If your business is in the hospitality industry, you’re probably preparing for the peak season of trading at the moment, with summer well on its way.
Summer is always a big time for hospitality, and a lot of hospitality companies (restaurants, cafes, bars, etc) up their staffing around this time of year, to prepare for the uptake in footfall, customers and sales.
But whilst you might have prepared your team and staff for the busy peak period, have you prepared your uniforms? And is your staff uniform ready to face the peak season too?
Here we’ll go through several things to look out for when outfitting your staff for the peak season of trading, and how to ensure your staff stay looking smart all season long.
Pick a reliable supplier
This one sounds obvious, but picking a reliable supplier who you can easily and effortlessly place uniform orders with is key. Here at Garment Printing, we like to think we’re exactly this. Orders can be places online with us easily and hassle-free, and we even have express delivery options too – meaning that you’re never waiting around for new uniforms to arrive for new staff. We all know what that’s like, when you have a few new hires, but they’re wearing odd mismatched outfits because you’ve had to wait for new uniforms to be delivered.
Decide on your style
Picking your style is important, and you may even want to switch up your uniform style for the peak season. If you know that shift are going to be long, and staff are going to be working back to back shifts, then opting away from the traditional shirts might be an idea that saves time and effort. At Garment Printing we have several smart options that don’t require regular pressing or ironing – which may help your staff (and their washing loads) during the peak season!
Have a specific design in mind
One of the biggest issues with peak season, is having lots of staff that all want to be wearing different things, or that all have different interpretations of one uniform. A white shirt may sound simple, but actually, it’s completely different in design depending on who picks it, who makes it and who customises it. If you’re happy to let your staff all pick different white shirts from different stores, then that’s fine – but most businesses want consistency, so they order them all from the same supplier. This is a great decision, as it means you’ll (most likely) get a better price, and all your staff will be wearing the same fit and the same design. So they will look smarter and more coordinated.
Don’t rely on one item per staff member
When it comes to ordering your staff uniforms, don’t just order one item per staff member. In peak seasons this just won’t cut it! Most full time staff, if they’re working shifts, will need at least three items that they can rotate and wash when off duty. If you’re working in a hospitality industry that works with lots of messy food and drink, then you might even want to order more back-ups just in case). Having lots of shirts / t shirts available to your staff, means they never have an excuse to turn up without the right uniform on.
Think about function and comfort
If your staff are going to be working hard for you all summer long, you’ll want to make sure they feel comfortable in what they’re wearing. Staff that are comfortable and feel confident in their uniform, enjoy their jobs more, and thus – do better work. Choosing items that they like and WANT to wear, will make a huge difference to productivity and efficiency. Sometimes, opting for a plain t-shirt with a logo on, is all you need to do – rather than going for the full shirt and tie get-up. If it helps, maybe talk to your employees about what they’d like to wear and what uniform would work best for them.
