Posted by Jenny
Running a successful salon goes far beyond offering exceptional services and building a loyal client base. For salon owners and managers, achieving long-term growth means having a deep understanding of how your team is performing and more specifically, how effectively their time is being used. This is where monitoring team utilisation becomes critical.
Understanding and tracking team utilisation can transform the way you manage your salon, influence your bottom line, and drive up your key performance indicators (KPIs). And with the right salon software in place, it’s easier than ever to access the insights you need to make smarter, faster decisions.
Let’s dive into why team utilisation matters and how tools like salon booking systems can help you get the best out of your team—and your business.
What is Team Utilisation?
Team utilisation measures how much of your team’s available working time is being spent on revenue-generating services. In simpler terms, it tracks how busy your team is—and whether their schedules are being used efficiently.
For example, if a stylist is available for 40 hours in a week but only spends 25 of those hours working with clients, their utilisation rate is 62.5%. While this doesn’t automatically indicate poor performance, consistently low utilisation across the team may highlight inefficiencies or missed opportunities.
SalonIQ’s utilisation dashboard does all of the above for you on auto-pilot, saving you hours of time. Whether you want to look at your salons utilisation as a whole or really drill down to specific team members, we’ve got you covered.
Why Team Utilisation Directly Impacts Your KPIs
Monitoring and improving team utilisation has a direct impact on several core KPIs that every salon should be tracking, including:
When your team’s time is optimised, you can:
✅ Increase appointment volume without increasing working hours
✅ Make better use of existing resources
✅ Spot gaps in bookings before they become costly
✅ Increase revenue and your salon average bill through upsells
✅ Improve client satisfaction with faster availability
Using Salon Software to Track Team Utilisation
Trying to track utilisation manually is not only time-consuming—it’s also prone to error. That’s where salon software becomes a game-changer.
Modern salon computer software like SalonIQ provides automated reports and dashboards that show you exactly how each team member is performing. With real-time visibility into appointment schedules, service durations, cancellations, and white space (gaps) you can identify:
SalonIQ’s advanced salon booking system seamlessly integrates with your team calendars, giving you an instant view of who’s booked, when, and for what service. This empowers you to make data-led decisions that increase productivity without overworking your team.
How to Improve Team Utilisation in Your Salon
Once you’re actively monitoring utilisation, the next step is to take action. Here are several practical ways you can improve team utilisation using salon technology:
Make sure you do not overwhelm your team, focus on just 3-5 KPIs at any one time, support your team to master those, review together and then move onto others.
Team Utilisation Isn’t About Overworking—It’s About Working Smarter
It’s important to remember that increasing utilisation doesn’t mean pushing your team to their limits. Instead, it’s about using smart tools and insights to schedule more effectively, optimise availability, and align team output with business goals.
Regularly reviewing utilisation data helps you support team development, reward high performers, and coach those who may need additional guidance. It also ensures your business is running as efficiently as possible.
Sam Kendall, CEO of SalonIQ says:
“In today’s competitive hair and beauty landscape, understanding your numbers is non-negotiable. Monitoring team utilisation is one of the most powerful yet underused strategies to increase performance across every area of your salon.
With the right salon booking system, you gain the visibility and control needed to take your business to the next level. At SalonIQ, we make it easy to track what matters, act quickly, and grow with confidence.”
Call a member of our team today on 01892 280 123
