Making the Move to Corporate Wear in South Africa
Corporate wear, in South Africa, is made for people who work in very specific jobs. The clothing they wear either signifies their role, or is made to protect them during the course of the job they need to perform. With regards to the former, someone who is dressed well will usually add an air of professionalism and formality to a company and certainly signify to customers where they can go to ask questions or to seek advice.
With regards to the latter, the clothing is specifically created to protect the wearer’s body from harm. While integrating the latter into your company is probably going to be easy, given the benefits it presents, the former may be a little trickier.
How to Get Your Employees on Board
Employees need to understand that corporate wear is not a form of punishment. If you are asking them to wear it, you are not doing so to strip them of their individuality or creative flair. Thus, the first step is to be open and honest with them about the reasons for implementing this clothing. If your employees understand your reason for doing something, they will be much more likely to support it.
What is also important is getting clothing that is designed well, and that fits well. This means that rather than feeling silly and uncomfortable, your employees will be proud of the uniform they need to wear, and will do so with pride. Some of them may even be happy to have the uniform, as they no longer need to decide on what to wear each day, or ensure that their clothes are clean, if they are socio-economically challenged and do not have a large choice of wardrobe.
Of course, these items need to be functional too, so while your waitresses, for example, may want to show off their legs in a tight, short dress, what happens when they need to pick up a fallen fork from the floor?
Your Corporate Wear Represents Your Business
If you are implementing corporate clothing in the method mentioned above, it is probably because you want employees to represent your business in a way that promotes it. However, have you ever been around someone who is behaving badly, but wearing a corporate uniform? This behaviour is associated with your business, and that means that the person behaving badly is giving the impression that your business tolerates that behaviour? So with a uniform, you also have to implement a code of ethics.
While a corporate uniform goes a long way to standardising the look of your employees, not everyone is the same. So your employees may look similar, but the women will still wear different earrings, the men will wear gel in their hair differently and people will wear different shoes. This is a way for them to express their individuality, and not something you should take away from them.
Corporate Wear That Fits the Company Profile
Instead, you need to decide on what is acceptable and what is not; both in terms of the way these items look, and in terms of whether they hinder job function. Using the example of waitresses or waiters again, consider a waitress who wears high platform heels every day. Not only is she endangering herself, but she is also making it difficult to move quickly and efficiently, which in essence is one of her job functions.
A waiter who wears his hair in a gelled Mohawk at a very upmarket restaurant is giving off the wrong impression and this is something that will reflect badly. These two examples show exactly where the limits should be, of how you implement corporate clothing. The choice to make the move to corporate wear is not one to be taken lightly and staff should feel as though they have had a part in the decision making process, if you expect them to respect your decision.
Remember that you have to explain all of the advantages of wearing this corporate clothing, and how it can positively influence every factor of their working life. Do not forget about the quality and the style of the clothing and never compromise on these just because your budget does not necessarily allow for the best. If you are looking for corporate wear in South Africa, then you should contact us at Top 2 Toe today!