The Functions of The Dress Code in an Organization

As competition among corporation’s turns into ever more difficult they need to apply all available techniques to strengthen their position, win a new audience and stand out of the group. One such approach is to create an excellent corporate image.

The positive image of the organization increases its competitiveness in the market. It is proven to draw new business and accelerate sales via an efficiently carried out corporate image policy. This type of policy calls for making plans, implementation and compliance, which works through four different channels:

1. Visual: formal wear, demeanor.
2. Verbal: speech, public appearances, interviews, articles, business correspondence, the ability to carry a communication on the telephone.
3. Behavioral: legal and moral, behavior in general.
4. Context: relation to other corporate images, which influences the image of the organization as a whole.

Clothes describe a person without words. From the manner we dress conclusions are drawn about our personal traits, social repute and mind-set to work.

“Do not judge a book by its cover”, regrettably, in the corporate world of nowadays, this is precisely what happens so it is crucial to deliver the right message through our image. Personality, social repute and mind-set to work are some of the dimensions that our image portrays of us, it is the same for a corporate identity. The worker’s mind-set, dress code and corporate culture decide how customers see us. For instance, seeing a person in a luxurious, properly-fitted suit, we assimilate him with greater abilities and positive traits, instead of one wearing faded jeans and a t-shirt. This is one of the laws of the psychology of perception. It certainly should be considered, particularly in an enterprise where achievements depend on the ability to properly present oneself. Clothing as a device for business development is reflected in this concept as a “dress code”.

The dress-code is a part of the corporate culture and corporate image of the company. A fundamental feature here, is the need to keep the professional image and reputation of the firm. In this context, the dress code is THE way to stand out amongst competition, express a professional business approach and just plain and simple good taste. The second feature is the verified capacity of the corporate dress code to positively affect employee working mood and attention. “If people come to work in informal clothes, their mood will be informal too, and in our workplace it is not appropriate. What we do, in any case should not be informal we must try to be the excellent in everything, “- says one top director of a large multinational company.

Another vital function of the dress code is its capacity to unite employees and foster a cohesive group. When the appearance of employees is ruled by the equal set of guidelines, they experience part of a whole and gain a feel of ownership. This sort of transformation could be very important when a group is working to attain a common goal. Many companies’, along with large multinationals, dress-code guidelines exist either as unwritten rules in the minds of employees, or as oral explanations by the management about what colors, shapes, silhouettes and accessories employees should wear.

Sadly, not all employees have a clear vision about how they should look like in the workplace which creates a risk that the appearance of such an employee may distort the perception a client has of the company. To be able to prevent such incidents, it is crucial for an organization to create a code, which clearly sets out the appearance pointers an employee have to respect.