The benefits and rollout procedure for office uniforms

You’re in charge of rolling out uniform for office staff, either for the first time or as a second rollout, lucky you. Why lucky you? Because you’re here reading this blog post and we’re going to break down the key areas you need to consider to ensure you get it right first time. Procuring uniform can be dynamic and if it goes wrong, it often goes really wrong, also very costly and time consuming. 

Get sizing right 

Garments can have a tolerance, this means if you put 10 different medium t-shirts side by side from the same brand, there will be some variance. This can cause havoc if you are working with a small team that cannot mix and match sizes to various different people; also if you include names on the garments. The easiest option here is to conduct a sizing workshop, either through measuring staff with a tape measure or to buy blank clothing to try on. The garments you try on for size can then often be sent back to us to add your logo, this ensures sizing is right for your team.  

There are risks to self-measuring, you may not get it right. Also, the size guides are just that, guides, the brand cannot take responsibility if it does not fit you (if a logo is applied), unless of course it falls outside of their tolerance.  

Get the garments right 

It’s very easy to work out a uniform range from the comfort of a meeting room. Often problems arise after the rollout of grumblings with staff around characteristics of the garment. Either too hot, too cold, not fitting to contours of body or uncomfortable. There are various methods to get around this, wearer trials are the best way to go. Identify a handful of people within the team who can trial the uniform for a few weeks, the longer the better. Pay careful attention to how the garment washes, how it looks and any direct feedback from staff. Try to encourage brutal and honest feedback; you’ll likely get it anyway when you roll this fully out across the team. It is always beneficial to scope the uniform around requirements of the office, someone who is customer facing may benefit from a hard-wearing shirt that looks smart after several uses, for example.  

Consider wearer packing 

If you operate in a large office, it can be very daunting and time consuming to issue uniform. CTS offer a premium wearer packing service, this enables you to compile all uniform for one person into a single bag. It creates a much more efficient rollout process; it also prevents users acquiring uniform which was not originally for them; causing disparity with handing it out to staff. An example of this is having a few small shirts left in the box with an employee who requires (and ordered) a medium. It’s almost like we’ve seen this several times within our years of providing professional uniform services… 

Policies and procedures 

When employees are going about their daily life wearing your uniform, they are representing your company. Ensure you have a robust policy around your uniform to prevent any brand tarnishing – for example, staff going straight into town for a night out in uniform happens, and won’t look great if it ends up being a messy night with photographs all over social media. It’s also important to establish quotas per wearer, ensuring that uniform is providing value for money and is supplied in a controlled manner.  

Logo and embellishments 

Adding a logo onto the garment comes with several pitfalls. Once a logo is applied to a garment and it matches your original order it becomes difficult to return the item. You need to take a few steps to ensure that everything is correct before adding a logo. Request a digital proof or physical swatch to showcase your logo, ensure the colours and spelling are right. Locations can also vary from product to product as it is loaded onto the machine; factor all of this into your rollout. You must also ensure the logo you are submitting is a high-resolution image to prevent any further costs or delays; pantone colours and fonts are also useful to provide, ensuring brand continuity between uniform and the wider business assets. Also seek guidance on the difference between embroidery and print; both have their benefits and it’s important to understand the benefits in the context of your business.  

There isn’t anything like revamping an internal team with a new look. It provides a well-founded feeling of being in a team, even if you currently use uniforms there are several benefits to revamping. You also need to be careful that you are picking the right supplier, a company like CTS come with years of experience, ensuring you are getting the best advice to give the best possible outcomes.  
 

How sustainable workwear can fit within your CSR 

One of the benefits of working in a fast-paced industry is seeing and experiencing major shifts as the demands of business changes. Over the last 12 months there has been a major surge in sustainable workwear; with the industry beginning to rise to the demands of environmental and social responsibility. We speak to brands, manufacturers, and distributors on an almost daily basis, if a brand doesn’t have a significant sustainable offering, you can guarantee there is one due to be launched by them.  

The current challenge with CTS is communicating the benefits of sustainable workwear to our customers. Here we break down any misconceptions, key benefits and how these ranges can help support your CSR.  

Recycled Workwear 

Ranges are being launched on an almost monthly basis, providing customers the option to kit their workforce out in recycled garments. This range allows companies to take bottles out of the environment and wear them for uniforms through a creative manufacturing process. It starts by taking PET bottles which are post-consumer, shredding it into flakes, turning the flakes into fibre which are then spun into garments.  

The recycled workwear range can also be quantified through certification, The Global Recycled Standard (GRS) is a key certification to ensure you are buying from genuine recycled suppliers.  

Don’t be fooled by the manufacturing process, these ranges do give traditional uniforms and workwear a run for their money. A comparison of quality and commercial viability is a must; you’ll be very surprised as they are often far cheaper than their counter parts and often feel more comfortable too.  

Sustainable Workwear 

Recycled workwear is only a component part to really driving sustainability. To really challenge your supply chain, you can source suppliers with key achievements to further the sustainability agenda. Many companies will utilise electric vehicles through couriers, ensuring all plastic packaging is made from recycled material and reduction of new cardboard boxes.  

You can also provide sustainable workwear through incorporating uniform recycling, speak to the team about this today.  

CTS provide full recycled ranges from some key suppliers, we utilise a courier network that is driving the EV push and are constantly looking at ways to drive our own internal CSR. If you are at the stage whereby you are open to suggestions on new ranges; don’t rule out recycled workwear or sustainable lines; we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised on the commercial and economic viability, speak to the team today. 

How to streamline the ordering process 

CTS apply years of experience to really support you through procuring workwear and uniforms. Unfortunately, the process comes with several pitfalls, and we’ve crafted this blog post to help you streamline your procurement process. There are several actions you can take which will ensure the order arrives in good time; any hold ups around these key areas can really cause friction in delivery timeframes.  

Let’s look at 3 ways you can dramatically streamline your workwear ordering process: 

Artwork quality and location 

Always ensure you are providing us with your highest resolution logo, this allows us to format your logo into a file type suitable for our machines and processing. If the logo is high resolution, then it’ll likely give a much better finish.  

You also need to ensure that the location is suitable for the garment, ensure there are no pockets in the way; if it is to go on the back of the garment and you haven’t seen the product from behind, I’d request it. Some garments can have features on the back which can impede production.  

Also be on the look out for an artwork proofing document. This file will give you a visual, non-scale, representation of how it will look. Give careful attention to approving this as it can be difficult to change after approval, check spelling, location, and colours. It’s always important to regularly check your junk folder too as sometime artwork approvals can land there, if you delay approving a logo it can delay your order.  

Stocking levels, compatibility, and availability 

CTS are extremely transparent when it comes to communication on stock availability. If you are purchasing a significant quantity, it is always advisable to check on the stocking levels. We have incredibly fast-moving stock too; if you check one day it could be radically different within 24 hours based on the volume of units being sold in some key lines.  

If you are buying multiple garments for a single wearer, or branding exercise, we’d always recommend buying some samples. The reason for this, more so if you are buying multiple brands, is the colour, style and texture can be radically different from brand to brand. If you are driving for consistency, then we’d always recommend purchasing samples before committing to embellishment.  

Longevity of uniforms are also key; you may have new starters or staff who damage their uniform occasionally. It’s important the ask if the item is due to be discontinued any time soon; we’ve helped customers through switching ranges due to a previous vendor providing ranges which have been discontinued.  

Ask as many questions as you need to before you order 

We fully understand and appreciate that our customers are not experts in workwear. We’d encourage customers to ask as many questions as possible to firmly validate they are making the right choice. Questions around what the best application type is, does this embellishment work with this garment and is there any conflicting colours. These lines of questions ensure you receive a product that you are exceptionally happy with.  

CTS are fully committed to the point of almost being obsessed, with ensuring to providing our customers with exceptional service. We need to create a procurement process which allows customers to voice any questions beforehand, apply our years of experience and above all else, ensure the workmanship going into each garment is at the cutting-edge of the industry. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to speak to one of our friendly sales team.