WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - As more credit unions swap suits for ashirt and a pair of Dockers, will business casual attire become thenew standard? According to experts it depends on many factorsranging from the credit union's culture to the employee and memberdemographics.According to a Society for Human Resource ManagementWhite Paper entitled Business Casual 101, one of the biggestmistakes human resource departments can make is assuming everyonewill view business casual as a perk. Experts say underestimatingthe impact of dress down policies can potentially throw employeesinto chaos. Opponents of "dressing down" say casual dresstranslates into a more lax approach and attitude at work. BayFederal Credit Union Marketing Executive Vice President Jim Boyledisagrees. "We did extensive survey work and found that for us atleast it was not in conflict with a certain level ofprofessionalism," said Boyle. Fort Belvoir Federal Credit UnionVice President of Marketing and Business Development JacquelineConnor agrees. "We made the switch three years ago to build moraleand make the environment more employee friendly," said Connor. "Inour case our employees were the ones who initially asked for it sothey love it. And I think members can feel that enthusiasm whenthey walk in." According to Connor some staffers still dress inmore formal business attire and the greatest challenge of theswitch was clarifying what is acceptable. "We have a prettyspecific dress code and we've delineated that so that if someone isnot dressed appropriately we do send them home to change. It israre but it can happen from time to time," said Connor. "Businesscasual isn't for every credit union. I think you need to look atyour membership closely. We serve the military so a lot of ourmembers come in their fatigues, and so it is less of a shock forthem if our employees are casual." At Mountain America CreditUnion, the employee dress code is quite flexible with departmentmanagers determining the appropriate dress standard based on therequirements of the job and whether there is contact with membersor the public in general. Branches have a set dress code with is a"relaxed" version of typical dress attire. "We strive for aprofessional look, yet don't insist branch employees wear businesssuits each day. For men, dress shirts and slacks are acceptable,women have the choice of slacks, skirts or dresses," said MACU VicePresident Training/Development Suzanne Oliver. "We also haveMountain America casual attire for Fridays which consists of a logocasual shirt, provided by the credit union, along with Dockers ornice jeans and appropriate shoes- which means no tennis or canvasshoes." According to Oliver, MACU has approached Friday casual wearin a couple of ways over the years. Initially staffers were given alogo shirt each year. Now, $50 is allocated per employee to choosefrom several different types of shirts and also a fleece vest orsweaters. If the employee chooses to "spend" more than the $50,they can pay the difference themselves. Oliver says employeefeedback is invaluable and has led to other changes such as havingseparate men and women styles and switching from a typical poloshirt to long sleeve collared shirts. Ordering is done onlinethrough the credit union's Intranet site and is managed by the HRdepartment. For North Island Financial Credit Union, work attire isjust another golden opportunity to reinforce its brand. SinceAugust 2000 NIFCU staffers have been sporting custom "island"uniforms to support the credit union's branded image in thecommunity. Initially the shirts were paired with shorts or capris,however over the years that has been "tweaked," and now staffersmust wear pants or skirts. Currently employees have the option offour-color versions of the shirt. NIFCU provides each employee withfour shirts and a long sleeve cardigan on an annual basis with abudget of $200 per front line employee. "It comes to about $30,000of our marketing budget, which is the equivalent of running about10 newspaper ads," said NIFCU Executive Vice President MemberRelations Geri Dillingham. "It is part of our image, and we wantedmembers to be able to instantly identify who is able to serve themwhen they walk into our branches. It is working, our employees areinstantly recognized in the community so it is well worth it."Dillingham says over the years the employee reaction has beenmixed. "We've had some who love it since it eliminates the `whatshould I wear' decision and others who miss being in businessattire," said Dillingham. "Interestingly enough it is the youngerrecent college graduates who are disappointed because they werelooking forward to wearing the business suit. We understand butexplain that the shirt supports the brand." According toDillingham, credit unions looking into providing uniforms shouldmake sure it not only reflects the credit union brand but alsomakes a significant enough visual impact. "It can't just be acasual dress because if you just go by employee opinion they maychoose style or something subtle over the most effective uniform,"said Dillingham. "The bottom line is you will never get a designeveryone likes so you should have lots of fun with it to create anenvironment that supports it." Dillingham says before initiating a"uniform" there is a checklist of other considerations such as howthe shirts will be maintained, does the vendor provide a wide rangeof sizes, does the style cover a broad range of personalities andphysical shapes, how often will the items need to be replaced andhow much input will employees have. Whether formal or informal,experts say the worst thing a credit union can do about dress isleave it ambiguous. [email protected]