Making team members (or anyone) feel heard and understood is a key leadership skill, one that isn’t easy to master, especially in a world where the English language evolves with each generation of young adults. If you don’t have kids, it can be a challenge to understand.
We’re gonna help you.
Existing and new hires may give you push back on your uniforms. You’ll need an arsenal of responses, which may or may not flex depending on the circumstances, and a heap of patience.
These are legitimate complaints, which deserve your sincere consideration even if you don’t agree, but first, you have to understand the gripe. We’ve captured these potential gripes, pulling from the dictionary of young adults.
“It’s cray uncomfortable.”
Cray, short for crazy means your team member wishes to express that the uniforms are more than just uncomfortable, they are very uncomfortable.
First, don’t let superlatives throw you. Also, don’t panic until you’ve heard the whole story.
Start by asking open-ended questions, like, “Can you tell me more about this or show me ways it restricts you?” (This step will repeat throughout.) Gathering information will inform your reply.
You may only need to switch out the uniform for a larger size. As a thoughtful employer, you’ll get no points for keeping a wide range of sizes on hand, but you will lose points for missing options. Don’t forget the XXL and XXXL sizes.
If this is not the issue, it may be time to reconsider the uniforms for this role.
“This is killing my style.”
Style, in this context, is more than just a preference for certain fashion. This team member attaches her ego to the clothing she prefers to wear.
Call it “freedom within a framework.”There is value to flexibility with your uniforms, giving team members options, so long as the style and colors are familiar to your desired brand look and feel.
Even in professional sports, there is room for the player’s name on the back. And, why not? Each player brings unique talent to your team. You want that.
The deal is, that player can’t forget that she is playing for the name on the front of the uniform.
Find out what the desired look is, then see if you can’t accommodate.
“Rocking this uniform violates my religious beliefs.”
Rocking, as in wearing, doesn’t mandate that your team member needs to dance in her uniform. Just putting it on is rocking enough for this complainer.
One’s cultural or religious background is a sensitive topic. Put on your kid gloves with this one.
Know your employer rights, but don’t quote them. If you get to that point, you’ve lost the conversation.
If there is a way you can accommodate the team members minimal expectations for observing her beliefs, then do it, but make the rules universal.
Try to avoid making the team member choose between loyalty to the company [read: loyalty to you] versus loyalty to her culture. Either is fine.
The more flexible you can be, the better.
“Gotta score me some extra uniforms.”
Score can mean many things, but in this case, your team member intends to communicate the need for more than the allotted number of uniforms.
Making sure your team members have enough uniforms is a good problem to have. If they want more, that means they like them enough to care.
What will affect the solution here is whether or not you gift or charge for uniforms. Most companies will gift a certain number, then sell employees additional uniforms.
By working with a fair uniform supplier, you’ll get better pricing for bulk orders so you can keep those costs down. Set a fair standard for hours worked and supplied uniforms, then keep it consistent amongst team members.
You can incentivize individuals by rewarding their performance with spare uniforms, a win for both, but don’t be naive. Nobody, even the most dedicated team member, gets super-excited about winning work clothes.
It’s nice, helpful, but consider adding something fun with that prize. Starbucks gift certificates are a good way to go.
“Our uniforms are bad ju-ju.”
You can relax, this is not what it sounds like. Bad ju-ju just means bad karma. Translating, your team member feels like your uniforms send the wrong message.
This is a serious complaint, more than the average don’t-like-it complaint. Your team member is motivated but isn’t connecting the uniform to their perceived value.
One reason may be that you’ve adopted a cookie cutter approach to outfitting your team. The sales people dress the same as the service team, who are all wearing the same thing as the maintenance crew.
Be sure that your workwear compliments to roles of your teams. If you’re unsure which way to go, those open-ended questions are a good place to start.
If you decide a change is warranted, get the whole team involved picking the options. You get to make the ultimate decision, but the more involved they are, the more they will own the final outcome.
Slow down and take the time to align the company goals with the team’s goals. Make sure the uniforms reflect the meetings point between the two.
“This gear is outdated as cheese.”
You can take comfort knowing that your team member has spared you the edgier version of this expression. It’s not nice. Chances are good you get the message; you have outdated uniforms.
When you manage a profit and loss sheet, it doesn’t take long to see how not spending impacts your bottom line. This is dangerous water. Nobody ever saved their way to a win.
Cutting costs are short-term strategies but can be sticking points when it comes time to spend again.
If your team feels outdated, they may go knocking on the door of the competition, taking your future and training with them. Let them feel proud to work for a brand that values their self-regard.
The better they look, the better they perform, and the better you look.
“Maintaining this uniform is too bougie.”
At some point, the adapted French word bourgeois, which means middle-class in American nomenclature, came to mean fancy, but in a shortened form. If the uniforms are bougie, they may mandate too much care for the income of your team member.
For employees in frontline service positions like service desks and concierge roles or servers, maintaining workwear can cost more than a job as a lifeguard.
If they can’t throw their uniform in with their casual wear, that’s when they start to see divots in their income. That’s not good for them or for you.
Pick fabrics that wear well, but wash well too. Wool looks great but is a bear to maintain. Instead, work with your team to find uniform options that don’t require or minimize dry cleaning.
Alternatively, you can give them upscale options so they can decide how they want to spend their paycheck for themselves.
There is a hidden opportunity here. Different levels of uniforms can create a socioeconomic divide, which may help you drive lower performers to excel.
That way they can earn more to afford the upscale uniforms. More money means fancier uniforms and more pride about their work. You both win.
No matter what, have practical options for everyone.
“This uniform is straight cheap.”
The other side of uniforms from a financial standpoint is a uniform that looks or feels cheap. If it’s “straight” cheap, that means there is no other way to put it.
You’ll be hard-pressed to find uniforms in All Season’s catalog that are poor quality. That said, you may have uniforms from another distributor. We understand. These things happen.
Sourcing cheap uniforms (poor workmanship, low-quality threading or factory seconds) will lead to ragged uniforms.
Find out from your team member why she feels that way, first. Then, if it’s a legitimate gripe, assess your budget, and dig into your options with your team.
Avoid ordering the lowest budgeted items next time.
“Nobody else sportin’ this.”
Regarding clothes, sporting and rocking are the same things. Your team member has concerns that nobody else, either in the industry or her social circle wears a uniform.
We’ve saved the best for the end…
A team member who complains because she feels alone in her uniform deserves a deep dive into why.
You have to give this complainer space to air her grievances before you launch into a speech about the benefits and features of wearing uniforms. If you don’t hear this team member, she won’t hear you. You’ll get nowhere.
What you may learn is that this gripe is a misdirect for one of the others on this list. You may need to assert your company’s values and how they relate to the choice to put uniforms on your team.
“I ain’t feelin’ this get-up.”
In plain English, your team member doesn’t wish to wear a uniform.
Alright, this one will boil your blood. More than any gripe on this list, stop what you’re doing to listen. If you don’t have time now, make an appointment to talk to this employee.
Your goal is to ask open-ended questions until you’re blue in the face until you have a robust understanding of the complaint. Repeat back your understandings as you go. Give the team member the space to clarify. Then ask what she would like to make happen?
Not wearing a uniform is out of the options, but you don’t need to say that. You can talk about the company’s values, how a uniform expresses those values, which likely includes working as a team.
You may leave this conversation unsure if you came to an agreement, but if you listen really well, that employee may come back to you later to tell you she understands.
Some people need to air it out, digest, then revisit. Those team members become your strongest advocates later.
Breathe. Ask open-ended questions. Consider everything you could do. You’ll get through this. Need more help? Contact us. We’ve been doing this a long time.
About the Author
Nick Warrick
Nick Warrick is the Sales Manager at All Seasons Uniforms. With over 15 years of experience in the work uniform business, he has worked with hundreds of clients across 20 different industries. Holding bachelor’s degrees in both Business Administration and Information Technology, Nick revamped the company’s online presence, offering its customers a new uniform shopping experience.