How employers can promote a positive corporate image

An individual has an appointment with a friend and they decide to have a rendezvous at the car park of a corporate institution. As this individual waits for his friend, he cannot help but notice the car park security detail and the way they are dressed. He is impressed with their smart turn out and how politely they interact with the customers.

He wonders to himself, ‘if this is the appearance and comportment of the security personnel, then those designated to address customer issues and concerns in the institution must be even more exceptional in their appearance and service delivery.’ With this observation, this potential customer already has a positive image about the company.

Another person visits his bankers on a Friday and gets mixed signals. ‘Are they having a sporting event? Who are the service providers? I can’t make them out from other customers.’ Why is the usually smartly dressed service provider in jeans?

These are thoughts that run through the minds of some customers when it is a Friday. Most workplaces have a minimum standard of dress that they expect from their employees on a day-to-day basis, and they have a different standard for circumstances that require work with the public outside the office premise, for example, when on a road marketing campaign.

It is important that all employees are aware of dress code expectations. Organisations need to make an informed decision about casual wear based on their corporate culture and business goals. They need to decide if casual wear is right for the company.

A consulting psychologist, found that continually relaxed dress leads to relaxed manners, relaxed morals, relaxed productivity and an increase in complaints to the human resource department. The recommendations made in this article may vary from one industry to another, however, we make these recommendations for organisations which require a type of dress code that communicates trust, credibility and competency to their customers and clients.

There are steps that employers can take to promote a positive corporate image. Employers can write policies for corporate appearance, provide professional image and etiquette training, provide sexual harassment training, provide standard dress guidelines and hold leaders accountable to portray the appropriate corporate image.

Dress code policy Developing a policy on expectations of dress code is a key way to communicate and ensure compliance among staff. Employees are often confused about dress expectations at work so employers need to provide clear clothing guidelines for each professional level in the organisation and be ready and willing to provide consequences to employees who do not follow the policy. Some clothing guidelines should address, skirt length, facial hair for men and appropriate corporate colours.

It is advisable that skirt length should not be higher than knee length and men should be clean shaven or with neatly trimmed facial hair. If employees are not provided with uniforms, then they should be guided as to the appropriate corporate colours for office wear. Colours such as navy blue, black, grey and brown with complementing colours such as white, pink, grey or light blue are recommended.

In communicating trust credibility and competency, service providers who want to be taken seriously should choose their corporate colours carefully. Who would you prefer getting investment advice from a service provider in a well-tailored dark navy blue suit with a pink shirt or one wearing an orange coloured suit? Colours matter and influence how people react to you.

Etiquette training There have been cases where at a buffet, a person served himself with the main course and since the dessert table was at the end of the buffet table, this gentleman helped himself generously by pouring custard onto his food.

As an employer, you can offer employees a professional etiquette seminar if they lack basic know-how in this area. During new employee orientation, dress code guidelines should be reinforced. We are now in a global business environment, do your employees know that to appear at a meeting without a business card to the Japanese is tantamount to refusing to shake hands at a western business meeting and this does serious damage to the relationship.

For the Chinese, business cards are always exchanged and presented with two hands as a sign of respect. It is important that when you receive a business card from a Chinese business person, you study it for a moment before you put it away.

Do your employees know how to relate to international guests in a dining environment? Etiquette training will ensure that your employees make you proud when interacting with various business cultures.

Sexual harassment training In the words of a gentleman, when I see women at work with low cut neck lines, it reminds me of two ‘fufus’ in a bowl. You can imagine such a professional woman wondering why she is never taken seriously. For women, the less flesh you show the more seriously you are taken. Dressing provocatively can lead to flirtatious behaviour and increased sexual harassment complaints. It has been observed that skirt suits and trouser suits worn by a majority of female employees in a particular industry are so tight.

When employers fail to adopt a proactive and aggressive stance on sexual harassment in the workplace, it can result not only in costly lawsuits, but also in loss of employee morale, decline in productivity and an erosion of a company's public image. It is less expensive to implement sexual harassment policies and training than it is to be involved in a sexual harassment lawsuit. Employers need to provide employees with clear examples of inappropriate behaviour and dress and train managers to deal with such complaints.

Ensure standard image As an employer, you may have a standard for all your buildings and the colours to be used. You provide the same marketing materials to your different branches. Irrespective of the different geographic locations, as the first port of call for customers and clients, employers need to ensure that employees are on the same page in terms of expected behaviours and corporate dressing. Attention to this detail will help in the branding of the institution.

Your leaders must model the prescribed standard. When leaders fail to live up to your company image, employees become de-motivated and resentful. Provide ongoing training and coaching for your company leaders. The appearance of your employees is a reflection of your organisation and your brand.

We have offered some recommendations as to what employers can do to promote and project a professional image. They can offer training and clearly spell out the image guidelines to their staff. Remember that your clothing, image and personal grooming in the work world demands making a great first impression every day.

Employers need to understand the importance and effect of the employee’s appearance. By doing so, it can lead to greater professional and organisational success. If you don't believe this, then perhaps you will believe Mark Twain, who said, "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society."

The writer is founder and principal consultant at Skills Sharing Consult Ltd, a human resource training and development company. www.skillsharingconsult.net