Which of these four types of communicators do you have on your team?

HJ magazine asked Penny Etheridge, managing director of Radiant Hair & Beauty Consultancy, about the four main types of communicators that you should pay attention to when working in a salon.

Four main types of communicators

“In the hair and beauty industry, you will mostly have open types of communication related to communication with a permanent person or director,” says Penny. “We are not born reticent or indirect communicators, but we can move in these circles with age and life experience.” Here's Penny Etheridge's guide to recognizing the different personality types on your team and how to get the best out of them at work.

The Socialiser - an open communicator

“These are cheerful people, talkers who openly talk about their personal lives. Very nice and friendly,” says Penny Etheridge.

“On the other hand, they can be over-familiar and easily become confused or distracted and not comply with your requests. For such open communicators, it will be better if they write down your instructions,” she adds.

“In fact, many salon owners are open communicators, which is great because they get along well with everyone. But if you have open communicators among your employees, you need to organize them. Otherwise, such employees will distract not only themselves, but also others,” warns Penny.

The Relator is a true hard worker

“These communicators will become the most loyal employees. They absorb the information you give them and perform new tasks,” the interlocutor says. “They value reliability, and these people worry a lot.”

However, reserved people do not like to be pushed. “When you talk about goals, don't compromise them,” says Penny Etheridge. “They are hard workers, but these are the people who will be driven by emotions more than others. A reserved person can bring a lot more to the table, and it is worth investing a little emotional investment because he will be loyal and a great team player.”

The Director – direct communicator, organizer

“Organizers can be the most motivating, but also the most disruptive,” says Etheridge. – A direct communicator is someone who is a leader and likes to be in control. When things go wrong, they can take the initiative and control. These are not easy employees, but they are highly qualified.”

“You have to be firm and let them know who’s in charge. Try delegating responsibility, for example by assigning tasks that they can work on independently. Otherwise, such employees will undermine any decisions you make and take control of everything with the help of this team,” states Penny.

“The organizers want to be respected. You must find out their goals and aspirations and provide a clear career path. Give these employees strong goals because these people love to be challenged,” says Etheridge.

The Thinker - thinker

“This is a very analytical type of communicator. They have an eye for detail and will question everything and need to understand everything before they do anything. Often such people work alone, says Penny. – If you hire such a thinker on your team, he will become an excellent administrator, for example.

Representatives of this type may seem slow, but this is because they do not want to stop there. They want to know every detail and then make a decision, and therefore are not agile thinkers.”

“For this type, try to clarify everything related to the company’s goals, vision, career growth to the smallest detail. However, other types of communication communicators won't require as much detail, so be sure to keep that in mind,” says Penny.