If an employee is a repeat offender for not following the office dress code, it may be time to step in.
Mindy has come to work in flip flops and a mini-skirt three days in a row. Your office dress code requires "business casual." It's time to talk have a talk with Mindy.
If you're the boss, it's difficult to breach a touchy subject like clothing. You don't want to alienate and embarrass your employee, but you also want to send a good message to clients.
Keep it private. Speak to your employee privately. Be casual, and direct. It's possible (and likely) Mindy is simply clueless when it comes to what constitutes proper attire. Be as specific as possible when going over requirements. Create a succinct list. Open-toed shoes forbidden. No skirts above the knee. Nothing so tight I can see your thong.
Don’t make an announcement. I used to work beside a problem admin. She had so many behavioral issues that the manager decided to do something. She called a meeting with all of the admins and went over a list of items a mile long.
Don’t do this.
#1. It angers employees who already have it “right.” No one likes to be lectured to, particularly when they’re already following the rules.
#2. The rest of us know who you are talking to, and this makes us project our anger onto that person. If she didn’t think platform heels were appropriate for a bank, we wouldn’t be sitting in a boring meeting getting yelled at for nothing.
#3. The problem person often won’t know you’re talking to them. In this case, the admin assumed that since we were all called to the meeting, we were all guilty of the same behaviors. This discouraged her from cleaning up her act, because she felt a false sense of camaraderie in her wrong-doing.
#4. If she does realize you are talking to her, she suffers the embarrassment of being called out in front of her peers. Wouldn’t you rather have her feel slightly embarrassed in the privacy of your office, rather than sitting amongst judging coworkers? If you answered the latter, you are mean.
So go over the dress code one on one, in private, and be specific about which items are violations.
