How to have a unified look when half your staff are working from home
We all know the importance of image and why it matters. We live in a time where corporate offices are less common and often comprised of dining tables, bedrooms, or the kitchen bench. Your brand and company image are being represented regularly through the lens of a zoom call.
However, a Zoom meeting is still a meeting. Regardless of whether we are at home or in the office, projecting professionalism is still a vital part of creating a good impression. In a world where human connection and interaction is just as likely to be virtual introductions as a handshake, it is important to build a sense of who your company is and what they represent. It is vital for your team to tell the story of your brand through what they are wearing and for companies to take some control back around this messaging.
A team uniform is no longer just about what you wear to the office, in a retail store, or fast-food chain. A team uniform is a powerful tool to ensure there is connection between your brand, what you stand for and all the individuals working for you. It is a marketing tool that draws a link between your values, culture, and brand messaging. For those corporate offices who had a relaxed dress policy, or for those who do not have a work from home uniform, now is the time for the policy to be reviewed.
Working from home is here to stay and whilst your team may or may not enjoy this change, they are certainly in need of some leadership and direction around creating that represent going to work. Dressing for your day is symbolic, and after the disruption of the past few years, many have lost the passion and excitement for dressing up for an occasion. The ritual of getting dressed sets the tone for your workday. What your team are wearing helps formthat critical connection through the screen and creates the right mindset to ensure a productive day.
If you are working from home, a full corporate outfit makes little sense. There are, however, plenty of options that are practical and professional, but don’t involve activewear. A work from home uniform is a powerful tool to connect your team and is a subtle daily reminder that they are all part of the one team with the same shared goals.
As a uniform specialist I’m attune to the slow but obvious deterioration of care around dress, and have decided to start talking about it. Whilst it isn’t possible to control the environment and surroundings of a home office, creating a work from home uniform is a simple action that companies can take to ensure consistency and connection to brand through what their team is wearing.
Common sense is not always so common, and like the importance of dress codes in a retail shop or corporate office, companies need to start implementing and managing dress codes for working from home, particularly for video meetings, to ensure there is a united message and common understanding of values, no matter where your team is.
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Pamela Jabbour is the founder and CEO of Total Image Group – The uniform designer and manufacturer to some of Australia’s leading brands such as Dan Murphy’s and Fantastic Furniture. With offices in Sydney, Melbourne and China, Total Image dresses over 300,000 Australians every working day.
