How Sport Clips Haircuts Leverages Technology and its Unique Culture to Recruit Top Quality Stylists

With more than 1,700 stores operating across the U.S. and Canada, Sport Clips Haircuts is one of the biggest names in the salon industry. However, its success isn’t an accident—in fact, there’s a large group of Support Team Members, franchisees and stylists who work tirelessly every day to ensure the brand continues to earn its position as the industry leader. As Sport Clips expands its reach and development in key markets in the months and years ahead, the brand is committed to recruiting only the best of the best to be a part of its system.

One group at the core of what Sport Clips* is all about is its stylists. The passionate, hard-working and experienced stylists play a large role in setting Sport Clips apart from the competition. That’s why helping its franchisees to recruit and retain top talent in the industry is a focused initiative for the brand.

To make that initiative a reality, Sport Clips uses technology to its advantage. The brand recently switched to a new applicant tracking system to streamline hiring efforts. The new system includes features such as social recruiting and ensures information about potential stylists is all stored in one place. That centralized data hub then extends throughout the onboarding and training processes, ultimately making it easier for Sport Clips to track its stylists’ career progress and success. 

“We make it a priority to stay ahead of the latest technology trends, especially when it comes to recruiting and hiring. Our digital reach plays such a crucial role in ensuring that our franchisees are bringing top quality stylists into our system, so it’s critical that we’re on the cutting edge,” said Julie Vargas, Sport Clips’ senior director of career opportunities.

Sport Clips’ one-of-a-kind culture and work environment also play a significant role in the brand’s ongoing recruiting efforts. That’s why it’s actively involved on social media—Sport Clips recruits stylists through its online channels. The brand even has its own internal team dedicated to getting the word out about career opportunities to capitalize on the power of social networking. Between publicizing the camaraderie and fun in Sport Clips stores, creating contests designed to engage Team Members, and efforts to pique the interest of potential hires, Sport Clips uses its social media presence to heighten awareness of its unique culture and career opportunities.   

“Social media is a very important component that we rely on when recruiting today. With the largest portion of our Teams falling into the millennial generation, it’s more important than ever before to make sure we have the right message to attract and engage the right audience via the mediums where they spend the majority of their time…social media,” Vargas said. “Our social posts are designed to give people a glimpse into what life at Sport Clips is really like. We pride ourselves on being known as a brand that has many employees who love their jobs, so we want to capture and share that as much as possible.  Our statistics show this is helping to differentiate us from our competition and helping to attract more stylists by simply sharing the experiences and opportunities of our Team Members and what it’s like to work at Sport Clips while making a great living while having fun at the same time.”   

Beyond the addition of new technology and mediums, Sport Clips also attracts stylists by making sure they have a clear picture of what the future can look like if they grow professionally alongside the brand. Being a Sport Clips stylist provides candidates with the opportunity to be a part of a rapidly growing brand, proven to be successful in a wide variety of communities, and the brand taps into an increasingly in-demand service that’s recession resistant. Sport Clips also offers ongoing training and educational courses for stylists to help them refine their skills, which can lead to career advancement opportunities that aren’t available anywhere else.

“One thing that stands out about Sport Clips—and it’s something we really promote—is that we truly care for every one of our team members. Stylists have so many options when deciding where to work, and we’re aware of that. That’s why we go above and beyond to ensure we’re creating a culture where employees want to stay and others will want to be a part of,” said Vargas. “It’s the little things like remembering birthdays and anniversaries, making sure people feel and know they are appreciated and respected, and making sure we create opportunity for personal and professional growth.  We actively take steps to make the Sport Clips brand attractive and enticing to stylists. At the end of the day, our system is only as strong as the people behind it. By designing a model people want to be a part of, we’ll continue to recruit the very best.”