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Listnotes: APPA's E-mail Discussion List in Review
by Alycia Eck

Alycia Eck is APPA's Internet Manager and List Administrator for APPAinfo. She can be contacted by e-mailing alycia@appa.org.

If there's one thing I've learned from the APPAinfo list discussions, it's that service matters. And above all else, customer service. A key element of providing outstanding customer service is maintaining the image of professionalism within the campus facilities department. Not only do you want your customers to appreciate the high level of quality work done by your staff, but you want them also to recognize that these same employees are a significant part of a team effort on campus. A facilities team which significantly and positively effects faculty and students alike, from the moment they turn on a faucet for a hot shower in the morning, to the moment they sit in a comfortable and clean lecture hall, to the safe and well-lit walk home to the dorms at the end of the day.

There's an incredible amount of work going on behind the scenes on campuses, and some are now reconsidering the role uniforms play in the custodial and maintenance environments. Uniforms are undoubtably a touchy topic. Which employees get uniforms? What should the department pay for and what should be purchased by the employee? What differences should be considered when providing clothes for women versus men? Some employees prefer not to be restricted in their wardrobes, but safety, comfort, and appearance of workers is a concern for managers. As the saying goes, "image is everything," but perhaps with some collaboration and planning, uniforms can be a positive influence not only within the facilities department but across campus as well.

Do the Clothes Make the Custodian?

Does anyone have any words of wisdom on uniforms for custodians and maintenance? I am trying to decide on purchasing, renting, shirts only or complete uniforms. Also what about summer and winter? Do the uniforms need to be different?

• We provide uniforms for our custodians, shop, and transportation employees. We initially purchased the uniforms but found that in our area, it is cheaper to rent them and have the renting company clean and replace them. We only provide shirts for those who mostly work indoors. Those who are required to work outside are given cold weather clothing, coveralls, and rain coats. Our uniforms all have distinctive university and department logos. One note of caution, some women employees do not want their names on the uniforms. There has been situations where someone saw the name on a female employees uniform and used it to make an attempt at a quick "pick-up." Most of our custodians work at night and we felt this may cause a safety problem, so our custodial uniforms do not have names on them, only university and department logos.
• Most of our employees like uniforms. However, a very few employees do not want them and are not required to have them. We have not made uniforms mandatory, but we do require our employees to be neat and clean. With some employees, this would be hard to enforce if we did not provide uniforms.
• We issue work shirts to trades, custodial, and grounds, and offer them to other sections such as office staff, engineering, project managers, etc. We offer a dark forest green or a white as color options (or school colors, green and gold). We offer long and short sleeve t-shirts and twills. We also offer polo shirts, smocks, and sweatshirts. All clothing has our logo. New employees are given five shirts to start with and three additional shirts each year. The dark and the light colors make an attempt to address concerns for those who get clothes dirty and for those who work outdoors in the sun. We had some problems with a few folks when we first implemented the plan. Some have an aversion to "uniforms" so we call it "work wear," but it's just semantics. I think this concern is offset by those who appreciate not having to ruin their own clothing. Don't forget to consider women's cuts as well as men's we made this oversight to start with. There is a major increase in warehouse stock item numbers when you consider white and green for five different styles for five different sizes (small, medium, large, x-large, xx-large) and for men and women. We are trying to work with local vendors for stocking but that has not been a total success so far. We are also coordinating with Housing, Telecommunications, and Central Receiving to develop common guidelines and for volume discounts. The biggest benefit was the comments from our customers who appreciate being able to identify us from the crowds that go through their space. This in itself has justified the expense. It also differentiates us from contractors. As with most new programs, we had to develop guidelines for when they should be worn, replacement due to damage, etc.
• We mandate that custodial, trades, engineers, utility, and mechanic all wear uniforms. We have worked together to come up with acceptable standards. We use to buy the uniforms every year but three years ago went to a rental company. This has worked out well since the uniforms are kept cleaned and in good repair. We give the choice of long or short sleeved shirts and each area is a different color. In the summer we purchase heavy duty t-shirts for all staff with our name and logo embroidered on them. Each person is issued two shirts for the summer quarter. This has helped with staff who are working outside in the heat to not strip down to a ratty undershirt while working. All in all I think our policy works fine. We issue one pair of coveralls to each employee and buy jackets for them if they want them Every piece of clothing with the exception of pants has a name and department on them for easy identification. We do not buy rain gear or cold weather gear. I have bought boots for some staff who ruin their pair on the job but most staff prefer to provide their own within what the laws allow.
• My experience has been that having a uniform is not a big deal as long as the employees wearing them have some say in what it looks like, what it is made of, and who takes care of it.
• Our school purchases three uniforms per year for our custodial and maintenance employees. A uniform consists of a shirt and a pair of pants or one pair of coveralls, one pair of overalls, one cold weather jacket, etc. Employees choose from a wide variety of shirt and pant styles. Some prefer durable traditional uniforms and some like more comfortable clothing like golf or t-shirts and denim pants. The choice of clothing colors is limited only by what is available from the supplier. All shirts, jackets, hats, coveralls and sweatshirts are embroidered with a very attractive and easily recognizable school district logo. Most employees are responsible for laundering their own clothing. Plumbing and paint department employees also have rented coveralls available which are cleaned and exchanged weekly by a laundry service. With such a wide variety of clothing to choose from most employees enjoy wearing "uniforms" and they are no less recognizable than when we provided only one color and one style of institutional appearing uniforms.
• We have uniforms in both custodial and maintenance. We have moved to shirts only since pants are hard to fit and not well liked by most employees; jeans are preferred. We use both short and long sleeves and allow them five of each.
• Our college provides uniforms (shirt, pants) for the physical plant staff. We initially purchased seven shirts and five pair of pants for each. Each fall we replace up to three shirts and three pair of pants. The shirts we purchase locally from a company that also embroiders our logo and the first name of the employee. Our staff reviewed several rental companies uniforms and decided that they would rather do their own laundry. They also had the input in deciding the design and material type of the uniforms. They have three different colors of shirts and decided they would rather wear dark blue jeans (not faded or worn). This uniform has greatly improved the image on campus for the staff. We also purchased winter jackets with the college logo on the back and their first name and logo on the front. Our jackets have become so popular that the college president, vice president of finance, and a board of trustee member have also ordered the same jackets. We try not to promote the jackets for everyone to purchase because it would dilute the purpose of the identification of our staff, but obviously those folks can purchase if they please. After the first year, baseball caps became an issue so we purchased summer and winter ball caps with the college logo embroidered and required our staff to wear them at all times while working. The shirts cost about $30 each and the jeans between $30-40 each. I think overall this cost evens out compared to rentals when you figure in that the employees were able to select this type of uniform and are pleased with the outcome. Our experiences with rental uniforms was never satisfactory because of repairs, lost garments, and overall appearances.