o often we hear horror stories about employees—ones who bring drama and chaos to the workplace, others who go behind your back and steal your client information to open their own business, and those who want a big paycheck but don’t want to work—the problems can be endless. But, there are grooming businesses that don’t deal with continuous drama and stress, and that have staff members who work together harmoniously as a team.

I asked several industry leaders how they build, and keep, great teams. Here are their thoughts and answers to my questions…

“When hiring a new team member, pay attention to their ‘soft skills’,” suggests Amanda McGrath, owner of Pine Lane Consulting. “Employees need to be able to interact with people all the time. Hard skills such as scissoring a perfect column leg are fantastic, but if they can’t or won’t work as a team, or cannot interact nicely with clients, they may not be a good fit.”

“When we hire new employees, we are looking for someone that exhibits leadership qualities, animal-handling skills, can work well with others, has good time management, and is not habitually late,” shares Erin Huland, owner and CEO of The Creative Groomer. “We also look for individuals that have goals and ambitions for themselves, their future, and their career, even if that path is not in the grooming field. We’ve found that these individuals have good work ethics.”

“Each position requires different attributes when I hire them,” explains Denise Heroux, owner of Awesome Paws Pet Salon. “Groomers are fairly straightforward with needing to possess the skills for grooming, but also the personality traits that fit within my culture. The traits I need for my business are passion, drive, teamwork, and respect for the guidelines we have in place to run smoothly and efficiently.”

“Anyone we hire has to get along with our existing staff,” says Joey Villani, owner of PETicures. “We have applicants come in for a day or a few days to see if they fit in.”

“It depends on the position as to how we train, but the foundations are still the same,” Denise replies. “We go over the handbook, the job duties of their position, and how they are going to carry them out.”

“We give our new hires one-on-one training,” adds Erin. “They shadow one of us until they are ready to do the tasks on their own. That allows us to make sure they understand the tasks they are performing and to correct any mistakes they might make.”

“If you hire someone right out of grooming school, you will have to mentor them, but that can be a good thing,” Joey shares. “You can teach them from the beginning how to do things the way you want them done. When you hire experienced groomers, some want to do things their own way, and that could be problematic.”

“Building my team started with me and setting boundaries, learning communication, leadership skills, and organization within my business,” explains Denise. “I have to lead with integrity, structure, and by example in order to gain the trust of someone wanting to be within my facility for a long period of time.”

“We turn our employees into loyal team members by listening to them,” Erin adds. “We have monthly team meetings where we address issues that may arise or things we notice that need to be addressed.”

“Once you have assembled the right team members, you need to treat them well,” advises Amanda. “I feel that by giving employees as much autonomy as possible, they can have the best work-life balance and feel the most satisfied with their job. Set some parameters, then allow your staff to make their own schedules, groom as many dogs as they would like to, and use the products that they want to.”

“We have very clear standards for situations that arise,” Denise shares. “We encourage the employees to address each other if they are having problems. If they feel uncomfortable with that, then a manager or owner will step in and pull all parties involved to talk it out and develop a plan to move forward. I find that just teaching them basic communication skills and how to set boundaries eliminates a lot of drama and gossiping behavior.”

“My advice is to be clear and up-front that you have zero tolerance for drama,” says Erin emphatically. “That can ruin a good atmosphere and chase away good employees. Problem resolutions are talked about as a group, or one-on-one if need be, and given a timeframe to resolve. If it is a problem with an individual that is affecting the shop as a whole, we take the necessary steps that will keep the shop running smoothly and with no drama.”

“The key to not being taken advantage of is having very clear boundaries and sticking to them,” Amanda adds. “By having a written handbook, policies, and job description, it is easier for an employee to know exactly what is expected and what the consequences are for not meeting expectations.”

“Do not keep people who don’t align with your business just to fill that spot,” states Denise. “When you eliminate the people that aren’t the right fit, you open up space for ones that are. It is truly amazing how quickly our business can grow in the right direction once we release the energies that don’t fit.”

“Keep team members by showing that you value them,” advises Joey. “Provide excellent working conditions, good pay, benefits, raises and incentives, and future advancement possibilities (such as management, etc.).”

“We provide online and in-person education free to our employees,” Erin shares. “We pay for certification (if they choose that route) and for equipment sharpening and maintenance. We give yearly raises, Christmas bonuses, and paid time off. We close one Saturday a month and only work a four-day week.”

“We offer paid time off, 401k with a 4% match, monthly lunches, random events, Aflac coverage, and more,” adds Denise.

“As owners, we try to remember how it felt to be employees and what we wanted and/or needed,” Erin concludes. “Our employees appreciate what we do for them and are therefore willing to go the extra mile for us and the shop.”