Dress For Success, Even in The Summer

Shayna Balch’s article “Dress For Success, Even in The Summer” was featured on LiWi.com on August 8, 2011.

In the article, Shayna provided the following questions to ask yourself, when deciding on what attire to wear in the workplace during the scorching summer months:

1. What kind of working environment am I hoping to achieve? Based on this answer, perhaps a casual summer dress code is in order.
2. What has been the practice within our area and industry? Don’t reinvent the wheel, what works for others in your industry will most likely work for your business.
3. Is there any risk of implementing a policy that alienates employees? Always be respectful of employees to ensure they respect the policies of the organization right back.
4. How big an issue is this among employees to begin with?
5. Where am I prepared to draw the line, and what steps am I prepared to take to enforce it? Always make a plan before jumping into any new policy.
6. What is the most effective way to communicate company standards to employees? Have fun with this. Try to get away from an inter-office memo and call for a summer breakfast meeting or mid-day iced coffee talk to communicate any new policy.
7. Are we prepared to live with any internal dress code guidelines, and have they been reviewed lately?