Employee dress standards are part of the service we offer customers. But dress standards are tricky for retailers. How much creativity do we allow? Are the standards different for floor staff than for back office staff, even when back office staff come to the sales floor during a work day?
Do we want sales staff to dress like the customers are dressing—maybe best for a hardware store? Or are our dress standards part of our selling, so we want sales staff to dress like we want the customers to dress—probably best for a fashion boutique?
If customers and other employees complain that what one employee is wearing is overly revealing, how do we handle that? If we make employees wear uniforms, what share of the cost of the uniforms will the business owner pay?
And when we're setting dress standards, what is the most important wardrobe item to include? Well, in Making Money Is Not Illegal, Immoral or Fattening, Art Freedman and I answer at least that last question:
"What do you want your employees to look like to the customer? Have you ever thought about it? Do you have a standard, a very specific way you want them to look?... First of all a name badge is absolutely mandatory…. Do you let an employee out on your floor without a name badge?... The name badge is the most important single item."
Still, the dress code standards need to go beyond the name badge. Think through what dress code standards are realistic for your situation. Then set the standards and enforce them. Give your people a reasonable time to make adjustments, but enforce the standards. This means training staff, coaching staff, starting from the top down. As we say, "If you don't train them, don't blame them."
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