Work With an Amazing Team at Brio Salon and Spa!
- Nela Friesen
- Jul 4, 2025
- 8 min read
Table of Contents
About Meagan, Jennae and Shelby!
I spoke with three employees at Brio Salon and Spa, each from a different department with a unique viewpoint on the company. Meet them below!
Meagan is a member of the Guest Experience Coordination Team. She works with the front desk and performs administrative tasks.
Jennae is a hairstylist and the Salon Lead. She has been in this position for about a year now. She does the day-to-day forecasting and managing of schedules, and keeps an eye on everything in the salon.
Shelby is an aesthetician and the Spa Lead. She works with clients, along with taking care of her leadership role. She makes sure all education and ordering is done, as well as the day-to-day management of the spa department at Brio Salon and Spa.
What is working at Brio Salon and Spa like?
An Average Day
An average day looks similar for all three positions as leaders of their area in the company, which includes coming in a little early to make sure all the stations and employees are ready for the day. Meagan will spend her days working on administrative tasks as part of the guest experience coordination team, while Jennae and Shelby will have appointments with clients scheduled throughout the day. They take it one day at a time, working together to address any issues that arise and collaborating in areas such as scheduling around sick days or leaves of employees.
Pay
For administration jobs such as working at the front desk of Brio Salon and Spa, the pay starts at around $16 per hour, but it can always be more based on what the employee is bringing to the company. Meagan was recently offered a salary position in the company and can support herself fully with the pay she receives. She told me that Brio Salon and Spa is also generous with things like employee perks and vacation time, which is a big benefit to working with them.
Jennae and Shelby had similar responses to each other on this topic as a Hairstylist and Spa Service Provider, respectively. In their positions, you get paid commission along with a smaller guaranteed hourly wage. This means that at the beginning, when you haven't built up a client base, you may be living closer to paycheck to paycheck since you won't be able to book as many people. However, if you work hard, you can build up a client base quickly, and you can start to make more money. There are definitely opportunities to do very well in this industry if you work hard.
Work Conditions
Brio Salon and Spa includes both collaborative and independent work. Meagan, as a Guest Experience Coordinator, is very collaborative as she works closely with each department, communicating to ensure that employees, schedules, and guests are taken care of. Jennae, as a Hairstylist, is also quite collaborative since she depends on her team to help her serve their clients to the best of their abilities. She told me she couldn't do it without them. Shelby, as a Spa Service Provider, has the most independent job out of the three. While there is some collaboration, as all employees share the stations and rooms and must ensure each station is ready for the right person, the actual work with the client is very independent, as it will usually be one Spa Service Provider assigned to each client in the spa.
Meagan works 40 to 50 hours a week. Brio is very flexible with hours, allowing her to come in late one morning or extend a day if needed. Shelby and Jennae each work around 36 to 40 hours a week without lunch breaks. Brio does, of course, offer lunch breaks to their employees, so it is the personal choice of Shelby and Jennae to fit in one more client rather than take a lunch break as an opportunity to make more money. Shelby and Jennae are also willing to come in on extra time to accommodate guests if needed. They will usually put in more hours in November and December due to the holidays, so it also slightly depends on the seasons and holidays.
The work at Brio Salon and Spa can be stressful some days, like with any job. However, they each emphasized the team and expressed how helpful the team was in managing these stressful days. They can talk to each other and support each other however it's needed. Meagan also mentioned that she feels that Brio has a very good work-life balance, as well as good structure and collaboration to relieve any stress. Shelby and Jennae, who work with the clients, also mentioned that their job can be difficult because people come to the salon or the spa to relax, so you will need to put on a calm face no matter what you are going through, which can be difficult.
Qualities Needed
Here is how the three responded to this question:
Meagan: As a Guest Experience Coordinator, interpersonal skills are crucial. You need to be a people person and open-minded. You're not going to agree with everyone all the time, but it's important to be adaptable, professional, and kind when dealing with situations.
Jennae: As a Hairstylist, confidence is a huge part of the job. Even if you're uncertain, it's important to appear confident to help the guest feel comfortable. As a hairstylist, it's okay to be very outgoing or more introverted because it's all about matching the right stylist with the right client.
Shelby: As a Spa Service Provider, it's also important to be able to read the room and accommodate the client by talking if they want to talk or talking less if they prefer that, for example. It doesn't matter whether you're extroverted or introverted; you just need to match the guest's energy and have a good personality with a smile.
While all three responded based on their position at Brio, all the qualities mentioned here are good skills to have for any position within the company.
Hardest and Best Parts of the Job
Hardest Parts
Meagan: The hardest part for her is saying no to people. She wishes she could grant every vacation or day-off request, but this is unfortunately not the case. She is also usually the face of bad news, for example, when letting employees go or reaching out to unhappy guests.
Jennae and Shelby: The hardest part is balancing everyone's personalities among the guests and the employees as leaders of the salon or the spa. Team members will come to them with their problems, and guests will also sometimes share what they are struggling with in their lives. It can be hard to balance everyone's emotions with whatever is going on in your own life as well.
Best Parts
The three all mentioned how great the team at Brio is and how supportive they are of each other. They each spoke of their appreciation for the team at Brio multiple times, showing how amazing this aspect of the company is. They also enjoy the flexibility they can have with their schedules if needed.
Why Choose Brio Salon and Spa?
Meagan: She told me that building connections with people and working with the team in a low-stress environment is great. She told me that she can leave her work at work, allowing her to have a good work-life balance. It's also exciting to see people leaving happy with new hair or nails, etc, and she feels so proud of the work the team does with their creativity and skill.
Jennae: She loves being a hairstylist and giving her clients the looks they want. The clients can come and have a break to relax while getting their hair done, and they can feel good about themselves when they leave. She also loves getting to know the clients. There is one client that she has been seeing for a long time. She told me that she saw this client while the girl was in high school, while she got her nursing degree, when she met someone and eventually got married, and she just recently had a child! She thinks it's really cool to be a part of someone's life for so long.
Shelby: She loves the guests' reaction to the spa. They come there to relax and destress, and it's rewarding when they get to leave feeling much better. She also loves her job because she gets to talk to many of her clients and get to know them.
Misconceptions
Many people think that because Brio is a more luxury brand, they will have stuck-up attitudes, but the truth is that the team at Brio truly cares about each other and their guests. Some people also assume that there might be a lot of drama among the employees, but this is not the case at all. The team at Brio is amazing and is one of the best aspects of working for this company or visiting as a client.
The work is also harder than many people expect. When Meagan started at the front desk, she was prepared for a nice job sitting at the desk with her coffee and answering phone calls. However, it wasn't as easy as she expected because she was soon helping out in other areas wherever it was needed. As for the hairstylists and spa service providers, it is also difficult when starting out because some people expect to be fully booked as soon as they start the job, but in reality, it takes time to build a client base. Everyone has to start at the bottom, so you might start by doing some of the behind-the-scenes work, like folding laundry or cutting wax strips, etc, until you work up to a full clientele.
Post-Secondary
Meagan: She did 8 years of undergraduate studies for a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Sociology, and Native American Studies. This doesn't apply to her job now, but she thinks it was still beneficial because she gained understanding in certain areas, and her striving to learn and grow has been very beneficial.
Jennae and Shelby: Both attended a beauty school for about 9 months to get certified for their positions. Jennae's advice was to do a lot of research when choosing a school to attend because she didn't, and ended up choosing one where she felt she didn't learn a lot. Beauty school can be expensive, and you may not learn a lot, but unfortunately, a graduation certificate is required to work in the industry, so you will have to complete the schooling. Both felt that they learned all their skills at Brio since joining their team. Brio is focused on education, and they make sure their employees have the skills they need to succeed. Jennae and Shelby attribute their skills to Brio rather than beauty school, but as mentioned before, the certificate is required, so you will have to go through the schooling process.
There is a continuing demand for hairstylists and spa service providers. However, many people enter the industry thinking it's easy and give up when it gets hard. Jennae and Shelby told me that it's easy to enter the industry and do the schooling, but it's harder to stay in the industry as you try to build your client base. It can be discouraging to see your schedule empty when others are fully booked. Because a lot of people go through beauty school, there are also a lot of people who have the certificates required for the industry, so the question is: "What makes you different from all the others?"
What can High School students do to prepare?
It is very important to develop soft skills while still in high school to prepare yourself for future careers. This includes interpersonal skills such as communication, eye contact, adaptability, and how to be open and friendly, etc. It's easy to teach skills like how to answer a phone, but it's a lot harder to teach these soft skills, so developing them while in high school gives you a big advantage! Meagan told me that recently she has noticed a bit of an apathetic nature in the younger generation who are less willing to go out of their comfort zones for difficult tasks, even if it would help them grow. Being enthusiastic about your work and willing to learn and grow will help you stand out as you start to develop your career.
Check Out Brio Salon and Spa!
The three girls expressed repeatedly how much they love working at Brio and how much they appreciate the team they get to be a part of. Jennae said she knows it's cheesy, but they have a saying: "Brio Forever" because it's a great place to work, and they believe they will work there for as long as possible! Check them out below!
Website: https://briosalon.ca/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/briosalonspa/
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