“You have a much better life if you wear impressive clothes.”- Vivienne Westwood
You and your employees are the single most important representative of your company’s brand. Your company is being judged by its brand community mainly through people’s personal dealings with the members of your staff, from phone conversations, to meetings, follow-ups, and everywhere in between. It is crucial that you make great impressions all the way from the first meeting until the last, as people’s positive and negative feedback is what makes or breaks your public reputation. You and your employees hold the power to generate your own referrals or negative reviews through public perception.
Just as the old adage “actions speak louder than words” implies, a hugely important part of the way your company is perceived has nothing to do with your work or services, and everything to do with your outer appearance and presentation. Before you get worried that all of your future employees should be a Brad or Angelina lookalike (although that couldn’t hurt), what I am referring to is your employee’s state of dress. Just as continuity is important in your company’s logo or website, the same rule of thumb applies in employee appearance. Whether it is a specific uniform like khakis and a colored polo with the company logo emblazoned on it, or simply a crisp and professional corporate appearance, it is vital that you sit down as a company, establish a clearly defined dress code that makes sense, and stick to it. When people see a company whose members are unified in representing their brand through polished, clean-cut, and (hopefully) stylish outfits and appearances, they see a successful company that has its stuff together and possesses the capability to do an exceptional job for them while making them look good, as well. Bottom line: the company that dresses professionally together makes more money together! And hey, don’t fret: there’s always that ever-present silver lining/exception when dealing with corporate dress code— Casual Friday! 🙂
