Meet Hannah Pickering, ON National Trainer with 11 years tenure at OFF & ON

Meet Hannah Pickering, ON National Trainer with 11 years tenure at OFF & ON.

Name: Hannah Pickering

Role: ON National Trainer Manager

Tenure: 11 Years

1. Can you briefly introduce yourself and your role at OFF & ON? How long have you been with the company?

My name is Hannah and I am the ON National Trainer Manager at OFF & ON. I’ve been with the company over 10 years.

I started with OFF & ON when I was 19 as a Brow Artist but due to the training plan at the time it took a couple of months of training before I was on the floor solo. This time allowed me to learn truly about the business from the bottom up. I was in the Newmarket store for two years as a Brow Artist and made my way to 2IC. After this, I became a Brow Trainer. At the time, I wasn’t the most experienced but I was definitely hungry for it. Within my time as Brow Trainer, I was also covering as Manager for Britomart. After this, I took a one year break from OFF & ON pursuing a career in makeup but came back as I missed OFF & ON and brows! Since then I’ve been lucky to wear many different hats from looking after our regional stores - Wellington and Christchurch, or putting on my social media hat and looking after our communications and now back to Brow Trainer again with a wider scope. It’s been a busy 10 years!

2. What initially attracted you to work for OFF & ON, and what has kept you here for over 10 years?

My mum. My mum was a client at OFF & ON when I was a freelance makeup artist at the time and looking into starting a career in makeup artistry. My mum had a wax with Brenda (who’s currently still part of the OFF & ON Newmarket team) and then suggested joining the OFF & ON Brow team. I had a chat with the managers at the time and the rest is history.

Brows are definitely my passion. And even after this amount of time, it doesn’t feel like work and I still enjoy it and am challenged by it. OFF & ON has believed in me and really have looked after me. In the time, I’ve grown so much personally and professionally.

3. How has OFF & ON evolved and grown since you joined the company?

When I first started, Britomart had just opened and since then we’ve launched three new locations, a new flag ship store for Newmarket and so many new treatments. We only had waxing and brows at that time.

4. What do you think sets OFF & ON apart from other companies in the industry, and how has that contributed to its success?

We’re specialists in the industry. We have specialised waxers, laser techs, brow artists with growth in these roles. Our team make the difference and their passion for what they do.

5. Can you share a memorable or interesting experience that you've been a part of during your time at OFF & ON?

One of my most memorable highlights is opening the Wellington store. I was lucky enough to help set up the launch from day one and it gives me pride seeing its success over the years. We also had a Beauty EQ event and I had to present to about 200 attendees. This brought me out of my comfort zone and I enjoy these challenges which add variety from my day to day. Also I’ve seen so many clients and made relationships from working in store. For example, I have a client who first came in when she was pregnant. Now she comes in with her 10 year old!

6. As a long time employee, what advice would you give to new hires or those considering a long-term career at OFF & ON?

If you’re passionate about something, you’ll always enjoy it and it won’t feel like work. With focus and mastering the basics, the rest follows. We can help train technical skills but what we need from you is to experience the passion as you will be doing this every day. Being open to change also helps.

7. What do you personally find most rewarding about working at OFF & ON?

I love to be able to transform and I think it’s especially the case with eyebrows. You can spend half an hour with someone and in that time they leave feeling confident. Teaching someone to do that every single day as well as the trust clients give you makes it most rewarding.

8. Can you share any plans or initiatives that OFF & ON has in store for the future?

We really want to focus on colour this year. We think colour is the most important factor when working with brows. So this year, we’re launching the Colour Bar. We know that colour is the unsung hero of brow and it makes a huge difference in the outcome of the overall look. In our stores we will have an allocated area specific for colour mixing – from our broad range of high quality colour options - where we can customise brow colours to suit the individual as well as our clients’ concerns.

9. Have you seen any changes in the industry landscape during your time at OFF & ON, and if so, how has the company adapted to those changes?

When OFF & ON started, we were the only brow and wax bar in New Zealand. Over time, many brow and waxing bars have popped up. Also since then, the treatment options have expanded with different techniques, styles and products. I’ve experienced that client’s preferences and knowledge of the treatment have changed. Back in the day, very often clients would show me a photo of someone they wanted to look like. Nowadays clients will know what they want and also know that each brow is unique and customised brows are the way to go.