Your business grows when your providers grow with it. One great stylist or aesthetician can shape the entire guest experience, build a loyal clientele, and set the tone for your culture. So, when talented people leave, the impact ripples through your entire business.
At Innergize 2025, Nikita Nain from the Zenoti product team and trainer Stefanie Caruso tackled the topic with a session focused on strategies for keeping your best people. Their approach came down to two pillars: help providers improve their craft and increase their earnings. Simple as that.
The first pillar: Give providers the tools to work smarter
The myZen app was built specifically for providers, and it shows. Everything they see is tailored to their daily workflow, with no unnecessary clutter and no digging through menus to find what they need. Here’s what stands out:
- Flexible scheduling views. Providers can see their schedule the way they want to. A full week for planners, a three-day window for those focused on rebooks, or a single day for people who just want to crush today. Zenoti also added the full staff calendar, so providers can check a colleague’s availability on the spot when a guest wants to add a service.
- Transparent earnings. The My Money section gives providers clear, itemized visibility into their commissions, tips, and revenue. They can toggle between a quick summary and a detailed invoice breakdown. No guessing, no waiting for a manager to pull a report.
- Easy time tracking. Clock-in and clock-out appear right on the home screen, with timely reminders, making it simple for providers to log their hours accurately. The “Request Missed Check-Ins” feature lets staff quickly report forgotten punches, ensuring accurate payroll while reducing administrative follow-up for owners.
- Multi-provider appointment visibility. For appointments with multiple providers, the app now shows exactly who else is working with the guest and which services are coming next. Less confusion, smoother handoffs.
- Performance metrics and leaderboards. Providers can track their KPIs and compare themselves against peers on a leaderboard. The competitive ones love it. If it doesn’t work for your team’s culture, however, you can turn it off. You also now have the ability to choose which metrics show up, so providers only see what actually matters to your business — and what you want them to see.
The second pillar: Help providers earn more (and feel valued)
Beyond time, providers need more money in their pockets and the feeling that they matter. Here are Zenoti features that deliver on both fronts:
- Smart priority booking. When a loyal guest tries to book online with their preferred provider but the slot is taken by a non-request appointment, smart priority rearranges the schedule to make room. The previous guest keeps their booking with another provider, and the loyal guest gets matched with the provider they wanted. More requests means more tips, more request bonuses, and stronger client relationships.
- Provider-first booking and deep links. You can now send marketing campaigns with provider-specific links, so guests land directly on their booking page. Soon, they’ll be able to share a QR code from the app to drive their own re-bookings. That kind of ownership over their clientele is huge for retention.
- Team surveys. Zenoti’s labs now give you a way to check in with providers about what’s working and what isn’t. Your staff don’t just want a paycheck. They want to feel heard. Sending a survey and acting on feedback goes a long way.
- Guest-specific pricing and duration. If a guest needs extra time because of hair length or a more involved service, you can set custom duration and pricing per provider. The details take across every booking channel, which means fewer scheduling errors and fairer compensation for the work providers actually do.
When providers leave, preserve guest relationships
Even with the best retention strategy, some turnover is inevitable. Zenoti’s guest summary feature, powered by Zeenie (Zenoti’s built-in AI assistant), gives new providers a quick AI-generated overview of any guest’s history. Long-time clients don’t have to start over when their favorite provider leaves. Instead, custom targeting lets you re-engage these loyal guests and recommend another stylist or therapist who’s the right fit for their next service.
The bottom line: Protect what matters to your providers.
Their time, their earnings, their effort, and their voice. That’s how you win the talent war.
Featured image: Presenting at Innergize 2025, lead product trainer Stefanie Caruso and lead product manager Nikita Nain covered a topic of critical importance to salons and spas – staff retention. In their session titled Win the Talent War: How Zenoti Helps You Retain Top Performers, Nikita and Stefanie showcased the tools that make it possible.
