Picture a new beautician's first Monday. She arrives at nine, no one knows where her locker is, the manager is with a bride, and the roster for the week was never shared. By Wednesday she has folded towels for two days and has not yet met the front desk. She wonders if she made a mistake joining.
A written plan for the week prevents this. The template suits salons, spas, nail studios and bridal studios. Adapt the lines and reuse it for every arrival.
BEFORE DAY ONE (owner: manager).
Offer letter signed, grade, fixed wage, commission slab and weekly off on one sheet.
Locker, apron or uniform, name tag and tool kit ready.
Senior buddy named; first-week roster shared by message.
Joining documents collected and employee record created.
DAY ONE (owner: manager and buddy).
Tour: stations, back room, product store, laundry, steriliser, first aid box and exits.
Hygiene briefing: hand wash, tool sterilising, towel use, disposables and waste.
Meet the front desk: how appointments, walk-ins and billing work.
Safety briefing: chemicals, ventilation, patch tests and what to do in an allergic reaction.
DAYS TWO AND THREE (owner: buddy).
Shadow three services and write down timings and product quantities.
Practise on a model under supervision: first service chosen by the grade ladder.
Learn the client card or software entry and the colour formula sheet.
Product handling: measuring, storage, expiry checks and consumption log.
DAYS FOUR AND FIVE (owner: buddy and manager).
Serve one real client with the buddy beside her and the client informed.
Learn how the commission sheet is built and match it to the day's book.
Walk through the leave, late-closing and travel-home rules.
FRIDAY (owner: manager).
Fifteen-minute talk: what was clear, what was confusing, what she needs.
Confirm grade ladder, first test date and next week's roster.
Manager notes feedback on the checklist itself.Who completes it and when
The manager hands the sheet to the buddy once the offer is accepted. The buddy ticks lines as days pass and notes a date and a comment. The manager signs the Friday block and files a copy. A missed item, such as the product store tour, is fixed that same day.
Role additions
- Stylists and colourists: a patch test protocol, formula notes, sectioning habits and the salon's standards for finish and timing.
- Beauticians and therapists: treatment room set-up, linen counts, client consultation form and contraindication list.
- Nail artists: tool sterilisation, filing and cuticle care standards, gel curing times and design menu.
- Front desk: appointment software, cancellations, discount authority and handling a late client.
- Bridal artists: trial forms, kit hygiene, travel bookings and day-of timeline sheets.
Hygiene and tool handling in detail
Clients judge a salon by the cleanliness of its tools, even when they cannot name the standard. In week one, walk the joiner through the full cycle: used combs and brushes washed and soaked, metal tools cleaned and placed in the steriliser, disposable items discarded, towels sent to laundry and trays reset before the next client. Let her do the cycle herself while the buddy watches. Mark the step on the checklist only after she has done it twice.
Product use and wastage
New joiners often pour too much colour, open fresh tubes unnecessarily or leave the developer uncapped. Show how to measure by scale or marked bowl, how much a standard length of hair takes, how to label a mixed bowl and where leftover product goes. Explain that the consumption log is not a trap, but how the salon learns which services lose money. A joiner who understands the reason is less likely to hide errors.
Why the buddy matters
A buddy differs from a trainer. She answers small questions, like where spare towels are kept and who covers a break. Choose someone patient who sits close to the joiner's grade. Lighten her own book in week one and say what you expect. On Friday, ask whether the joiner seems at ease or withdrawn.
Mistakes that undo a good start
- A roster altered without notice in week one.
- A buddy who happens to be the busiest person in the building.
- Putting the joiner on the front desk all week because nobody else wants it.
- Leaving commission and leave rules to be explained at the first payday.
- Skipping the Friday sit-down when the book is full.
Keeping the checklist alive
Revisit the template after each third joiner. Drop steps nobody values and add what keeps coming up. Fit it inside the wider employee onboarding process, and borrow skill-step ideas from the nail studio learning page. The salons and beauty businesses hub gathers the other recurring pressures.
