Mini Moment #17: The Real Secret to Keeping Great Staff - with Abbe
Staff retention is one of the biggest conversations happening across the hair and beauty industry right now. In this Mini Moment, the girls sit down with Abbe from Koko Cosmetica to unpack what actually keeps great team members in your business and why it’s rarely about perks or pay rises.
Instead, it comes down to something much more human: creating a safe, supportive environment where your team feels respected, heard and able to live their lives outside of work. Because the truth is, your team aren’t just employees, they’re people building their own lives alongside your business.
We talk about the small leadership habits that build loyalty over time, from respecting personal boundaries to paying people properly, and why often the biggest shifts start with looking at ourselves as leaders first.
What we cover:
- Why creating a safe work environment matters most
- Letting staff live their lives outside work
- Supporting sick leave and personal time properly
- Why leadership self awareness is essential
- The importance of paying staff correctly and on time
- Why consistency builds trust within your team
A great team culture isn’t built in big gestures. It’s built in the small, everyday ways you show your people they matter.
Mentioned in this episode:
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Transcript
[00:00:10] Samara: this is the reason. I can never do that. 'cause I'm always so impressed with how you roll that off your tongue. You
[:She's rolling fast today. 'cause we are fueled by cold brew. Yeah. But yeah, it's. Just rolls off the tongue now, guys. So in this mini moment, I'm really excited to talk about this because as Abbe pointed out, it's one of her superpowers. But I also believe it's one of yours as well, Sam, is that
[:[00:00:35] Jen: Ability to retain staff Now, this is a big conversation at the moment. Mm-hmm. It's. Industry wide across hair and beauty. So let's go like quick fire tips and insight we have into that. Retention. Yeah. Side of things. When we're talking about staff,
[:So to create that safe environment, it looks like saying yes to sick leave and not asking a question, saying yes to annual leave if they need to. Obviously with boundaries in place, you can't always say yes, but allowing them the space to feel safe to come to work and know that they're not going to be ridiculed for asking for something that they need.
[:[00:01:29] Abbe: Yeah.
[:We've got some that are moving away and it's really sad. And she's like, I know that you're already stressed. I've never felt more peaceful about it. Yeah. But she came to me and she was like, okay, I've gotta tell you something. And I was like, what? And she was like, I'm gonna go on holidays. I was like, that's amazing.
Yeah. She's like. In like August. So I was like, incredible. She's like, for two months I'm like, yes.
[:[00:02:00] Samara: Like it's their life. I don't want her to feel that she can't go and have a two month Euro holiday. Yeah. They
[:[00:02:08] Samara: deserve that.
[:[00:02:12] Samara: you.
Yeah. But like, can I come to Europe for two months? Yeah. Just saying. But I also want her for the next couple of months. Six months to be so excited for that trip
[:[00:02:30] Samara: And then go home and have a whinge about it to yourself. Go home and be like, Ugh, how am I gonna make that happen when they're sick? Just don't respond for a couple of minutes because you know you are in your head, you're going. Oh
[:[00:02:44] Abbe: yeah.
[:Yeah. Go into your appointment book, move all the things you need to move, and then once it's calm and you've sorted it,
[:[00:02:53] Samara: Then text them back so they don't
[:Yes. If you're like, I'm so sorry, but this person's baby is sick. You need to reschedule. Yeah. And 99% of them understand. Yes. So you do realize that it's really not that deep like. These people are living their lives as well.
[:[00:03:15] Abbe: And they're
[:[00:03:19] Samara: You know,
[:[00:03:20] Abbe: not.
No.
[:[00:03:21] Samara: And if you've got a, if you've got a good team, like you said, like Yeah. The whole point is building a safe environment. Yeah. Safe meaning if I'm unwell, I'm safe enough to know that they've got me.
[:[00:03:30] Samara: And I won't be unwell if. They, I know they need me because I don't wanna let them down.
[:[00:03:35] Samara: Safe enough that if I'm going on a holiday, they're gonna be so pumped for me. Because again, it's almost like creating a, a environment that is your number one hype girlfriend. Mm-hmm. You know that when you are Jen, when I am like thinking about doing something, it's safe to be like, Jen, I'm gonna do this.
What do you think? Yeah. She's like, yeah babe, go for it. I love this. Like, go you. Yeah. You don't ring the friend that's gonna be like.
[:[00:04:01] Samara: Do you really think that that's a good idea?
[:[00:04:04] Samara: absolutely not. And that's what it can feel like with bosses.
[:[00:04:08] Samara: know.
[:[00:04:12] Samara: yeah,
[:[00:04:13] Samara: yeah. But you would do it in a way that felt good for me. But again, that's the same thing with business.
[:[00:04:19] Samara: Yeah.
[:[00:04:22] Samara: on it. That's all right. I tell you when you don't. Yeah. But that's. That's business too.
Yeah. Like, you know, it's not always, sometimes you, if you've got someone who's constantly sick, you've gotta have those conversations of being like, we need to have a discussion about this. And I know it's sticky and I know you're sick. Yeah. But like, there needs to be something behind this.
[:[00:04:50] Jen: time.
[:And it's not going to be like constantly shuffling the books.
[:[00:05:11] Abbe: It wasn't. You've just gotta come to work. Mm. Yeah, exactly. You don't because,
[:[00:05:20] Jen: just come to work. They've
[:Your number one priority is to be a mom. Yes. Like. Painting brows for me isn't your number one
[:[00:05:35] Abbe: No,
[:Yes. What's the underlying feeling that makes you think that your business should be more important? Than someone's health and wellbeing.
[:Yeah. Yes. Basically it's all in a work. Hey, because
[:[00:06:23] Abbe: Yeah.
[:[00:06:29] Abbe: Yeah.
[:[00:06:35] Abbe: Yeah.
[:If you've got sick kids, they're like, babe, we've got this. We have you. Yeah, yeah. But if you don't have them, they're not gonna have you not, no,
[:And
Take them under your wing 'cause you are responsible for them. You're responsible for them being able to pay their rent.
You're responsible for them being able to live their life. You're essentially responsible for their, some of their happiness. Really? Yes. 'cause they're spending most of their time in their life. In your space.
[:[00:07:08] Abbe: So you have to, you have to make it comfortable for them.
[:What else, if anything else. Uh,
[:[00:07:17] Jen: Yeah.
[:[00:07:17] Abbe: Like, I was owed about $4,000 Super. And that boss was going to make me pay the interest. What? 'cause she, yeah. You know how you get like a little bit of interest if you don't pay the super or something? She was gonna make me pay because she tried to say that I didn't get my forms in on time.
And from that point on I was like, I'm gonna own a business and I'm gonna pay those girls their super.
[:[00:07:39] Abbe: Like, just pay them fairly and on time.
[:[00:07:43] Abbe: Be consistent. Yeah. Yeah. Be consistent.
[:[00:07:47] Abbe: those
[:[00:07:47] Abbe: Yeah. With your moods, with pays, with like how you run things.
Saying yes or saying no. Consistency.
[:[00:07:56] Abbe: Key for sure.
[:[00:08:02] Abbe: Yeah. Ask yourself why you are feeling irritated by that. And often it is a you a you problem, not a them problem.
[:[00:08:08] Jen: Yeah.
[:[00:08:14] Samara: Yes.
[:[00:08:16] Samara: and as you said, we've spoken about, put strategies around it. Yeah. If they're texting at eight o'clock and saying that they're sick and you open at nine and that's when school drop off is Yeah. It's like,
[:[00:08:26] Samara: Tell me, I want, if you wake up at 2:00 AM I want the 2:00 AM text message.
Oh, yeah. And that's, that's, and I, my phone will be off, but it means when I wake up, I deal with that before I then go and mother, otherwise I'm mother terribly.
[:[00:08:44] Samara: Yes.
[:[00:08:46] Samara: Yes.
[:[00:08:55] Samara: Yes.
[:[00:09:03] Samara: Yes. Yeah.
[:[00:09:05] Samara: Yes.
[:[00:09:06] Samara: be. And then you just, like, as a staff member, you're just like, I'm just deeply grateful for that. Thank you. I just thank you for having me in that, so Oh, I love your insight.
[:And thanks again for joining us, Abbe. No worries. Thanks for having me. Bye.
