If you’ve
decided business casual is a good fit for your company (whether you’re expanding
your dress code or starting anew) you’ll need the right game plan.
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But what is right for
the Internet startups won’t necessarily work for the investment bankers
of the world. Custom-tailoring a business casual dress program takes careful
consideration of employee needs, company culture, and the rights little
point where style and professionalism meet.
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After you’ve gotten
down the basics, send your message in a way that it will be understood (some
of our customers have found using visuals with written policy to be pretty
effective, for example). Whether it means creating a casual dress task force
or stating fun activities around the launch of your new dress program, it’s
up to you to discover what works best for your company.
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And we’ve got plenty
of suggestions to help get you started.
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Do your homework:
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| Know the benefits
of Business Casual |
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Those who have taken
the plunge say they think it has the following upsides:
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- a virtually no-cost
benefit to your company
- improves morale
- increases communication
and productivity
- breaks down status
barriers
- cuts down on dry-cleaning
and other costs of traditional business attire
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Know that the term
"business casual" means different things to different companies.
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| Several factors affect
a company’s "comfort level" with business and casual attire, such
as: |
- client contact
- how aggressive
your plan is to adopt business casual dress (Fridays only or all week
long?)
- company image
- job function diversity
from department to department
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| Know your corporate
culture |
| Meeting styles and
patterns of decision-making are as much a reflection of your company image
as how your employees dress. Figure out where your company fits in, keeping
in mind that professionalism should always go hand in hand with comfort
and style. |
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| Know what everyone
else is thinking |
| Set up a way to get
feedback from the outset. For example: |
- start a casual
dress task force made up of people from various departments. (if you
and other members of your management team agree, communicate both the
"whats" and "whys" to employee, and you’ll probably
have less policy editing and revising to do later).
- send a message
(through supervisors, e-mails, memos, etc.) to employees that says you’re
interested in either implementing a new dress policy, expanding it to
more days, or improving your existing one.
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| Know how to communicate
with employees |
| Whether you feel using
written guidelines, visual aids and/or orientation meetings is the right
way to get your message across, have fun with it and make sure to emphasize
the following points in your approach: |
- why your company
is adopting either a new or improved business casual policy
- what the benefits
of business casual are (see above)
- the importance
of always maintaining a positive, professional image with the change.
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While you’re assembling
written guidelines for your company’s business casual dress policy, you’ll
want to keep a few factors in mind:
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Be specific
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Give examples
of acceptable, as well as unacceptable, apparel items. Keep in mind that
even these can be misinterpreted. For example, saying that "knit
tops are acceptable" still leaves margin for error (knit tops without
holes that are not excessively worn or too revealing is what you really
mean!).
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Know the value
of written guidelines
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While it doesn’t
have to be your sole form of communication, getting it down in writing
can certainly help, especially when you’re dealing with employees who
don’t comply with policy (more on that in Enforcing Your Policy).
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Pictures say a
thousand words
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Incorporating
visuals that show positive and negative examples of casual dress not only
effectively clarifies the written word, but also gives employees new ideas.
(As far as where to find your visual aids, check out various fashion magazines,
apparel websites and catalogs that convey the image you’re shooting for).
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Don’t assume that
everyone has the same perception of terms like "casual" and
"appropriate."
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So be sure to
clarify what these terms mean in your company. You may also need more
than one policy if your departments and job functions differ diversely
throughout your company.
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Give the "whys"
behind the "whats"
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Underscore employees’
vital role in communicating corporate image through their dress (note
that inappropriate workplace dress can be distracting or unprofessional).
Make them understand that casual dress if for better comfort and productivity,
but that yours remains a professional environment.
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| Expect some revisions
once you’ve gotten feedback from employees and management |
Be open to feedback,
but the more you do your homework, the less revising you’ll likely have
to do.
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| Okay. We know you’re
busy, but here’s a sampling of some fun ideas for kicking off your policy.
Pick and choose as you see fit. |
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| Use your company’s
executive team to preview the policy |
| After all, they’re
your role models! If casual dress is a dramatic move for your company, you
might schedule a day when the executive team dresses casually to preview
the program. Send out an e-mail saying something to the effect of, "Have
you noticed anything different about your manager today?" Then explain
that they’re dressed according to the new business casual policy, which
will go into effect soon. This gets management involved and shows employees
what’s appropriate. |
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| Use visuals |
| Post photos of employees
wearing "good fit" on a bulletin board in the employee lounge.
Or maybe get creative dressing up a mannequin with acceptable business casual
wear. |
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| Show them where
to find it |
| Compile a list of casual
clothing outfitters (retail, websites, catalogs) that carry items that meet
with company approval. |
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| Identify role models |
| It’s not only up to
supervisors and managers to ensure that dress policy is followed, but that
they are the first to exemplify your policy goal. Since employees look to
them for direction on a number of issues—including how casual to dress—you
should make sure managers have the keenest understanding of what works. |
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| Gift ‘em what they
want |
| Give employees gift
certificates to get them started on their new business casual wardrobe. |
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| What you giveth,
they can taketh away |
Print your written
guidelines and illustrate them in a form employees can take away and reference
later.
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| After the implementation
period, you’ll want to make sure everyone understands your policy goals. |
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| Be prepared to deal
with employees who don’t comply |
| Always a delicate issue,
but here are a few helpful tips: |
- Call a private
conference with the employee, expressing your genuine concern for their
productivity and well-being.
- Before you meet,
consider any underlying issues (e.g. frustration or burnout from a demanding
work schedule) before giving guidance.
- During your meeting,
start off by acknowledging that discussing attire is a sensitive personal
issue and that you’re a certainly sympathetic to your employee’s expression
of personal style.
- You might broach
the topic by saying something like, "It’s really important that
we stay professional, and lately some of your attire has been counter-productive."
Then present them with some materials to look over and encourage them
to come to you with questions.
- The more written
and visual items you have on hand (to both enlighten your employee and
deflect some of the possible tension) of what works, the smoother your
meeting will go.
- Direct them to
the www.landsend.com
website or to different apparel catalogs that contain the look your
company is after.
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Keep up with the
times
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| Since fashions are
constantly evolving, you may want to periodically revisit your dress standards
to ensure that they are current. |
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| Three doesn’t have
to be a crowd |
| Some male supervisors
may feel uncomfortable telling a female employee what she’s wearing is too
revealing or provocative (and, more importantly, distracting). If this is
the case, a reasonable alternative is to ask a female supervisor or HR manager
to join in on the meeting to discuss the problem. |
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| Let them know they’re
being heard |
| Review employee feedback
regularly. Let employees know you’ve heard their concerns and how you plan
to adapt the program if necessary. |
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