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Establishing A Dress Code
There's probably nothing worse than a dress code that
is not enforced. This tells your staff what they wear is unimportant to
you. Are they required to report for work on time, work a specified
number of hours per week, perform their duties according to their job
description? Are these rules enforced? But not the dress code? Must not
be very important.
Top management should communicate a clear direction
of the Corporate Image they
want the organization to project. Employees should be shown
Corporate Apparel that meets the
Corporate Image desired. Some choices available thru Caravan Fashions
are Ingenuity, an in-stock,
machine washable, fully lined line;
Christian Brooks, an in-stock,
100% Worsted Wool, fully lined line; or
Reflections, a custom,
cut-to-order line that allows the choice of color, style and fabric; and
for the men,
Hardwick's Men’s Suits & Separates.
If you are thinking about instituting a dress code,
some ideas to do a successful one are:
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Form a management
committee to prepare a statement describing the
Corporate Image desired. |
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Designate one person to
coordinate Corporate Apparel
dress code between management and employees. |
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Have employees of each
department, branch, location, etc. select a representative for an
employee committee — no more than eight people with male and female
represented. |
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Have employee committee
draft a survey form for each staff member to complete requesting
their input. Example, how short do you feel skirts should be; should
hose always be worn; should men be required to wear ties; which
Corporate Apparel program best fits
the guidelines set by senior management. This can be geared to all
ages, tastes, and genders. |
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Using the results of the
survey and with input from management representative, employee
committee puts together a draft of the dress code and forwards it to
management committee. |
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Management committee
either approves and forwards to senior management or makes changes
and returns to employee committee for revisions. |
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Dress Code should
always have guidelines for enforcement with responsible
persons clearly indicated. |
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Management should
introduce dress code in a positive manner, perhaps with an
Image Consultant present to
reinforce importance and train on how to build a
Working Wardrobe. |
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Should a
Corporate Apparel program be
indicated, management should carefully consider approving a vendor
to supply coordinated male and female clothing. This can be done at
company expense or as a loan with payroll deduct. |
There is something worse than
a dress code that is not enforced. That is a dress code that is very
difficult for employees to meet. I call this The Rule Without A Tool.
Asking today's single parents and entry-level employees to fund a
Corporate Apparel wardrobe without financial assistance from the employer puts
many employees into a no-win situation.
A wonderful fringe benefit is
an interest free loan with payroll deductions which allows the employee to
finance their Working Wardrobe. |
