You guys know I live in a warm climate. So when the weather gets cold, instead of turning on the heater, I reach for a long sleeve t-shirt. My favorite is one from a past employer. I’ve had it for years – it’s soft and broken in. If you’ve ever had a favorite t-shirt, you know what I’m talking about.
While it’s so worn that I would never wear it out in public, it does remind me of the time when I would wear this company t-shirt to run errands or go to the grocery store. It also reminds me of those days when we were designing these t-shirts for employees. We designed the t-shirt specifically with the employee in mind. Why? Because we wanted the employee to actually wear the t-shirt.
Now, there’s more to employees wearing logo apparel than a cool design. Employees need to actually be proud of the organization. Employees will wear your logo to the grocery store when they are proud of the company. They will wear the company logo when they are okay with strangers asking them questions or making comments like, “I just took a flight on your airline. It was terrific.” If an employee is embarrassed about company performance, the t-shirts stay in a drawer or become rags to wash the car.
On some basic level, t-shirts could be a gauge of employee engagement. Ask yourself, “Would my employees wear the company logo?”
There are a couple of exceptions to this rule. First, some people just don’t wear t-shirts. And, if you design an ugly t-shirt, no one will wear it. But let’s say it’s a great shirt and employees aren’t anti- t-shirts. Would employees take a free t-shirt? Would they wear it?
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Engaged employees (and customers and vendors for that matter) enjoy being a part of the organization. They want the company to succeed. Wearing a logo t-shirt promotes the brand. People will wear brands they are proud of.
Will employees, customers, and vendors wear your company t-shirt?
Image courtesy of Sharlyn Lauby
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Amy Dallis says
I have found this article to be very true in my own work experience. But going a step further, perhaps the real test is if your spouse is willing to wear your company t-shirt in public. Since I happen to be one of those people that seldom wear t-shirts, I will usually give mine to my husband. Right now he is still wearing shirts from a company I worked for over five years ago. He attended company functions, knew my co-workers, and had a positive feeling about the company so it is easy for him to wear the brand in public.
Sharlyn Lauby says
Great point Amy! Thanks for the comment.
Payton says
Thanks for sharing. I love this concept, as well as Amy’s comment about seeing if your spouse would enjoy wearing it. You may be swayed by your employment at the company to wear the shirt, but your spouse has less of a bias towards the company.