One of the common challenges of running a business involves trying to reduce absenteeism. Although it’s normal for employees to occasionally fail to make it into work for unexpected reasons, when non-attendance becomes a regular occurrence it can have a huge impact on the day-to-day running of a company. In car dealerships, smaller teams will feel reduced numbers even more keenly.
Arguably the two main drivers of unplanned absences are sickness and low morale. If you’re wondering how best to reduce absenteeism that stems from these causes, it might surprise you to learn that bespoke workwear can offer a wide variety of benefits. As we’re about to discover, a well-chosen work uniform can transform morale, ensure that your employees are equipped to deal with adverse conditions, and create a more collaborative environment.
Let’s take a look at how chronic absences can affect businesses and how appropriate clothing could help you to reduce absenteeism.
How Absenteeism Affects the Workplace
Poor employee attendance can trigger a domino effect that ripples through a workplace. First and foremost, managers will need to dedicate additional time to working around the absent employee. In some circumstances, they’ll need to reshuffle resources to cover the skills gap, which can result in other team members getting an increased workload.
And that’s often the case just for short-term absences. If someone is off for a considerable period of time it’s likely that other colleagues will be relied upon to pick up the slack. This can sometimes create a vicious cycle, with the supporting team members feeling overworked — which increases the chances of them becoming run down and susceptible to illness themselves.
All of this has potentially serious implications for a car dealership. The automotive world is a highly competitive industry, with reliability and quality of customer service being two of the main ways to gain a foothold in the market. If absenteeism leads to drops in service, promises going unfulfilled, repairs being delayed, and calls not being returned, it stands to reason that many customers will just take their business elsewhere.
Therefore, if you’re looking to reduce absenteeism and stay ahead of the competition, anything that can help should be considered. And that’s where bespoke workwear comes in.
The Benefits of Bespoke Workwear
According to recent studies, 61% of employees feel that they are more productive when wearing a more relaxed dress code. This fits in nicely with broader trends across the automotive industry, as car dealerships move away from the traditional uniform of shirts and ties towards a more relaxed, customer-friendly appearance. However, finding a bespoke uniform supplier has benefits that transcend even your customers’ tastes.
Let’s take a look at some of the potential upsides in more detail:
Uniformly Snappy Dressers
Keeping up with the latest fashions is an expensive business that not everyone can afford. Suits, shirts, and ties are a serious investment, and anyone who can’t keep up runs the risk of feeling less presentable around snappily dressed colleagues. In this respect, uniform can be a great way to level the playing field and ensure that everyone looks and feels equally fantastic day-in-day-out.
Relaxed Dress Makes Relaxed Employees
By relaxed, let’s first be clear that we’re talking about the ‘feel’ of bespoke workwear rather than the merits of going fully casual as a business. In short, we’re discussing swapping formal wear for comfortable polo shirts, sweatshirts, shell jackets, etc. A more relaxed uniform makes a more attractive work environment for existing staff and potential new recruits.
Additionally, there’s a convincing line of thought around workwear that comfortable clothes make happy employees and happy employees are more productive. It stands to reason, then, that equipping your teams in a range of uniform options that are designed to help them in their role could free them up to perform at their best.
Be a Forward-Thinking Employer
Times change and, as a society, we’re moving away from the old archetypes of masculine clothes for men and feminine garments for women. As those boundaries continue to dissolve, it’s highly likely that your teams will be more concerned about how your uniforms make them feel than fitting into a very narrow definition of how they’re expected to dress.
For businesses that want to be forward-thinking, now is the time to ditch the traditional male/female outlook and embrace gender neutral bespoke workwear. Ultimately, employees that have access to a broad range of comfortable options are more likely to find an outfit that works for them. Empowering them to make that choice could result in them feeling better equipped to work at a higher level.
Cover All Bases With Seasonal Workwear
If you’re about to order workwear from a bespoke uniform supplier, it’s best to first consider the range of weather conditions it will need to protect against. Therefore, with each season having its own unique characteristics, it makes sense to prepare for every eventuality and plan ahead. In short, you need a range of work clothes that cover every type of climate. Let’s find out more:
- Spring: In Spring, it’s best to dress for milder temperatures, with polo shirts or thin sweatshirts ideal options. A thin waterproof jacket might also be needed for sales professionals who need to endure sudden April showers.
- Summer: Sweltering Summer days make short sleeves the order of the day. Light, airy cotton should be your go-to fabric for stylish polo shirts and round neck t-shirts.
- Autumn: Like Spring, Autumn is often very changeable, so a wide selection of garments is advisable. You can’t go wrong with sweatshirts, waterproof jackets and gilets (for chillier days).
- Winter: Protect against the cold snap with base layers like t-shirts and jumpers. For anyone working outside, gilets are perfect for core warmth – while also allowing a range of movement for your service teams. Finally, a thick Winter jacket is an absolute must for anyone working outdoors.
Bespoke workwear is important all-year-round but especially so during Winter months. Your teams are much more susceptible to coughs and colds when they’re exposed to cold weather, so keeping them warm could help them to stay fit and healthy for longer. If you want to learn more about winter workwear solutions for car dealerships, you can read our recent blog on the subject here.
Leighmans — The Leading Bespoke Uniform Supplier
Leighmans understands the value of quality workwear, so we’ve put all of our expertise into creating a range of uniform options that will make your teams look and feel their very best. We supply a wide variety of stylish and well-made garments that can be customised as requested. Just tell us your brand guidelines and preferences and we’ll get to work designing a uniform that wows both employees and customers alike.
Aside from our superb range of workwear options, we also take pride in putting the customer at the heart of everything we do. It’s this commitment to peerless service that led to our Orderspace buying portal. This simple solution to convoluted buying journeys is designed with user-friendliness in mind and can be customised by each client to work for them. Plus, if you’re part of the top 100 dealerships, you can use it for free!
If you’re looking for a premium bespoke uniform supplier who offers excellent customer service at highly-competitive prices, Leighmans is ready and waiting to help. To learn more about our services, join us on a discovery call today!
