It’s always the prepping and planning of a new program or system that seems to take the longest. And in some cases, just the sheer thought of that part of the equation will render a person or team from taking action and moving forward.
The same is true for a uniform program. That's why we wanted to give you a better idea of what to expect when planning and starting a uniform program in your company or business.
You might be thinking that you're doing fine without a uniform for your business. And there may be some truth here.
But if you're considering building your brand further by defining an image for your team and business, then this article is for you. A uniform program can improve your brand while establishing a consistent look you can be proud of.
To help you better understand the process, let’s take a look at an example here of a fictitious company that may be experiencing the same problem you’re having.
This article will help you better understand the uniform e-commerce side of the process, as well as some perspective from the client.
Deep Drilling is a third-party Oil & Gas company, who has a field staff of 75 people. The staff is spread across four states and is never in the same place at the same time.
Sam is the safety manager and needs more time. He wants to find ways to make his daily tasks easier, especially when it comes to safety.
Going to a drill site to check safety in another state, and going back to order a uniform for a new hire becomes almost impossible. Sam wants to look into a uniform program where uniforms are already chosen and logos are added, according to the company's brand standards.
The first phase of building your uniform program could easily be called the decision phase. This is where you will make multiple decisions, including who will be involved at your company and what uniforms / apparel will be needed for your operations staff.
We'll highlight that this is often the hardest step, especially when your team learns they'll be wearing a uniform provided by the company.
The reason is that many employees take this personally. Not because they don't want to wear a uniform. Instead, they want input on what they'll be wearing every time they go to work.
Sometimes this works fine. Employees are reasonable and just want to focus on their jobs.
Other times, it becomes a real problem where the simplest decisions are held up because of input from too many employees.
See our related article on why too many uniform options can be bad for your business to learn why a lean program works best.
Once the relationship is built and a uniform program is being installed, it is very important to get all decision-makers involved in the process. Having worked with multiple clients through such a process, your program manager is key. They can help you identify potential company stakeholders, who can help you make decisions quickly.
They can also help you choose your uniform choices, whether it's for inside workers or outside workers. It can also help you find out what kind of clothes you need to wear for specific jobs.
In this phase, you will start identifying what logos will be used and/or created for different uniform pieces. In this middle process, all the logistics will be decided upon, regarding the online ordering and store.
Your uniform provider will probably want to make a list of good, better, and best uniform suggestions. They will also explain the difference between all of those suggestions.
Once you have identified your uniform choices, they should create a mockup of your logo, with their design team. The logo is assigned an art id number and any other variation will also receive its own id number. This way, they can create various versions of your logo, as certain logo colors will look better on different clothing colors. Be sure they send mockups to you, this way you can give final approval, before the first logo is even stitched.
When your uniform e-commerce provider is about to launch, they should have a meeting in their office. They will talk to their account rep about the details of the account and who you will be able to contact. This will allow you to not only get the best customer service experience, but build a relationship with the customer service rep.
At this stage, training is scheduled and the site is ready to use. The goal is to make ordering easy at the start and make sure the new admin knows the system and their jobs.
Once your uniform provider is ready to start, their systems manager will schedule a meeting with the client. They will show them how the system works and answer any questions about the private uniform store.
After you order the first time, call them to make sure everything went well and understand how you used the system for the first time. You should also receive an ongoing monthly call from your account rep.
Hopefully, this example of Sam will help you to better understand the process. It's pretty straightforward, but if you have any questions, let us know. Our priority is to make it simple to outfit your team and we're happy to help you launch your uniform program the right way!