Having engaged employees often comes down to three things: People. Cause. Impact. After attending the 2022 Great Clips convention, I can say with confidence: Yes, yes, and yes!
In normal times, Great Clips schedules its convention every other year, alternating with smaller, regional Zone meetings. Because of COVID, the last Great Clips convention—which brings together owners of walk-in hair salons, hair salon teams, and franchisor corporate staff—was held in 2018, and the intervening years were filled with virtual Zone meetings.
So last month’s convention was the first time in four years we had come together, made even more special by the fact that this year is the 40th anniversary of Great Clips, Inc. It's an understatement to say we were so ready to be together. The energy and engagement were incredible. And it was clear that People, Cause, and Impact were on full display.
PEOPLE: More than 2,500 attendees gathered at the Minneapolis Convention Center in the spirit of the event theme, All In, to recognize each other’s achievements, hear about the brand’s future, learn how to make the customer experience even better, and, yes, to party with their favorite people! I noticed more than once the look on someone’s face who clearly was at their first Great Clips Convention—awe, excitement, disbelief, and gratefulness to be part of an organization with so many people who cared about them.
It was heartwarming to witness so many being surrounded by those who provide support, opportunities to grow, and a sense of family.
CAUSE: The Great Clips vision starts with the words “working together.” After 40 years, it’s obvious that mantra is WORKING! Franchisees and their walk-in hair salon teams work together to deliver a great customer experience and engage with their community. Franchisees and the corporate team work together to build a successful salon brand. Corporate staff work together to support franchisees who are investing in a legacy franchise business.
It’s part of our greater cause to not just work together to be the biggest brand but also to be the best. It’s a cause and purpose that unifies us, and the impact was palpable at the convention.
IMPACT: One of the highlights of the convention is during the awards presentations when salon teams and staff are recognized for significant accomplishments in salon performance and customer service. Many of those awards are based on calculated metrics, but just as many are based on how stylists deliver a great customer experience in the salon by living out the Great Clips customer promise to care more
We heard stories of stylists who opened their salon early to accommodate a customer with compromised health, so they could be in the salon when there were fewer people. Or, the manager who returned to the salon after closing to give a woman a haircut who later told her she wanted to look good for the last family picture she would take because she was dying of cancer. Or the Great Clips salon team who helped a stylist who found herself homeless and needed a place to stay.
Yes, Great Clips is about the convenience of getting a great haircut at a reasonable price. But it is so much more. It’s about a business that values individuals for their skills and expertise, and then gives them the opportunity to make a difference.
The 2022 Great Clips convention helped us all remember that we are part of something bigger than the four walls of our offices or salons. “All in”? Yes, I am! (And not just because I got to see and touch the Stanley Cup—very cool for this Canadian-born hockey fan!)
Want to know more about what it’s like to be a Great Clips franchisee? Give me a call. I’d love to talk with you.
Beth Nilssen
Director of Franchise Development | Great Clips, Inc.
800-947-1143 | [email protected]