now armed with a few new ideas to build a healthy team culture that retains your talented team members.  I would love to hear how some of these work for you and your team!