Beyond the Typical Frustrations of Being Employers

by Grooming Business in a Box ®

The grooming industry has come a long way in our 61 years as members. In fact only one issue truly prevails as much as it did when we first entered the industry. None is more challenging than fair personnel management and groomer wage systems. Managing pet groomers is a unique task because they are quite unique. They chose to be different. While many have been office workers, factory workers, retail salespeople, military and the list goes on, they chose a passionate and artistic profession. There are man-

agement courses for all types of workers pet groomers are not. Is it then any wonder that many grooming business owners find it a challenge? Operating a successful, and easily managed grooming business, depends upon understanding the unique nature of the job, and the men and women drawn to it. There are no molds, just passion and art and a need to care and express in a creative fashion. How do we put a price on acquiring that labor and keep it engaged? How

do we moderate the demand for them having to cope with the drain of constant attention to detail, safety and physical demands? These are some questions management needs to study and resolve into a system of management. Feeling drained from work brings up, “I don’t make enough money for what I am going through.”

We always paid great wages and made good profit with no sacrifices for quality client and pet services. We were far from bring the price leader in our area. In fact, our target for prices was high median and therein building high repeat business. It worked well, and kept our grooming staff busy year round. Cash flow was always there, and new business came in droves from referrals. In a way referrals was an early form of social media, and exemplary businesses today can still make referrals far more rewarding than modern social media. Add them together for early prosperity. We did not offer commission only employment in order to quell our worries of having enough demand and cash flow in order to pay steady salaries to full-time staff without getting into business savings. The point here is not about paying by commission but the solace many employers take in paying by commission. Management has to be honest and face its uneasiness, and address it. How many other employment issues are dealt in a similar fashion? Is this why management often misclassifies groomers as independent contractors without getting legal clearance to back their claim?

A large percentage of employed groomers are unwittingly misdirected by management, and basically held to just get the job done and keep the customers happy. Systems like The Madson Management System were devised not only for the benefit of management, but to provide a more pleasant working environment for the groomers. Where management is lacking groomers may find

eGroomer Journal January / March 2014 83 PetGroomer.com PublicationseGroomer Journal October / December 2013 37 PetGroomer.com Publications themselves distracted by the actions of other groomers because there is no coach, and they are carrying management burdens in a creative role. That is really problematic way to operate a service business.

Fairness in the workplace plays an important role. Where management and systems of operation are lax or missing, fairness goes out the window as employees tend to over perform or underperform. You can be sure they know it and feel the angst. Unfortunately they probably have to put up with it, yet be expected to focus on creativity, safety, demanding owners and figuring out their commission for each pet and their daily take. Is it enough? These are symptoms of a lack of management presence allowing groomers to do what they do best and without distractions.

Get grooming employers together and certainly the conversation will lead to the challenges of finding an adequate supply qualified groomers, keeping qualified groomers and performance issues. Rarely does the conversation turn away from the understandable frustration to seriously seek solutions. Based on more than 25 years of providing consultation I compiled 30 great topics for management to focus upon related to staff and wages. Most of these are "great truths" not of opinion but backed by hundreds of studies of financial statements and one-on-one consultations. I strongly suggest employers meet in groups and not gripe, but simply explore solutions and honest reflections of their management. I expect no one to be expert. Remember there is no formal training for managing groomers unlike nearly all of other professions. Let mistakes lead to wisdoms wellearned.

Here we will share a partial list of topics for management-minded members of the grooming industry, and all relate to personnel management and groomer wage systems. The hot topics! These are great points of discussion that will lead to new discoveries in groomer management. We know it works, as Madeline Ogle, author of From Problems to Profits—The Madson Management System proved, and hundreds of our consultation clients too.

Once inducted in this process of study our consultation clients often felt as if they were strangers among other

eGroomer Journal January / March 2014 84 PetGroomer.com PublicationseGroomer Journal October / December 2013 38 PetGroomer.com Publications grooming business owners because they achieved the ability for critical analysis of their systems without being defensive or aggravated. For most, their working life got better and employees extended the average time of employment with them.

At first it may be an uphill climb to let go of the persistent frustrations of being an employer and begin the journey of going "from problems to profits" with a proven management system of your design and experience.

The grooming industr y has plenty of strong management opinions rarely backed by written proof.

We firmly say this because as management consultants it was our daily experience. The decades old chronic shortage of skilled grooming employees takes it toll on patience. Dig deeper, there are solutions published by Grooming Business in a Box® and others. Start there and expand with your further solutions.

The vast majority of pet groomers working as independent contractors are misclassified.

Most grooming employers do not check on new guidelines for qualifying independent contractors. We regularly do and publish them at the GroomerTALK Community. A growing number of states are issuing new guidelines far stricter than the IRS. In fact in some states it is nearly impossible now to have groomers classified as independent contractors. Frustration leads employers to misclassify instead of adopting budgets that allow them to operate legally with W-2 grooming employees. The biggest excuse they provide, “Other businesses in town are doing 1099 groomers.” Lots of grooming employers have gotten in trouble, and it happens all the time. Almost every week we get a call from a business owner facing these facts. Some have to close business because the fines and penalties are so significant. We follow many of these cases. We found a few adjustments to their operations would have made up the added cost of payroll related costs as W-2 employers. Why risk the business and your livelihood? There are budgetary ways to comply.

You don’t have to reduce wage levels to reduce payroll expense.

The statement above is one of the greatest truths ever said on the “business side” of pet grooming. We have proven it true time and again working with busi-

eGroomer Journal January / March 2014 85 PetGroomer.com PublicationseGroomer Journal October / December 2013 39 PetGroomer.com Publications ness owners. It started with the book From Problems to Profits and continued in Grooming Business in a Box®. The most bloated cost for employers is having ALL pets groomed by pet groomers alone, and not by a professionally staffed bathing departments. It is simple fix and boosts net income about 15% to 30% for most operations. For further study see the Gravy in Grooming article in the first issue of eGroomer Journal (now PetGroomer.com Magazine) published Summer 2011. You can download a free copy of the issue at www.petgroomermagazine.com.

The statement “quality over quantity” is often misused. One person businesses are equally subject to quality issues as staffed businesses. Management makes or breaks quality, not the number of pets served in a business.

Certainly there are large businesses that may cut corners, but so do some one person businesses. In fact, some large operations hand dry every pet and never leave pets alone in cage dryers. Some even have attendants managing pets awaiting the return of their owners. As a result some pets in large operations actually enjoy more hands-on services than some of those making allegations solely based on size. Can we just leave the defensive position and say quality is a factor not judged by the size of business but the commitment of management to safety and quality. Sometimes size really doesn’t matter.

The higher the commission rate the higher the pay. Not.

Strange how this may seem so evident but many employed groomers do not know this. We have shown groomers how to determine the average service of businesses where they may work and find that a 50% commission wage exceeds 55% wages at another shop whose average service fees are lower.

Groomers paid by commission have more control. Not, again.

Where did this misinformation come from? I really don’t know but I have heard it for decades from some employed groomers. Perhaps some employers operate that way, but commission is nothing more than a calculation and implies nothing else. The “want to control” attitude of potential job candidates is also a warning sign for employers. These potential employees probably

eGroomer Journal January / March 2014 86 PetGroomer.com PublicationseGroomer Journal October / December 2013 40 PetGroomer.com Publications worked where there was an absence of regular management and just had to take charge of everything. Will they adapt to your management?

Commission paid groomers still have an equivalent hourly wage that you can calculate.

Yes! Once you learn how to calculate the equivalent hourly figure associated with commission percentages, employers can set fair and accurate hourly wages and salaries.

If an excellent groomer comes to you for a job, you can pay them hourly or salary matching what they would earn locally at a local competitor paying by commission.

Every business owner should set grooming performance standards with ranged time averages, and publish them in writing.

Management needs to communicate the grooming job performance it expects of job candidates and hired employees. Easily there are three levels, entry level full-charge groomers, and then mid-range and advanced level. In From Problems to Profits the job descriptions and agreements are fill-in style where employers specify job performance data expected on an individual basis. In this way their pay range is established to measurable performance such as 8 to 10 finish grooms daily on average. The more productive groomers meeting quality standards should have more generous wage levels. But how can that be managed if job candidates and employees do not know exactly what is expected of them in an easily measured way? This topic is explained in detail in From Problems to Profits, Grooming Business in a Box® and articles in PetGroomer.com Magazine. In fact we even provide blank fill-in sheets to organize related tasks. Be clear and do not assume employees understand your specifications without reviewing and confirming they understand.

Commission variables can add significant additional costs beyond the cost of labor.

Indeed. There are inefficient ways where pets are assigned to start-to-finish groomers where costs needlessly exceed expectations, and cleaned up, the savings could be passed along to employees. ◄

We are an Andis & Furzone Regional Distributor and Repair Center

Jeff is a Master Sharpener and Certified Pet Groomer with over 35 years experience. He knows how your tools should perform. He won’t sharpen worn out tools which could harm animals. His office will call you if any of your tools look bad. Long-time member of NDGAA, IPG and the BBB.

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Russellville, Arkansas