Uniforms can be a great addition to any business, it helps your staff stand out to customers and they can also be walking advertisements to attract new customers. However, if you do not currently have a uniform it can be tricky getting your staff on board with the idea. We’ve come up with a quick How-To guide on how you can successfully introduce uniform into your business.
If you need help creating and introducing uniforms to your business, get in touch with us to discuss your options.
Explain the benefits of a uniform
The first benefit being that they no longer have to worry about what to wear to work! It takes the choice away in a morning which can take up time and can be stressful as employees may be concerned about being under or overdressed.
It can save employees money as they no longer have to buy additional clothes for work. Many companies supply uniforms for free, then sometimes with an additional option for the staff to purchase additional items themselves if necessary.
Uniforms can bring a team together and create unity and equality throughout the staff. The uniform works as a reminder that they are working towards the same goal and that they all have something in common – wanting the business to succeed.
If the team are working together as one this is a huge benefit to your business as the increased teamwork and morale leads to more productivity.
Start small
Likelihood is not all staff will be pleased with the idea of a uniform so it’s important to go slow and steady and not throw them into it all at once.
It can be a big change so it’s important to take feedback and opinions from staff to help form the uniform. This will be very beneficial as they will feel like they have played a part in the decision and ultimately – they’ll be wearing the uniform so it’s important they feel comfortable with the choices.
Be sure to remind staff of the benefits to try and get them on board with the idea.
Allow some flexibility
Allow staff a certain level of freedom if uniforms are new to them to get them used to the idea. In more relaxed working environments, the uniform could be paired with employee-own clothing to make them feel more comfortable. However, you can still control the final look for example; staff can wear their own trousers/skirts but you can specify the colour so they still look consistent.
This may not work in more corporate environments such as banking but even something small such as allowing them to wear their own footwear can make things a lot easier for staff.
If accessories such as ties and scarves are also being introduced why not give advice on different ways to tie them so staff are still able to show some individuality whilst still following uniform guidelines.
Stick with it
Even when the uniform has been implemented you are likely to get staff that are not happy with the change, you need to reassure these colleagues and listen to their feedback. Their opinions are important as you want them to be happy and comfortable and this feedback could be used in future uniforms.
Use the feedback from customers as well, their impression of the uniform is important as it may result in you adapting the look to suit the business, staff and customers.
