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Uniforms: Pros and Cons
March 5, 2008

 
I was flying home the other day on Delta when I noticed that the employees’ uniforms appeared to have received a bit of a makeover. Now I realize that I could totally be imagining it, but they looked more modern – updated from the old-fashioned polyester we all know and hate. If I had to guess, I’d say the change was part of Delta’s broader organizational overhaul. But it reminds me of a time when I was faced with a raging debate among employees about a uniform mandate. They DID NOT want to wear them.

The case made by employees (which was almost an uprising) was that they felt unattractive and uncomfortable in uniform and accused us of depriving them their individuality at work. They also argued that they couldn’t possibly bring forth the best version of themselves to our customers if they didn’t feel positive about their appearance. They had a point. But we also had a point. We needed consistency in image and felt strongly that our customers be able to identify employees by sight. 

With both sides having valid positions, we weighed the following pros and cons in order to come up with a solution.

PROS                                                     CONS

Enforceable standards for company image.	Cost to produce quality and quantities that work.
Less vulnerable to individual interpretation of dress code.	One “look” for all sizes can be challenging.
Can help reinforce the brand essence.	Can negatively effect morale and esteem.
Lowers wardrobe costs for employees.	Affects employee attitudes who want to maintain individuality.
Valuable communication tool that says, “Who Works Here.”	Customers may be recipients of employees’ dissatisfaction.

In a nutshell, what happened was that the employees helped design the uniforms.  It took a little longer, but the results were well worth it.

Posted by Donna Flagg on March 5, 2008 | Comments (7)