Businesses spend a lot of money on branding campaigns to get the best look, feel and treatment for their logo, collateral and overall image. These same businesses keep that “brand” in mind when they make decisions about personnel requirements, job duties, recruiting and hiring of new staff — all with the idea of maintaining their commitment to “the brand.”
Unfortunately not all businesses keep their “brand” in mind when providing oversight of employees in their workplace.
Recently I visited a professional services office on “casual Friday” to find the staff in jeans. It’s kind of funny to me today in a era where most busiensses already dress business casual that there is still a need for casual Fridays but that is a topic for another day.
On this casual Friday I arrived early to have a blood drawn for labs. I found my technician wardrobed in jeans, open-toed sandals and a wrinkled cap-sleeve tee that revelead tattoos on both forearms. The wardrobe was cute, for a night out with friends, but didn’t make sense for the “brand” of that office. Aside from the obvious concerns about the selection of footwear and transfer of airborne pathogens in a healthcare environment, the ever-popular body art still seemed inconsistent with a message about healthcare and cleanliness. And the always present LG Tone Pro around the neck of a professional not actively engaged in taking calls for business left me feeling like a giant interruption in her otherwise busy day.
Like every business owner, I want my employees to be comfortable enough to get their work done and not feel like they are bound by an overly ridgid work environment but I also want to make sure that their outward appearance matches the aptitude of professionalism for which they were hired.