IF YOU GET YOUR EDUCATION RIGHT, EVERYTHING ELSE JUST SEEMS TO FALL INTO PLACE. THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED TO HAIR OTT AND IT SAW THEM SECURE AN AWARD WIN IN THE SALON BUSINESS AWARDS EDUCATION SALON CATEGORY. READ ON TO SEE HOW THEY DID IT.

Holistic Training Approach

Hair Ott Founders Otto and Barbara Ott laid the foundations of the salon group’s impeccable education record many years ago, which has been continued under the daughter’s tutelage.
Current owner Laura Ott says: “We have an holistic approach to training; our established team members are passionate about their own continuous learning and passing on their knowledge to our newest team members. We truly understand that as hairdressers we constantly need to grow, and our education is reflective of this.

Team Potential

“We believe in the potential of our team. Through our education programme and support structure we give them the tools necessary to become, and continue to be, superb ambassadors for both Hair Ott and the Hairdressing Industry. At Hair Ott, they home grow all of their designers, delivering Hairdressing Apprenticeships Level 2 and Level 3 in-house through their sister company, Masterclass Academy, with regular practicals to ensure they’ve got to grips with that they’ve learnt.

 

Hairdressing Academy

It doesn’t stop with the apprentices; each of the Designers attends the advanced hairdressing academy up to three times a year to develop their own cutting skills with their Advanced Cutting Trainers. They are invited to bring their own models/ heads to develop their thinking. Designers who have a high colour percentage, are also selected to attend Wella’s Master Colour Expert Program, as Laura says: “We’re very proud to have trained the most MCE’s in the South.” Trainees are invited into the salon too, with a lot of success. After one particular training day with John Huscroft, they found staff were motivated and the salon’s treatment numbers went through the roof.

External Courses

It’s not just in-salon. They send staff out to external courses to prefect their skills in a host of areas including Corrective Colour, Bridal Hair, Hair Loss and more.
But it’s how they maximise the education that really makes them stand out. Every time a team member learns a new haircut, they’re tasked with teaching it to a fellow colleague. “This is because by teaching the new haircut, the team member is hooking it into their mind,” explains Laura.

Target Setting

They set targets every year to define areas they wish to develop. For instance, a couple of years ago, they set a target to get all salons to at least 50 percent colour. By continually educating the team on colour [ with and without them knowing ] they achieved it, and many more goals since.

Feeling inspired? Enter the Education Category at this year’s #SBAwards’ here.