10 Questions To Ask Before You Design Work Uniforms

It’s surprising how important decisions, such as the corporate uniform, are made without consulting the staff who’ll be wearing it. Really, they should be the first people you talk to.

Your staff should feel engaged throughout key parts of the process and be comfortable with the decisions being made. Uniforms should be designed to build team morale, help the wearer feel more confident, and ensure they help the employee do their job more easily. If they feel uncomfortable, self-conscious or unhappy with what they are wearing, this will reflect in their behaviour, performance and could ultimately have a negative effect on your company culture, customer experience and job satisfaction.

Getting their buy in up front is one of the best ways to ensure success at the rollout phase. We’ve put together an example survey you can use with your staff in the early stages before embarking on any new uniform design project.

Align your Marketing and HR Departments

Before consulting the staff, your Marketing and Human Resources departments need to be fully aligned and have set the parameter for the uniform garments. Documenting the answers to the following questions internally is imperative to ensure the brand is represented well:

• What is the intention of the uniform?
• What colours must it incorporate to compliment the brand?
• How many pieces of clothing will it include?
• Who will wear it and when?
• What is the budget?
• How will the uniforms be subsidised? Will there be an annual allocation for each employee, and what will this be?
• What will the process be for replacing lost, damaged or ill-fitting uniforms?

Top 10 Questions To Ask Your Staff

A Sample Uniform Questionnaire. Download the PDF template.

On a scale of 1 – 5 (1 being the lowest in importance) rate the following:

2. What accessories should be offered as part of the uniform (if any)? Tick all that apply.

Note: You can adjust these answers to suit your business. For example, depending on what industry you work in the accessories may be different to those typically used in corporate.

3. What fabric would you like to see the shirts made in?

4. For trousers, skirts and dresses, what fabric would you like to see them made in?

5. On a scale of 1 – 5 (1 being the least important) how important is it the garment is easy to iron?

Circle one number below

6. How would you like to get the measurements for your uniform?

Choose one option:

7. If you worked five days a week how many tops would be enough?

8. If you worked five days a week how many bottoms (pants, skirts or shorts) would be enough?

9. If we were to implement new uniforms, what positive impacts do you anticipate this will have on the team / business?

10. If we were to implement new uniforms, can you think of any negative impacts this may have on the team / business?

When you are armed with some frontline insights from your staff, the next step is to begin thinking about how your uniform program can be executed. Check out our article "The Secrets To Eliminating Risk When Procuring Uniforms" to get up to speed with the procurement process.