Who needs to make up your uniform program project team? Who is going to be responsible for which component? Think about all the relevant stakeholders that will contribute to the success of your uniform rollout.
Responsible for the procurement of the uniform program. This role oversees how the procurement plan will be managed, managing budgets, developing the initial uniform brief, handling contracts, negotiating terms, setting timeframes, liaising with stakeholders, among many other things. This role can also be fulfilled by people who are not procurement specialists, such as Marketing Managers, Project Manager, Project Lead, or Executive Assistants.
Staff are an important stakeholder in the process! The best uniform programs will come from direct, front-line insight from your workforce. If possible you want to consult a mixture of different body shapes, sizes and gender to ensure you get a balanced response from surveys and interviews, sample reviews, wearer trials and other engagement strategies to get company-wide buy-in.
Do your company-owned business units have different needs to your franchised stores? Franchise owners are a critical stakeholder in the process, so don’t neglect to communicate with them throughout the process and inform them what to expect.
Often the gatekeepers of the staff contact details, this team would work closely with your IT department to prepare the data required to set up your uniform program. This team might be consulted if your company needs to prepare a database of online uniform portal users, or to assign specific uniform allowances for particular roles. They might also be involved in liaising with teams to run uniform surveys and interviews to gain valuable insights.
How will your team order your new uniforms? What data requirements are there? Whether you have an IT team or not, the data component of on-boarding a large team to an online uniform ordering portal can be complex. Do you have the data ready and clear on what you need to create? Total Uniform Solutions B2BHub has been specifically designed to manage that complexity.
Marketing and Communication teams should be included periodically throughout the procurement process to ensure the change is communicated properly to your organisation. They may also assist with the communication strategy announcing your company-wide uniform rollout. Marketing managers, external designers, and brand designers who oversee how the brand is represented externally should be invited in to give advice on how the uniform is aligning with the brand, and to help plan a seamless rollout.
If the reason you are developing new uniforms is due to a new fit-out, relocation or change to your working environment, you may choose to collaborate with these experts. Your interior designer or architect are champions for the built environment, and if your goal is to align your uniforms with the internal space – its important to engage their input at key parts of the process. You may involve them during the brief development, and key points during the uniform design process.
From a financial perspective, you will need to understand how the uniform expenditure is managed for your organisation. These teams are also responsible for overseeing the contractual aspects of a large-scale uniform rollout.
If your organisation has an EBA that covers staff uniform entitlements, we suggest you engage with your union rep at key parts throughout the process to avoid potential issues after the uniform launch.
Obviously critical to this process! The uniform supplier is a wealth of knowledge and experience in helping you see what’s possible in your new uniform program. For the best results, keep communication open and maintain a collaborative relationship.