Is Dress Code Really Up to the Employer?

Depending on where you live, dress code will inevitably vary but no matter where you live, you might have noticed a decline in the level of dress in the past several years. I remember hearing in 2007 that business casual wasn’t working out very well for employee productivity and customer expectations, so it was very likely that Casual Fridays and Business Casual were going to take a backseat to traditional business dress. We are well into the year 2010 and I am actually seeing more companies (even in the financial industries) move towards business casual than actually professionalizing their dress code to the next level. Could this be because the Gen Y is the largest group in the workplace (approx. 80 million) and are much more casual than the Boomers and Generation X that might be running these companies? Could it be that fashion is starting to have more of an impact on dress code policies? In any case, as an employee, what you wear on the job will have an effect over your interactions with customers, sales opportunities, etc.

Whether or not you expect to gain your customer’s or client’s confidence in what you are offering, they will determine this during their first time meeting you and what you wear will influence this decision. A Cleveland company who sells online media tools has a very relaxed dress code. You can show up to work and wear hats, gym shoes, shorts, all is game and they do not have a specific dress policy when meeting with clients across the country. At trade shows one of their options is to wear a polo with their company logo on it. When working the trade shows, the employees have conveyed how they feel that their prospects view them as your typical sales person instead of the knowledgeable marketing consultant they have been trained to be. Instead of eye contact and a business card, they are received with raised eyebrows and barely given a first name. Why is this? Is the company’s image reflecting a business that is successful with their khakis and polos while their competitors are in suits? Is their staff appearing competent or is their look too casual for their target audience?

Your company dress code may dictate one thing but if you want to attract more customers, gain more sales, relate to your client or patient, you need to dress to the level of their expectations that will gain you the credibility and authority you need to create rapport in this interaction. I am not recommending dressing below the company dress policy but rather, consider taking it a notch up, especially if you are working in the public eye.