With Jimmy Rods
What do we focus on as a business?
As we draw the year to a close and finalise our newest store which has just opened at Chermside, I am constantly reminded of the importance of education and training. Without these two elements of our business we would not be able to do what we do.
Apprentices that we began training only a few months ago will be ready to get up and cutting by Christmas which takes the pressure off the other staff during our busiest time of the year.
The importance of bringing up a barber from scratch within the company is second to none, we don’t like to hire what we call “jumpers”.
These are barbers that are known for jumping from store to store or company to company whenever they feel like a change and are not a solid investment for us.
A lot of people ask me if I struggle to find staff for the large number of stores we have, but to be honest – building your own apprentices from start to finish is the key to success. They are much more invested and likely to stay on and become a great part of our company if we build them from the ground up.
A smart barber will move up the ranks in their company, going above and beyond to take that higher position. Taking a management position or even moving up eventually to an Area or Operations manager. Some of our very own barbers who started with me years ago are helping me run the company right now because they put in the time and are now an integral part of our brand.
If every barbershop in Australia put on one apprentice, in the next few years we would have thousands of qualified barbers entering the workspace. Put time into your team, build respect with your staff and they will put time and effort into your company.
What are we doing to help?
In the new year of 2020, Jimmy Rods will be launching its very own 16-week fast track course for training fresh apprentices. Numbers are yet to be finalised but we have nearly already filled our first intake for the new year. We have the team from Matters in Grey coming on board to partner up with us and we will be operating out of our training store in Woolloongabba.
Barbers are constantly being poached from stores and it’s affecting the industry as a whole, ruining relationships between businesses and barbers alike. This fast track course taught by barbers who have been in the game for a long time will give apprentices the chance to get in, learn a lot and make a decision after their course is completed to move on to a shop of their choosing, without disrupting a barbershop who has already put in time with them if they decide to move on before they complete that full apprenticeship.
Sandy Chong (AHC CEO) had an amazing contribution to this in a previous Cutthroat edition where she said “ Don’t poach barbers from a shop that has invested time, money and energy in building up their barber’s skills and clientele. Create an environment and culture where all employees are paid correctly and completely by the books! “ Do your own training, focus on those apprentices and they will reward you with loyalty and hard work.
Jimmy Rods
