Often, decision-making in corporations crawls along at a snail’s pace. Or so it seems. But occasionally, when the right idea surfaces at the right time, things can move quickly.
On Thursday, October 16, at 4:30 p.m. Gabe Wicks, the VP in charge of our Design and Multimedia Group, sent me an email. He challenged our dress code policy, saying
Given the harsh economic climate, why don’t we help out our employees’ personal expenses while also giving them a positive perk that won’t cost the company a dime? Allowing employees to wear jeans at their discretion would do both. It would certainly reduce dry cleaning costs for most staffers, and it would be a tangible policy change that would lift spirits and give people one more reason to be thankful they have a job, particularly with a company that sincerely cares about them, their finances and their comfort at work.
I replied seven minutes later to Gabe and Jim Thomason, our VP of Human Resources. I told them both that I loved the idea. Jim replied a few minutes later and suggested that we poll the executive leadership team. We gave them a “negative option,” telling them that we were going to announce the change on Friday afternoon unless they objected. I wanted for our employees to go into the weekend with some positive news.
By noon on Friday, we had heard from everyone on the executive team. Jim sent out a “Dress Code Change” announcement at 1:30 p..m., less than 24 hours from the time Gabe first presented the idea.
An hour later Jim reported back that his email was “lit up with thank-you notes.” More than one employee said to him, “This is the best news I have heard in weeks?” Wow.
Last week, in honor of our new dress code, I wore jeans every single day. I loved how much more productive I felt. I don’t know if it was the jeans per se or just the change of pace. Regardless, I like it.
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I live in Colorado, known for being very casual. I worked in places with both a dress code and places without. It is the little things that make a difference. One company I use to work for, someone came from the East Coast and they were “appalled” how no one dresses up here. Because of that, word got out in a memo that it was time to crackdown on the dress code. One of the big things they aimed at was banning blue jeans. Word got out after the memo of what happened. Luckily, some people in management (local) pushed back. But they knuckled down for about 6 months before finally pushing back.
On the crackdown, they cracked down so hard that casual Fridays were eliminated and as a “bonus”, if you traveled on business even on Saturday or Sunday, you were expected to abide by the company dress code. However, you were not paid for that time though.
Michael, I'm new to your blog but saw this and wanted to comment. This idea may have already been communicated before, but to me, bears repeating again. More than the external issue of what people wear, this was (to me) a value issue. As in, what the company values, and that is its people. Maxwell has quoted someone who says that a leader's main job is to define reality. In defining reality, which really comes down to choices, you're also defining what is not reality. The reality defined by this decision is that "our people matter to us," and not, "what you wear and how well you keep up with the Jones in the office does not." It also defines that the organization is not about the externals, but about what it does to enhance the human condition. A subtle change, but a big impact. Great decision.