HRGuru

I don't like having to tell someone their outfit is inappropriate for work when it is really cute.

Got to be careful here and pick your battles. Best to remain nuetral unless the employee is truly creating a problem.

Cleavage is always appreciated. Don't take away our fun!

Agreed.

i used to work for an organization that decided tattoos were no longer accepted and they had to be covered.  Now, understand this was a warehouse, jeans environment - not the boardroom....althought many boardroom-goers are tattooed as well.  Like the outfit issue - I don't want to be the one to police that.  coaching is a good idea and we all make mistakes - but workplace attire (in a lot of cases) is undervalued.  If you wear to work what you play in - make sure you work in the field in which you play - that way there aren't any problems.

My approach is to make the management develop the dress code policy and ratify it as part of their management performance metric scorecard.     This way, it is the manager's who have to enforce the dress code and not the HR department.

Now mind you, that doesn't always take the job of meeting with the "offending party" away from me.   If the manager hasn't handled the issue and it is a justified complaint that I've seen, then I will have the manager sit in on the conversation as a training event.  This first time is a "no-fault" for the manager because it can be very distressing to talk about such personal things.    Later, if the manager still doesn't handle her/his responsibilities, then the manager may get a warning or a counseling.   Surprisingly, since I started doing this, I've found it helps ferret out the occassional manager who is more interested in seeing the dress code violations and cleavage than he should be.

The advantage is that the employees see the policy as the company's and not HR's.  I prefer the role of management consultant and management trainer than that of being the company cop.  

Wow, that's funny.  Too bad you didn't find out in the interview.

Correct me if I am wrong, but the last time I checked thongs were considered an accessory, cleavage was the norm and the PC response to an act of sexual harassment was " you have exactly 15 minutes to stop that followed by two 5 minutes warnings, a written warning, a final written warning, and finally a coaching  / couseling session..... (over beers) :-)

this is even funnier

Our company use to allow employees to dress up for halloween.  It was treated as a competition among depts, so employees really got into it.  The company had recently had several layoffs, where I was the lucky one to terminate and walk the employees out.  I decided to dress up as the grim reaper.  first thing in the morning an employee gave her notice, then starting trashing the company and the owner.  We decided to terminate her and get her out of the building.  Needless to say I had no change of clothings and had to terminate and escort her out the building dress as such.  Most of the other employees were happy to see her go that way and loved that she got to meet the grim reaper.....

Ok, the evil side of me thinks this was one of the funniest things I've heard.   I have the image in my mind.   I've felt like the GR before, ha, ha.

Now on a serious note, you're lucky she didn't freak out, pull a work comp for PTSD or something like that.   Can't imagine how that would sound to a jury?!  lol

Sir, maybe the jury would have found in need of psychiatric testing - "So.....you say he looked the like the Grim Reaper?....what does this ink blot look like to you?.....there is no right or wrong answer, no need to become defensive......so, you say you saw the Grim Reaper.....hmmmm, I see."

thanks, vannati - I do have an evil humor side.

Angie says ...

A few posts back...ok - several back - a good point made regarding managers being responsible to discuss and help in corrections to the dress of employees.  Totally agree.  I absolutely hate when anyone expects me to be the fashion police....and I won't do it.  Seriously, if you have to ask...then just don't wear it.  It's really not rocket science.

Appropriate dress is a COMPANY expectation on how they want to project their image.  At the end of the day, when someone agrees to work for a company they also agree to dress appropriately...treat customers professionally....ect....all in exchange for a paycheck.    Besides, you can write a dress policy, but it can't cover good taste. 

hear, hear.  I would think that anyone who has been educated and trained in a professional field would know how to dress professionally, but I have to admit that this is no longer always the case.  You make a good point here, Angie, but I've been shocked by some of the things that I've seen women wearing to the office.  Mostly, there seems to be an idea that forgetting the top half of your top is ok....so much cleavage shows these days that it amazes me when I hear some of them complain about sexual harassment at the workplace.  Really, when you advertise a sale, don't be surprised when a buyer shows up.  Where did we lose the ability to discern what is good taste for the office?  I've often been told that I'm the best-dressed person in the office---and I don't work there!

One of the problems we face is good taste is a matter of perception … and perceptions not only change but vary between different age groups, economic levels and areas of the country. How long ago were tattoos considered low class and now about a third of the population has at least one. Ear rings on men was not commonplace twenty years ago and it is not uncommon in a boardroom now. Sometimes people in business get locked in to “this is the way we have always done it”. That is not to say a business should not set limits, just don’t set them in stone.

In the business for which i work, we host a 9-day intense training program and gives an opportunity for this to be clarified.  To prove a point during one of the trainings we asked employees to dress in a variety of ways to show the differences in perceptions, etc. I got to dress pretty crazy - tattooed arms, purple hair - etc.....It was alot of fun, but got the point across as to what was the positive image for our business.  Some places can do that - where other cannot.  There are always uniforms.....

Dress codes are ALWAYS a mess to administer.  I agree with the comment that you just can't dictate "Good Taste".   I've had the most success in changing the manner in which complaints are registered. The dress code was written as clearly as possible as to what was and what was not acceptable. When an employee was noticed as being dressed inappropriately, the employee who noticed the offense was required to bring the complaint to the manager of the employee who was outside the guidelines.  If there was no change in behavior, the offended employee then brought the complaint to HR along with what they had observed previously and the manager's response when it had been brought to their attention.

This accomplished a couple of things; first, if there was any question of an employee being a bit overzealous or with a personal axe to grind, that showed up pretty quickly. Secondly, it put the responsibility where it belonged; that is, on line management.  I absolutely hated being the clothing police but I certainly agree that some folks just couldn't seem to help pushing the boundaries.