If you have made the decision to introduce a uniform for your business’ employees, then you can be reassured that you have made a good decision. As discussed on on smallbusiness.chron.com, there are numerous benefits to uniforms in the workplace, and your business is now set for a change that should be genuinely beneficial.
However, while you – as the business owner – may be happy with the decision to introduce uniforms, your employees may be less enthusiastic. It’s fair to say that uniforms tend to have a bad reputation, with your staff no doubt imagining the worst – but this gives you an opportunity to exceed their expectations. By ensuring that your business’ uniforms meet the criteria below, your choice of uniform will stand the best chance of acceptance from your employees…
Employee uniforms should be… free
As discussed on nolo.com, it is legal for business owners to request employees pay for their own uniform if specific business-related criteria are met. However, even if your business meets this criteria, it is inadvisable to ask people to pay for their own uniforms.
The simple truth is that no matter how much employees love their job and feel a genuine passion for your business, they work because they need money to live. If you request that they spend some of this money on a uniform that does nothing more than allow them to work, they are going to feel resentful.
If you are concerned about funding an endless number of uniforms for forgetful members of staff, this concern is valid – but it is possible to manage this issue fairly. You can issue two sets of a uniform to each employee; one to wear, one to wash. If they then proceed to lose any component of this uniform, they must pay a small fee for a replacement; you can even insist on a sliding scale of fees for continual losses. This kind of system helps to balance the costs of uniforms to your business, while still appealing to your employees’ sense of fairness.
Employee uniforms should be… individualized
If you have a staff of 50 people and you wish to introduce uniforms, it seems natural that you would go ahead and place an order for 50 identical uniforms – but this can actually cause a huge amount of confusion. The reason for this is due to the fact that, in almost every case, those 50 staff will not perform the same roles: some will be managers, for example, and there will usually be departmental differences too. If all staff members wear the same uniform, it can be downright confusing for everyone – management, staff, and customers – involved.
To prevent this problem, you have two choices. Firstly, you can order the exact same uniform for every member of staff, but provide distinction between staff via ID cards; you can visit lanyardsusa.com for ideas on options for displaying these cards clearly and prominently. Alternatively, you can order different uniform choices for each “level” of staff – such as a specific color of shirt for managers; this is effective, but it can also be expensive as you miss the bulk discount you will usually be able to obtain when buying a single design of uniform multiple times. It’s best to run the numbers and see which option works best for your company’s specific circumstances, but the base fact – that uniforms need an element of individualization – cannot be overlooked.
Employee uniforms should be… made from comfortable material
There is little benefit to choosing uniforms that are cheaply made from poor-quality fabric. Your workers will dislike wearing their uniform if it is uncomfortable or scratchy, and even the financial benefits of low-cost fabric can be negligible. Cheap fabric tends to wear quickly even with normal use, you will often find that the overall cost benefit of budget fabrics is negated by the need for more frequent replacements.
If you want your employees to be happy wearing their uniform, then opt for mid-price fabrics with at least a 50% cotton content to ensure staff comfort while working.
Employee uniforms should be… customizable (to an extent)
One of the reasons people may dislike the idea of wearing a uniform is the loss of their individuality. It is therefore useful to include a few elements within your chosen uniform that can be customized, so your employees feel like they have some element of control.
One of the best ways to incorporate this policy into your uniform guidelines is to insist on the garments your employees wear, but allow free choice of accessories. This ensures all staff members will match one another in the most fundamental areas, but allows for personal expression through watches, jewelry, and other decorative accessories. While you may want to insist on basic rules regarding what is and isn’t acceptable in terms of these accessories, for the most part, it is worth allowing everyone this one area where they are able to control the way they look during working hours – this may sound relatively unimportant, but such a measure can make a huge difference to your employees’ overall confidence.
Employee uniforms should be… secondary to the individual
However, there is one final point to keep in mind: the uniform is always secondary to the individual. Uniforms are nice to have, but they’re not essential; your staff are still going to be able to complete their responsibilities if they forget an element of their uniform, and while such a scenario isn’t perfect, it is forgivable in isolation. While it’s good to reinforce a uniform policy, it’s beneficial to try and be reasonable about occasional mistakes and oversights from employees regarding their adherence to uniform policy. Being too Draconian in this non-essential area could damage the relationship between you and your employee; a risk that uniforms simply aren’t important enough to justify making.
In conclusion
If you opt for uniforms that fit into the criteria above, your employees should be as happy as they possibly can be with their options for their work uniform. This ensures that you are able to enjoy all the benefits of your staff wearing a uniform, without any of the negatives that can make the practice unpopular – a win/win for you, your company, and your employees too.