4+ Dress Code Policy Templates – PDF
The reason for having company policies is to ensure that every employee understands all the rules that they have to follow to maintain a good working environment. Without these policies, there’s a very high chance that nothing in a company will remain in order and there’s bound to be problems.
So when you’re creating a company policy specifically aimed at what your employees wear while they’re in the office, you have to think about what they should be wearing. Are they going to have to be formal all the time? Can they just wear casual clothing on specific days? These are questions you’re going to need to answer and this article will teach tell you what you need to know in regards to making your own dress code policy.
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Reasons Why You Need a Dress Code Policy
No matter what kind of business you want to run, it’s always best that you go for that professional look to tell your customers that you and your employees mean to do business. You want your employees to look presentable, especially if they’re the representatives of your company’s customer service.
With a well-made dress code policy, your employes will:
1. Look Smarter
Having a dress code policy doesn’t exactly mean that your employees are required to wear a uniform. However, depending on the type of industry your business is in, you may have to come up with a specification for outfits that your employees will need to wear that will make them look much smarter and match your company brand. Whether you decide to go with the uniform route or not, you need to establish what your employees will need to wear if they start working for your simple business. In your policy, outline what you want your employees to wear. If you think that yours is a business in which all of your employees need to wear suits, then make that clear in the policy. If you think that it’s fine for them to go for the “casual” look, then you can state that in the policy as well.
However, you need to be specific when it comes to words like “casual” or “business casual”. You need to give your employees a realistic idea of what they should wear as well as providing them with all the details to ensure that they look smart and that they represent the brand in the way you want them to. You may also see writing a company policy.
2. Outline Appropriateness
You don’t want your employees to wear anything inappropriate in the office. Because let’s say that you have a couple of female employees who are wearing incredibly short shorts. You then receive a ton of customer complaints stating that these female employees are dressing in a manner that they find unacceptable or somewhere they would find in a club. This is just one example as to why you need to create a dress code policy that will outline what appropriateness means to in your company.
Take note that this party is tricky as you do not want to get into a discriminatory territory and only create a dress code policy that affects a certain gender. You want to keep things fair for everyone or else you ‘ll just be seen as sexist by your employees if the policy is focused on only one of the genders. Make sure that policies tactfully let employees know what’s expected whilst not isolating a single person in the workplace. You may also see editable company policy templates.
3. Establish Your Company’s Brand
If yours is a business with a specific uniform that you need to have your employees wear, then you can establish your company’s brand with the dress code. For example, if you go to just about any major fast food restaurant chain, you’ll see that all employees have a specific uniform. These uniforms tell customers that these people work for a specific brand, allowing them to identify that brand as soon as they’re able to spot the uniform. For front-facing, customer-based companies, having a uniform that establishes company brand may be a good idea, but you need to do a couple of things such as gather employee input, provide uniform options, and ensure the uniform is both stylish and comfortable for your employees. Don’t just think about whether or not it looks good for your business, but also think about if your employees will look good in them or not. Because you won’t have any employees if they hate the kind of uniform you’re going to force them to wear.
4. Increases Productivity
Studies show that having a proper dress code policy where employees have to wear a specific type of work outfit has a mental impact on individual productivity. For example, if you’re wearing a workout outfit, you’re more inclined to go the gym and exercise. It’s for an employee in the sense that if he/she wears an outfit that he/she specifies as the work attire, then he/she will be more inclined to go to work and produce results that the company will find acceptable or even extraordinary. no matter your defined dress code – from casual to formal – giving your employees a definitive “work attire” can have a huge impact on their productivity. You may also see policy template formats.
5. Ensure Pride and Responsibility
If an employee is part of a high-powered sales team, for example, where everyone wears tailor-made suits, and then there’s that one person who won’t even bother wearing the right work attire, then usually that would mean that the responsibility, pride, and company image will be highly diminished. Having a workplace dress code will ensure both pride and responsibility because everyone will know that these particular people are representing your company and will wear their work attire with pride. So if everyone dresses up really well for work, then you can expect both you and your employees to have that sense of glowing pride knowing that they’re properly representing the company they’re working for. You may also like policy samples.
6. Strengthen Unity
If you have a uniform set up for your employees to wear or if you have an attire that you want your employees to follow, then there’s bound to be that sense of unity. Having a good dress code policy is one of the best ways to promote unity within your workforce as it’s one of the best ways to make your employees feel like they belong. If employees feel they are working towards the same company goals, wearing a unified look (whether it’s in the form of a uniform or professional attire), then they’ll feel more aligned with the values of the company. You may also see policy word templates.
7. Prioritize Safety
There are certain companies wherein employees are required to wear a specific outfit simply because it prioritizes their safety. Say, for example, employees that work for companies that focus on construction projects. If they’re working in areas that are prone to danger, then their outfits will be suited for situations where it protects them from harm. A dress code can differentiate between those who are in the right and wrong places and those who do and do not belong in certain areas. Outlining your uniform policy can highlight safety issues that employees may not have considered.
What Your Dress Code Policy Should Contain
Now that you know why your dress code policy is important, the next thing you should do is actually make one. So here are the steps that should help you do just that:
1. Point Out What You Consider as “Appropriate” Business Attire
Remember that every company has a definition for “appropriate” when it comes to working outfits. What may be acceptable to one may be looked down upon by another. So you have to take a good look at your business to see what your employees should wear in order to properly represent your brand. If you think that employees should wear beach clothing to properly promote your summer outfits and products, then point out in the policy that they should be wearing them while they’re in the workplace. If you think that they benefit more from wearing fancy suits, then make that clear in the policy. You also have to make the attire specific so that your employees won’t be confused as to what they have to wear. Give them details such as the kind of pants or shirts they should wear or if they’re allowed to wear certain accessories to work. You may also see policy templates in PDF.
2. Point Out What They Can’t Wear
You’ve already told them what you want them to wear, now you have to remind them of what they shouldn’t be wearing while they’re working in your establishment. You also have to be specific when you’re telling your employees what they should not wear so that there won’t be any room for misinterpretation or confusion. If you don’t want them to wear earrings or piercings? State that in the policy. If you think that they shouldn’t wear low cut skirts? Then make that clear. You may also see quality policy templates.
3. Consequences for Breaking the Policy
No matter what company you’re in, anyone who breaks policies cannot go unpunished. So if one were to break your dress code policy, either one of three things can happen:
- The employee will receive a verbal warning for a first-time offense. He/she will be reminded of the policy or even be required to attend a workshop where he/she will be reminded of the dress code policy.
- The employee will receive a written warning for not heeding previous verbal warnings or if he/she commits an offense where it’s required.
- The employee will be terminated if he/she continues to not heed the dress code even after the written warning.
If you would like to learn more about how to create a dress code policy for your company or anything related to this particular topic, then all you have to do is go through our site, find the articles that have the information that you need, and use what you’re able to find to help you and your business out. You may also see HR policy templates.
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