How to Introduce the Right Uniform or Dress Code Into Your Business
Introducing a new dress code or uniform into your business can bring many benefits. It can help you to present a more professional appearance to your customers to make a better first impression and increase brand awareness; you can protect your staff, or just their clothes, from harm from the elements; and they can build greater team unity within the business, leading to improved productivity and output.
However, it’s absolutely vital that when you bring in new workwear for your employees that you get it right first time. There are many different factors to consider, not least of all the challenge of getting buy-in from the people who will be wearing the clothes. In order to achieve this, you should ask for your staff’s input. Make it clear that you are going to be introducing the workwear, but ask them for their suggestions as to what they think. This should be done throughout the process, starting with a focus on safety.
Chances are that if your staff work in hazardous conditions, you’ll already be well aware of the legal requirements for safety clothing. However, if you’re a new business or you’re branching out into new areas, you’ll need to consider the safety of your employees before anything else. Do your research and make sure that you are fully aware of the legal requirements and that you know what to include as specifications for the new clothing. By following that up by speaking to your team, you may also identify some additional safety features that could help.
When it comes to choosing the specifics of your clothing, it’s important to spend time thinking about the culture of the business. If you’re a highly professional organisation, formal corporate clothing could be more suitable than embroidered polo shirts or T shirts; these would be more appropriate for a fun, friendly and informal organisation.
The working environment of your team should also be considered. Are your staff customer or client-facing? If so, you may need the company’s branding to be more prominent than workwear for employees based in the office. Other factors to consider include what roles your staff are likely to. If you want them to be productive, they need to feel comfortable. Again, asking for the input of your employees could be key to making them feel valued and listened to.
Finally, you need to think about the colour of the new clothing and the branding that is required. Embroidered polo shirts, T shirts and work shirts can all be designed to include details about the company to help raise awareness of the brand. It’s also worth offering your employees a choice – perhaps between colours or between T shirts and polos – in order to encourage a successful buy-in.
Follow these steps and you’ll be well on your way to creating a set of criteria that allow you to introduce the right workwear for your business.
