The Culture Book

Purpose, values, adult-to-adult culture, teamwork, accountability.

Moda was built on a love of hairdressing, but our purpose has grown into something much bigger than simply running a successful salon.

For the assistant standing behind the front desk on their first day. For the apprentice learning how to hold a brush, formulate colour or navigate their first client. For the stylist building a clientele. For the senior who has spent years refining their craft. For educators, brand partners, representatives, other salons and the clients who continue to support our industry.

We believe this can be an incredible career — one that offers creativity, opportunity, financial independence, community and lifelong growth. We also know the experience people have at the beginning of their careers often determines whether they fall in love with this industry or leave it.

We want Moda to be one of the places that makes people want to stay. That means creating a workplace where people feel supported while they learn, challenged as they grow and respected at every stage of their career. It means sharing knowledge rather than guarding it. It means celebrating talent without allowing ego to take over. It means caring as much about how we achieve success as the success itself.

Our Purpose

Making the industry better starts with how we treat each other. We cannot change an entire industry overnight. But we can influence the part of it that happens inside our doors.

• Create an environment where people are excited to come to work.
• Encourage Apprentices to ask questions.
• Ask experienced stylists to remember what it felt like to be new.
• Treat mistakes as opportunities to learn, not opportunities to embarrass someone.
• Make clients feel cared for rather than processed.
• Make education accessible.
• Create room for people to grow without feeling they must compete against the person beside them.
• Build success without asking someone else to carry an unfair share of the work.

This philosophy extends beyond the Moda team. Educators, representatives, suppliers, other salons and professionals throughout our industry deserve the same professionalism and respect we expect for ourselves. We may not always agree. We may make mistakes. We may sometimes have difficult conversations. Respect remains the baseline.

What We Value

Care

Care about the guest in your chair, the Apprentice beside you, the person closing after you leave, the space you work in and the reputation attached to your name and ours. Client care includes listening, communication, respecting time, setting honest expectations and thinking about the experience from the client’s perspective.

Craft

Hairdressing is a craft. There is always something else to learn, refine or understand. Stay curious. Ask questions. Practise. Seek education. Teach what you know. Respect the time and work someone else invested in the knowledge they are sharing.

Honesty

Be honest about what is achievable, about pricing, when something has gone wrong, when you need help and where you still need to grow. Making a mistake does not mean you have failed. Hiding one, blaming someone else or leaving another person to deal with its consequences is a much larger problem.

Accountability

Your choices rarely affect only you. Schedule changes affect clients and Heart of House. A bowl left behind affects the person cleaning it. Skipping Vish affects inventory, costing, formulas and the whole colour team. Accountability means understanding the ripple effect.

Growth

There is no finish line in this industry. Growth can be technical, creative, financial, interpersonal or leadership-based. We want people to build long careers at Moda, and those careers do not have to look identical.

Teamwork

The salon works because many people contribute to every client experience. Different roles carry different responsibilities, but none makes one person inherently more important than another.

Adult-to-Adult Culture

We do not want a workplace filled with unnecessary rules. We hire adults and we want to treat people like adults.

• Manage your time responsibly.
• Take appropriate breaks and communicate.
• Use your phone appropriately.
• Ask for help.
• Support someone who needs it.
• Use judgment.
• Understand the difference between “Can I?” and “Should I?”

Own your decisions

If you make a decision, be prepared to stand behind it and explain your reasoning. If you discount something, there should be a thoughtful client or business reason. If you move an appointment, understand the impact. If you need time away, think about what your absence means for the people around you. If you make a mistake, tell us. We would rather support you early than discover later that someone was afraid to speak up.

“That’s not my job”

Different roles have different responsibilities. That is normal. Job descriptions should never become an excuse to ignore the team around you. If you have the ability to help, help. “That’s not my job” is not on brand for us.

Ego isn’t on brand

Moda celebrates confidence, individuality, strong opinions, talent and success. What we do not want is success becoming entitlement. No clientele, title, sales number, social following or number of years behind the chair makes one person’s time inherently more valuable than someone else’s.

We Are One Team

A strong team does not happen because everyone gets along every minute of every day. It happens because people consistently choose to respect each other. We notice what needs to be done. We communicate. We clean up after ourselves. We speak to people rather than about them. We think about the experience we are creating for the person working beside us.

Leave it the way you found it

Being busy does not transfer responsibility for your personal mess to somebody else. Different roles have primary responsibilities, but those assignments do not mean everyone else walks past something that obviously needs to be done.

Seniority means influence

The further you move through your career, the more people watch how you operate. A full clientele is built through years of work and should be respected. Experience also creates influence. How a Senior speaks to an Assistant, helps an Apprentice, cleans their space and handles mistakes teaches people what professional behaviour looks like.

Remember what it felt like to start

When an Assistant or Apprentice joins Moda, we want them to fall in love with this industry. Supporting the salon is part of their role. Cleaning, assisting, observing and helping are part of learning how a salon operates. But they are not here simply to make everyone else’s career easier. They are here to build one of their own.

An Apprentice should never become one stylist’s permanent shampoo person, cleaner or assistant. They need opportunities to observe different techniques, ask questions, practise, attend education and gradually take responsibility for their own guests.

Everyone has value here

An Assistant can notice something a Director misses. An Apprentice can inspire a Senior. A Senior can learn from a Stylist. An educator can learn from the person attending their class. Growth does not always move downward through a hierarchy.

Employee Handbook + Workplace Standards

Attendance, conduct, time off, confidentiality, workplace policies.

This handbook explains the workplace standards that sit underneath Moda’s culture. It works together with the Culture Book and the role-specific operating guides.

Professional Responsibility

• Arrive ready to work on time.
• Communicate early when something changes.
• Act in the best interest of clients and the team.
• Follow required operating systems and safety procedures.
• Protect confidential information.
• Ask for support when needed.
• Take responsibility for mistakes and their impact.

Attendance + Punctuality

Being on time is a basic professional responsibility. Occasional circumstances happen; communication matters. Repeated lateness, particularly when it impacts clients or teammates, is not consistent with Moda standards and may lead to corrective action, up to and including the end of employment where appropriate and lawful.

If you are unexpectedly delayed, communicate as soon as possible, contact the appropriate manager / Heart of House and provide a realistic arrival time.

Illness + Calling In

If you are unable to work because of illness or another unexpected reason, notify Chantelle and your location’s manager / Heart of House as soon as reasonably possible. Text message is the preferred first method unless another emergency process has been established.

Breaks + Meal Periods

Take care of yourself so you can take care of clients. Breaks should be managed with awareness of your client schedule and the team, while all legally required meal or eating periods must be provided in accordance with applicable Ontario requirements. Food is never to be eaten at styling stations or in client service areas.

Time Off

We want people to have lives outside of work. Plan ahead whenever possible.

1. Post planned time away in the designated Time Off WhatsApp chat.
2. Block the appropriate schedule time.
3. If existing clients are affected, tell Heart of House directly so the appointments can be managed.

The sooner the better. Moda does not currently use rigid blackout periods or a seniority-based vacation hierarchy. That flexibility depends on people being mindful of the overall salon schedule, their clients and teammates.

Overtime + Additional Hours

Overtime is not encouraged unless needed and should be approved in advance. All hours actually worked must still be recorded and compensated in accordance with applicable law. Unauthorized additional hours may be addressed as a scheduling or performance issue, but actual hours worked must never be hidden or removed.

Shift Changes

Assistants may arrange shift swaps when coverage is confirmed and the appropriate leader / Heart of House is informed. Stylists generally manage their own availability through their schedules rather than swapping client shifts.

Personal Phones

Personal phones are permitted when appropriate. They should never interrupt a consultation, service, team responsibility, safety or the guest experience. No guest wants to see a stylist standing on the salon floor watching Reels. Personal scrolling belongs in the back room or another non-client area, and only after checking whether the team needs support. Earbuds / AirPods are not permitted while working on the salon floor.

Professional Conduct

Our workplace should feel warm, creative and professional.

• No swearing in client-facing areas.
• No explicit or inappropriate personal conversation in front of clients.
• No gossip about clients or coworkers.
• No discussing another employee’s private information or performance with clients.
• No arguing on the salon floor.
• No eating at stations.
• Client complaints must never become salon-floor conversation.

This standard is not intended to restrict any legal rights employees may have with respect to discussing their own working conditions.

Dress + Presentation

Hairdressing is a creative industry. Clothing should be clean, free from visible stains, in good condition, intentionally styled, professional for a premium salon environment and reflective of personal style. Denim, fashion sneakers, styled leggings, crop tops, tattoos, piercings and fashion-forward hats can all be appropriate when the overall presentation feels intentional and professional. Footwear must allow you to perform your work safely.

Gossip, Respect + Conflict

Speak to people, not about them. When conflict happens, address it respectfully where appropriate, ask for management support when needed and do not recruit clients or coworkers into the disagreement. Disagreement is normal. Disrespect is not.

Harassment, Discrimination + Workplace Violence

Moda does not tolerate workplace harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, threats or violence. Employees must have clear reporting routes, including an alternate route when a concern involves the normal reporting recipient. Formal reporting and investigation procedures should be maintained in accordance with applicable Ontario law. Retaliation for raising a good-faith concern is not acceptable.

Accessibility + Accommodation

Moda will consider and provide accommodation as required by applicable law. Employees who require accommodation are encouraged to speak with management so appropriate options can be explored respectfully and confidentially.

Alcohol, Drugs + Impairment

Employees must be fit to perform their work safely and professionally. Working while impaired by alcohol, cannabis, illegal drugs, misuse of medication or another intoxicating substance is not acceptable where impairment could affect safety, judgment, service quality or client care. Medically required medication and substance-dependence issues must be handled in a way that respects applicable accommodation obligations.

Confidentiality

Client and company information must be protected. Do not access, copy, export, photograph, share or use information unless you have a legitimate work reason.

Confidentiality continues after employment ends. Clients are free to choose their service provider; company databases and confidential records may not be downloaded or used for personal solicitation.

Discounts + Professional Judgment

Moda trusts professional judgment. If you make an exception or apply a discount, you should be able to explain the client or business reason behind it. “I didn’t feel like charging them” is not enough. Discounts should never be used to avoid an uncomfortable but appropriate pricing conversation.

Friends + Family

• Stylists may choose to discount their own labour for friends or family.
• Colour product is never free and Vish always applies.
• Moda does not compensate the voluntarily discounted portion of labour unless another arrangement has been approved.
• Friends/family appointments may be moved when space or resources are genuinely needed for regular client operations.

Be thoughtful about creating an ongoing discount expectation you may later find difficult to maintain.

Adjustments

Sometimes a result needs refinement. The goal is to protect the client relationship, learn from what happened and make it right without blame. The current Moda standard is generally a 7-day adjustment window, return to the original stylist where appropriate, management awareness, and the stylist participating in the correction. Compensation for adjustment work follows Moda’s current pay practice.

Theft + Deliberate Misuse

Theft, deliberate falsification, intentional misuse of company funds/product or unauthorized removal of company property is serious misconduct and may result in discipline up to and including termination, subject to applicable law and the circumstances.

Corrective Action

Moda prefers early, direct conversations. Depending on the issue, corrective action may include coaching, retraining, clarification, written documentation, removal from specific duties, further discipline or termination where appropriate and lawful. Moda is not required to use every step in every situation. The goal is to address behaviour that is affecting clients, coworkers, safety or the business.

Acknowledgement

I acknowledge that I received the Moda Salon Employee Handbook + Workplace Standards and understand that I am expected to read and follow the policies that apply to my work. I understand policies may change as the business, law and operating systems change and that this handbook does not replace applicable employment law or my employment agreement.

Your Role at Moda

Roles + career path.

Moda uses levels to describe responsibility, client demand, technical growth and leadership. Levels are not a ranking of human value.

Progression is not automatic because someone hits a sales number. If the fundamentals of the role are being done well, healthy service and retail performance should follow. Advancement reflects the bigger picture: demand, growth, technical development, professionalism, teamwork, consistency, client trust, culture contribution and readiness for the next level.

How Promotion Works

Promotion is a conversation, not a formula. Management considers demand, technical growth, client experience, professionalism, teamwork, accountability and readiness for the next level.

Leadership Is Not a Title

You can lead before becoming a Mentor. You can teach before becoming a Director. You can contribute an idea in your first month. Moda remains open to opportunities that fit both the person and the business.

The question is not only “How high can I climb?” It is also “What kind of professional do I want to become?”

The Apprentice Journey

Assistant + Apprentice development guide.

At Moda, Assistants and Apprentices support the salon — but support is not the end goal. You are here to become a hairdresser. We expect you to work hard, help the team, clean, observe and learn. In return, we commit to giving you a path forward.

The Path

Progress is shaped by education, skill development, competency checklists, reliability, professionalism, attitude, drive and management / education-team assessment. There is no single fixed timeline. The goal is competence and confidence, not rushing.

Assistant Stage

The earliest stage of the Moda development path. You will typically work across reception / Heart of House, cleaning, laundry, shampoo support, colour-bar support, opening / closing support, technical observation and beginning apprentice education.

You are learning how a salon flows, how clients are welcomed, how timing works, sanitation, professionalism, how stylists communicate and what excellent support looks like.

Apprentice Stage

As an Apprentice, education becomes increasingly technical. You may assist services, practise on models, invite friends/family for practice, attend Sunday School, complete technical training and take Moda clients for services you have been signed off to perform.

Supervision — Non-Negotiable

This does not mean someone needs to stand over the Apprentice. It means support is available, questions can be answered and a problem can be escalated. Once an Apprentice has passed a competency, they may formulate and perform that approved service independently within their skill level.

If something falls outside the Apprentice’s signed-off competency — for example unexpected banding, compromised hair, a correction or an unusual technical issue — stop and ask for support before continuing.

Moda Clients

A service becomes available when the education department has assessed and passed the Apprentice’s skill. The purpose is to protect the Apprentice, the client, the quality of the experience and the Apprentice’s confidence.

Friends + Family Practice

• Apprentices may invite friends and family to practise skills they are working to improve.
• The Apprentice may decide whether they want to charge for their time.
• Colour product is always charged.
• All colour must go through Vish.
• Salon space and regular client operations still take priority.

Education Models

Education models are different from casual friends/family practice appointments. They must be approved in advance so Moda can ensure appropriate space, a Senior/educator is available, the learning objective is clear and the Apprentice actually receives education.

The Team’s Responsibility to Apprentices

Experienced stylists should remember what it felt like to start. An Apprentice should never become one stylist’s permanent shampoo person, personal cleaner or someone whose education repeatedly gets sacrificed because another person is busy. Support roles are part of apprenticeship. They are not the whole apprenticeship.

The Apprentice’s Responsibility to the Team

When You Are Stuck

There is no prize for pretending to know something you do not know. Confidence grows from competence — not from hiding uncertainty.

The Client Experience

Client care standards.

Our job is not simply to complete a service. It is to make the client feel heard, respected, informed, comfortable, confident in the plan and cared for from arrival to follow-up.

1. Welcome. Acknowledge the client warmly. Use their name where appropriate. Read their comfort level. Make them feel expected. We do not require scripted handshakes or forced interactions. Warmth should feel genuine.
2. Consult — every visit. A consultation is required at every visit, even with an established client. Hair changes. Lifestyle changes. Goals change. Budget changes. Previous results may change how the client feels. Cover what they liked/disliked, current goals, how they wear and style their hair, maintenance preference, hair history, condition and integrity, and what is realistically achievable today.
3. Professional recommendation. Clients come to us for expertise, not simply execution. If a requested service is technically unsafe, unrealistic or not in the client’s best interest, anyone on the team may respectfully say no. Explain why and ask for support if the conversation is difficult.
4. Create the plan + discuss price. Before starting, the client should understand what service is being performed, realistic outcome, maintenance, approximate timing, base price, known add-ons and the possibility of additional product charges. For major transformations, record the consultation and expectations in the client notes.
5. Colour product overages. Each colour service includes a defined product allotment. When the client’s length, density or service requirements genuinely require more product, the additional product is measured through Vish. Stylist overmixing is not the client’s problem.

6. Deliver the service. Work with intention. Protect hair integrity. Use appropriate sanitation. Stay aware of timing. Ask for support when needed. Do not silently rush through a critical part of the experience because the schedule is behind.
7. The shampoo + scalp experience. The shampoo area should feel like part of the service, not a conveyor belt. Explain products before the relaxing portion where appropriate, reduce unnecessary conversation and perform expected scalp-care rituals consistently.
8. Finish + educate. Explain what you used, why, how to recreate the look, tools, techniques and maintenance. Professional home-care recommendations should feel useful, specific and honest — never pressured.
9. Pre-booking. Pre-booking is about continuity of care. Recommend the timing that best maintains the client’s result and explain why. The goal is to protect preferred time and maintain the hair intentionally, not pressure.

Appointment Integrity

Do not move a client earlier, later or to another day simply to create a gap, shorten your workday, arrive later or leave earlier. Life happens and client needs change, but use judgment with the client and team in mind.

When a stylist-initiated move materially inconveniences the client, Heart of House should add a note to the client file so repeated inconvenience can be identified. A rigid permission process is not required for every change; adult judgment is required.

Adjustments

An adjustment is not punishment. Approach it with curiosity, professionalism, no defensiveness and a desire to understand. Management should be aware. The original stylist should normally be involved where appropriate. Do not discuss complaints openly on the salon floor.

Client Notes

Good notes protect the client experience. Record major consultation decisions, expectations, technical concerns, relevant service history, formulas/Vish records, material stylist-initiated appointment moves and adjustment context. Notes should be factual and respectful.

Colour at Moda

Vish colour management SOP.

Vish is a required operating system at Moda. It is not optional based on how busy the stylist is, how small the bowl is, whether the client is a friend or whether someone “already knows the formula.”

Accurate colour records affect future formulas, inventory, product ordering, service costing, waste, client pricing, the next stylist who serves that client and the entire colour team.

Moda’s Vish Framework

What Goes Through Vish?

Daily Setup

Moda currently operates MangoMint and Vish alongside one another. The closing Assistant is responsible for loading the following day’s appointments into Vish as part of closing preparation. This does not remove the stylist’s responsibility to ensure their own client, service and formulas are correctly captured.

Stylist Responsibility

Apprentices mixing as part of another stylist’s service use the responsible stylist profile unless management establishes another process.

Reweighing

If you forget a reweigh once, it happens. Learn from it and improve. If someone repeatedly chooses to bypass Vish, that is no longer a mistake — it is an accountability issue.

Product Allotments + Overages

Each colour service includes a defined product allotment. Additional product genuinely required because of length, density, amount of regrowth, technique or service requirements is measured and charged based on actual usage through Vish. Do not guess an overage and do not waive it simply because the conversation feels uncomfortable.

Stylist Error Is Not a Client Charge

If unnecessary extra product is mixed because the stylist overpoured, mixed the wrong formula, made too much or created avoidable waste, that is not the client’s financial responsibility. Record the usage accurately, learn from the waste, do not hide the error and do not pass it onto the client.

Friends, Family + Models

Colour product is always recorded and charged through Vish, even when labour is waived or discounted. Education models may follow a separate approved model arrangement, but all product usage still needs to be tracked.

Non-Compliance

Management Review

Management may review Vish engagement, reweigh rates, waste, product usage, service allowances, recurring overmixing and missing records. The purpose is to improve systems, coach, price accurately, protect inventory, protect clients and reduce waste — not to shame stylists.

Shared Salon Care

Daily operations.

We are retiring the idea of “downtime activities.” The salon is a shared professional space. Taking care of it is part of taking care of each other.

The Simple Rule

Being fully booked does not make your personal mess somebody else’s responsibility.

Primary Role Responsibilities

What “Help When Needed” Means

If you have a gap and towels are overflowing, the floor needs sweeping, bowls are piling up, someone is closing alone after a difficult night or an Assistant is clearly overwhelmed, check in. You do not have to abandon a client or derail your schedule. But standing on the floor scrolling while someone beside you is drowning is not the culture we are building.

Closing

Assistants are primarily responsible for closing when scheduled. Closing should never mean one person cleaning up everyone else’s personal mess. Before leaving, every team member should reset their own space, deal with their own service tools/bowls, communicate anything outstanding and check whether the closing team needs practical help.

Each location keeps a separate one-page closing checklist covering laundry, towels, shampoo area, colour bar, bowls, stations, floors, garbage, backbar, dishwasher, doors, lights, alarm and next-day Vish preparation.

Opening

Heart of House and scheduled Assistants generally handle opening. Each location keeps a location-specific checklist covering client-area readiness, lights/music, stations/shampoo area, beverage area, phones/systems, towels, first-client readiness and facility/safety issues.

Salon Floor Awareness

You do not need to solve everything personally. You should not pretend you did not see it.

Respect for Support Roles

Assistants and Apprentices have real support responsibilities. That does not make them personal servants. Do not repeatedly leave bowls because “an Assistant will get it,” walk away from your station expecting someone else to reset it or claim one Apprentice as your permanent support person.

Build Your Brand

Social media + personal brand guide.

A modern hairstylist is building technical skill, trust, visibility, reputation, referrals, a body of work and a point of view. Social media is one of the major ways clients discover hairdressers now.

Expectation, Not Quota

There is no “three posts per week” rule. We do expect consistent participation over time.

• Maintain a professional hair-focused Instagram and/or TikTok presence
• Capture work regularly
• Share work you are proud of
• Tag Moda and the appropriate location
• Contribute usable photos/video to Moda when possible
• Use referrals and social content to support growth

Your Personal Brand

Client Consent

Always ask before filming or photographing a client for public content. Consent should be meaningful and the client should feel comfortable saying no. Respect privacy, personal circumstances, children/minors, sensitive conversations and before photos that may feel embarrassing.

Professional Content

Professional does not mean boring. It means the content should not damage client trust or the Moda brand.

• Do not post confidential client information
• Do not post internal staff information or private screenshots
• Do not post client notes or financial information
• Do not post internal conflicts
• Do not mock clients
• Do not post another stylist’s work to criticize them

Tagging Moda

Where appropriate, tag the correct Moda location and salon, identify collaborators and credit educators/brands. This helps your work be discovered and lets both your personal brand and Moda grow together.

Client DMs

Stylists are not expected to become full-time booking coordinators. Be professional and redirect booking/service inquiries to the proper booking or Heart of House channel where appropriate. Do not create confusing parallel booking systems.

Before + After Content

Do not edit colour so heavily that it misrepresents the actual result.

Social Media + Working Time

Capturing content is part of modern business building. It still cannot repeatedly delay the next client, interrupt another person’s service, create extra cleanup for someone else or become more important than the guest experience.

Private Information + AI

Do not paste identifiable client information, private staff conversations, confidential business records or internal financial information into public AI tools unless specifically authorized. Do not upload confidential client photos or records to third-party tools simply for convenience.

The Goal

The goal is not to become an influencer. The goal is to make it easier for the right clients to understand who you are, what you do, what you love and why they should trust you.

Grow Together

Leadership, education + Sunday School.

Education is not an event at Moda. It is part of how we operate.

Sharing knowledge does not diminish the person who worked hard to learn it. It recognizes them. And it strengthens the professionals around them.

Sunday School

Sunday School is Moda’s biweekly Sunday-based internal education series. It exists to:

• Make education available closer to home
• Create more frequent opportunities to refine skills
• Let team members teach what they genuinely know and love
• Connect Bowmanville and Oshawa
• Normalize ongoing education at every level

Attendance is voluntary. The person leading the workshop is paid for facilitating the session. Attendees are not paid for voluntary attendance unless a different arrangement is specifically communicated. Apprentices may attend. Team members from both locations may attend. Outside or brand educators may participate at times.

Who Teaches?

Senior team members may be scheduled to lead. Salon Mentors and Directors may lead. Teaching is not reserved for titles. Anyone with genuine knowledge, a useful skill, a technique, a specialty or a strong area of interest may be invited to share it.

What Sunday School Is Not

• A place to show off
• A competition
• A substitute for required safety or mandatory job training
• A place to embarrass someone for not knowing
• An excuse to teach beyond your competence

Education + the Apprentice

Education should support the Apprentice Skills Passport and current learning goals. Where possible, education models should have a defined objective, approved educator, enough time and appropriate salon resources.

Seniority + Knowledge

Experienced stylists have invested years in classes, mistakes, repetition, travel, practice and client work. That expertise deserves respect. We do not believe knowledge should be demanded from someone without recognizing the work behind it. We also believe the industry becomes stronger when experienced professionals choose to bring others forward. Both things can be true.

Salon Mentor

Salon Mentors are not expected to know everything. Good mentors know when to say, “I don’t know — let’s figure it out.”

Feedback

Good feedback is specific, respectful, timely, about the work or behaviour and useful.

• Avoid humiliation
• Avoid sarcasm disguised as education
• Correct privately when privacy is more appropriate
• Do not use “that’s how I was trained” as a reason to treat someone poorly

Leadership

Leadership is not permission to control everyone. It is responsibility. A leader notices, communicates, supports, sets a standard, handles pressure well, protects the culture, tells the truth respectfully and does not create a different set of rules for themselves.

The Industry We Want

If we want the industry to be better, someone has to model better. That starts here: one class, one question, one Apprentice, one Senior who remembers what it felt like to be new, one person choosing to teach instead of guard.

Safety, Emergency + Confidentiality

Incident response, safety, security, privacy, AI.

Safety is everyone’s responsibility. If you see something unsafe, say something. If someone is hurt, respond. If you do not know how to handle a chemical or emergency, stop and get help.

Incident + Injury Reporting

Any workplace injury, client injury, chemical incident, fall, cut, burn, allergic reaction, exposure or other significant safety event should be reported to management as soon as possible.

1. Protect the injured person.
2. Stop any ongoing hazard.
3. Call emergency services where needed.
4. Notify management.
5. Document the facts.
6. Preserve relevant information where appropriate.

Do not hide an injury because it seems embarrassing or small.

Emergency Response

Each location maintains a one-page emergency sheet showing the salon address, emergency exits, fire-extinguisher locations, first-aid kit location, emergency contact numbers, landlord/building emergency contact where relevant and internal contacts.

Fire / Evacuation

• Stop services if safe to do so
• Direct clients calmly to the nearest safe exit
• Do not delay evacuation to retrieve personal items
• Assist anyone requiring help where safe
• Gather at the designated meeting point
• Do not re-enter until authorized

Chemical Safety + WHMIS

Salon chemicals must be used, stored and handled according to product instructions, Safety Data Sheets where applicable, WHMIS requirements and Moda procedures. Employees who may be exposed to hazardous products must receive appropriate information and training.

• Do not use unidentified chemicals
• Do not leave required labels off decanted products
• Do not mix products in ways not intended by the manufacturer
• Do not ignore spills
• Keep required Safety Data Sheets accessible

Sanitation + Infection Control

Everyone shares responsibility for a clean salon. Follow required sanitation procedures for tools, stations, shampoo areas, capes/towels, shared equipment, colour bowls, surfaces, washrooms and spills.

Client Reactions

1. Stop the service.
2. Assess immediate safety.
3. Rinse/remove product where appropriate and safe.
4. Seek emergency medical help when necessary.
5. Notify management.
6. Document the incident factually.

Do not diagnose and do not minimize a client’s symptoms.

Workplace Violence

Threats, intimidation and violence are not acceptable. If someone presents an immediate danger, prioritize distance and safety, call emergency services and alert management. Do not escalate physically unless necessary for immediate protection.

Harassment + Reporting

Employees must have a clear way to report workplace harassment. The final formal procedure identifies the primary reporting person(s), an alternate route if the complaint involves them, how complaints are documented, the investigation process, confidentiality expectations, communication of results as required and protection from retaliation.

Keys + Security

• Do not lend keys to outsiders
• Report lost keys immediately
• Lock required doors when leaving
• Follow alarm procedures
• Do not allow friends/family into a closed salon without authorization
• Do not share security information unnecessarily

Client + Company Confidentiality

Protect client contact data, formulas, consultation records, photos not approved for public use, appointment history, payment/account information, employee information, internal business information, passwords and private communications. Only access information needed for your work.

Client Choice After Employment

If a team member leaves Moda, we wish them well. Clients are people, not property and can choose where they receive services. Company data remains company data. Client lists, contact details, appointment data, formulas, confidential notes and other protected records may not be exported for personal solicitation or another business.

AI + Third-Party Tools

Do not paste or upload identifiable client information, private client communications, internal financial data, payroll/HR records, private staff conversations, confidential business plans or access credentials into public AI or unapproved third-party tools. Before using a new tool with company/client data, ask whether it is approved and whether the information actually needs to be shared.

Safety Training Checklist