Hrd Needs Analysis: Salon Receptionist Training Program Essay

1) Identified Need: Â  a) The training program is a response to a felt need within Avatal Salon. Because the receptionists and the business as a whole feel that the operations at Avatal need to improve in order to meet the needs of our clientele, the business needs to reestablish proper training and operation methods. The desire is to improve efficiency and accuracy, as the staff is currently lacking in this area. b) Instruction can only address problems related to lack of knowledge, deficiency of skill, and attitude. i) The need identified is proper training in Salon Iris software used by the receptionists to gain knowledge on the different tasks it is able to pursue, step-by-step instruction on how to accurately use the software in various scenarios, and to eliminate the errors brought to attention by clients. c) Avatal Salon, to view in a business perspective, is at risk when any problems concerning booking appointments or lack of reminder calls are made because it is crucial that appointments are accurate to keep the salon in business. d) Currently, I have identified a need for software training, as the salon has received two to six complaints, weekly, each based on individual instances of inaccurate booking and pricing issues from clients. These complaints have arisen as a result of operational errors – receptionists have made mistakes in properly booking clients as well as failing to confirm appropriate appointment times. When an appointment is improperly scheduled, clients are receiving confirmation phone calls informing them of the times they should have been scheduled for as opposed to the time reflected in the stylist’s appointment book. These issues need to be addressed, and can be solved easily by proper use of Salon Iris software. 2) Applicability of Technology: e) Most hair salons have traditionally operated without the need for technology. Modern trends, however, have allowed salon-based software to create a more efficient and seamless experience for both clients and salon employees. f) Current use of the Salon Iris software available to Avatal provides to dozens of different actions that are beneficial to the business when the persons using it are properly educated. 3) Providing a Competitive Advantage: g) In the beauty industry, competition is constantly increasing. With countless salons in the area providing similar services, it is a smooth operational system that allows Avatal to thrive and meet the needs of their clients. ii) Losing business to the competition is a struggle every salon faces, all measures should be taken to not only keep all clients around, but also to keep them satisfied. iii) Every haircut, color application, eyebrow wax, and so on all contribute to the success of the business and just one mistake in an appointment can throw off the rest of the appointments for that particular hair stylist on the given date. iv) Furthermore, the salon software allows Avatal to track the profitability of the business by tracking the success of promotions, calculating the income from various services and product sales, and providing useful benchmarks for salon staff. 4) Utility of Formal Training Program: h) Implementing a training program when the salon is closed allows for formal instruction, an opportunity to provide feedback, highlights the major areas of concern, eliminates the pressure of making mistakes with clients loyalty at stake, and also lets even the employees with a bit more experience to gain knowledge beyond what they already know. i) Many receptionists have expressed feelings of being undertrained as a result of their own assessment as well as feedback from the clientele. j) Receptionists expressed feelings of incompetency to perform in their position because of the lack of training provided once the problem was brought to the owners’ attention. v) The group of new hires was trained on-the-job for only a short time with only brief knowledge and skills pertaining to the software that a more experienced receptionists offered during training. k) All eight receptionists currently employed by Avatal Salon will be mandated to participate in the training program. vi) Observing the learners and collecting data throughout the training program when all learners are being analyzed, rather than just the newly hired persons, will provide Avatal Salon with accurate data to prioritize the objectives being addressed by instruction as well as getting the group of learners to work together as a team. Furthermore, a uniform training program will allow the same accurate information to be communicated to all employees at one time, as opposed to on a case-by-case basis. l) Appropriate instruction will resolve the problem faced by Avatal Salon for the present time and also future training programs. vii) Instruction is intended to provide each learner with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform this position competently. viii) Instruction given in lecture, group discussion, and group role-play forms is intended to allow the group of learners to address the need for improvement and provide prioritization skills to carry out tasks in a time wise and orderly fashion. 5) Instructional Goals: m) Avatal Salon has targeted three areas that will be greatly served by instituting this new training program: ix) First, the training program will allow for current mistakes to be corrected. All receptionists will learn the importance of scheduling clients with the stylist they have requested. x) Next, the receptionists will be trained on accurate time scheduling. This refers to the duration of each appointment – if one appointment is scheduled for less time than is required for that specific service, every other appointment for that day will be affected. xi) Finally, the training program will go to the overall experience of clients. By cutting waiting time and inaccurate booking, clients will feel comfortable and confident when making their appointments, and this will help the salon’s client retention rate and success of referrals.