An employee uniform is a powerful but often overlooked tool for building your brand and improving your business. Uniforms can help you portray your business in the way that you want to be seen. It is through your staff uniforms that you make your first impression with potential customers.
Uniforms have a number of advantages for staff members who wear them, too. From saving money to giving a sense of team spirit, a uniform can be key to employee satisfaction and performance. Here, we look at the benefits of uniform for both team members and companies as a whole.
Uniforms portray a professional business image.
First impressions count: make sure that the uniform you choose for your team members reflects your brand ethos. Casual is a good style choice for B2C (business to consumer) brands as it makes your staff seem friendly and more approachable. Casual tops such as polo tops and fleece jackets are ideal for this purpose, along with practical trousers or skirts. Formal is a good style choice for B2B (business to business) brands as businesses will want to work with others who are trustworthy, experienced and professional. Formal tops such as shirts and tailored jackets are ideal for this purpose as they give a smart, professional look.
Uniforms help with marketing and promotion.
You can further develop on your brand identity by the inclusion of brand colors and logo in staff uniforms. This helps to strengthen your brand and promote it both inside and outside of the workplace. Uniforms worn by staff when they are in public provides a method of free promotion by displaying the logo, brand colors and brand name.
Wearing uniforms can give staff a sense of pride and responsibility; they will be aware that they are representing the brand. Some team members may even proactively promote the brand when talking to people outside of work or when they get asked questions about the brand in public.
Uniforms help with health, safety and security.
Uniforms can be an important in health and safety. For example, uniforms might be waterproof to protect the health and safety of workers who are exposed to the elements. Those working with vehicles or in poor weather conditions might wear uniforms that have high visibility, which helps them to be seen.
Uniforms also help maintain security. This is because staff are easily distinguished from non-staff by the presence of their uniform, so security can tell at a quick glance if anyone is in an area where access is restricted to staff only.
Uniforms help provide better customer service.
Uniforms for employees are useful for helping your clients and customers to identify team members. Customers get a better sense of customer service if they can quickly and easily find a staff member in order to be able to make a purchase or get a query answered. If they struggle to identify staff, customers will already have a poorer opinion of your brand because they feel frustrated at being unable to find someone to help them.
Uniforms encourage fairness and team spirit.
Wearing a uniform inspires team spirit because it gives the wearer a sense of belonging. Uniforms also prevent colleagues from competing with one another in terms of clothing; everyone wears the same so no staff member need worry that they can’t afford the same work clothes as one of their colleagues. This helps make the workplace fairer because no team member can be judged on their clothes; they can only be judged on their job skills and work ethic.
Uniforms encourage greater productivity.
There is an element of conditioning with uniforms. Team members get used to the fact that when they wear their uniform it is time to work, as opposed to wearing casual clothes, which they usually wear when they relax. Therefore, as time passes, they begin to associate the uniform with work and being productive. Eventually, simply the act of putting on the uniform will put the employee in ‘work mode’. This conditioning helps to boost productivity.
Uniforms help save money.
Where a uniform is provided, team members can save money because they don’t need to purchase work clothing. They may also be able to save money on laundering the clothes if dry cleaning or another laundry service is provided at their place of work.
Uniform creates consistency.
Having a uniform also helps to prevent problems with dress code. Without a uniform, a dress code is too open to interpretation. Each individual will interpret dress code differently, resulting in an inconsistent look across the business. It can also lead to inappropriate clothing being worn in the workplace which can harm your brand’s professional look and reputation.
Uniform can help or hinder your brand. You need to choose your uniform wisely to ensure that it meets the needs of your brand or business. On the other hand, you also need to make sure that the uniform you provide meets the needs of your team members.
Be sure to include your team members in discussions about uniform choices and take note of their valuable input to help you develop the best possible uniform. Uniform should be comfortable, practical and help your team both look good and feel good. When chosen correctly, uniform can help your staff perform at their best and therefore can help your business perform at its best.