Before making the decision to outfit your employees in uniforms, you must first take a pop quiz.  Yes, I said it.  You are going back to school, so sharpen your pencil.

1.    Uniforms are an opportunity to create brand awareness.

TRUE                                    FALSE

3. Customers can easily identify uniformed employees.

TRUE                                   FALSE

4. Uniforms bring cohesion and a sense of team to the work environment.

TRUE                                   FALSE 

5. Uniforms are an opportunity for marketing your business.

TRUE                                  FALSE        

6. A uniform program can be achieved without spending a lot of money.

TRUE                                 FALSE

  Assuming you are a genius and answered “TRUE” to all of the questions, keep reading for personal enrichment.  If you answered “FALSE” to any or all, you must read the below as homework.  Bummer!

Outfitting employees in a cohesive uniform apparel program reinforces the brand that you have already worked so hard to establish.  It would be a shame for your customers to take their business elsewhere because of less-than-professional looking employees and a poorly-perceived brand image.

Who wants to eat at a restaurant with servers in stained, ratty t-shirts? The food could be the most delicious, mouth-watering meal known to mankind, but if you perceive the restaurant to be unclean based on the appearance of the staff, odds are you’re not going back.

Employees are an extension of your brand and vital to its success.  You spend time and money to train them so why not go the extra step?  Front-of-the-house employees have the most face-to-face interaction with customers, so start by dressing them to fit the part.  Your choice of uniform should reflect the type, attitude, and geographic location of your business.  It can help set the mood for the experience or business transaction.  Just remember, the uniform style might vary to better suit each employee’s job function.

Uniforms make it easier for customers because your staff is easily identifiable.  How many times have you walked into a “big-box” store and looked for the person in a royal or orange shirt? Maybe you were at a sporting event and wanted popcorn; you looked for someone in bright yellow or green.  Whatever the situation, uniforms help take the guesswork out of the equation for customers.

If you played organized sports as a child, you received a t-shirt or Jersey. The purpose was to visually unify the team and the objective of the game was to play together, have fun, and hopefully win.  These same principles from your days on the field can be applied to outfitting your staff.  With the addition of uniforms, they can only add to the team environment.

Consider employees as walking billboards for your company and think about how many people they might interact with over the course of a day. It could be for lunch out of the office, a stop at the grocery store on their way home or their job may require them to travel to numerous destinations. When they are in uniform and the logo is visible, it’s an opportunity to get your company’s name in the eyes of potential customers.  You put time, effort, and money into creating your logo, so put it to work for you.