The Safe Library - Service, Safety, & Security with Dr. Steve Albrecht

By Dr. Steve Albrecht

Food for thought time: Have we recently considered the value of putting library employees into a work uniform? There are pros and cons for both sides of this issue, including costs, the need for a more specific dress code policy, and getting employee buy-in. But there are some service and security benefits that can help move the decision toward a more formal look.

Many years ago, I had a polo shirt that was the exact color blue as the ones worn by the employees at Best Buy. I can recall three times I made the mistake of wearing that royal blue shirt into my local Best Buy store, only to be swamped with people, all with the same question, "Do you work here? I had a question about my computer…" Their irritation upon learning that I did not, in fact, work there was equally matched by my embarrassment from having to explain each time that I did not know where the computer cables or the new DVDs were. I learned my lesson and donated the shirt to a thrift store.

For the sake of this discussion, let's say your library employees wear whatever clothing they like - and except for their name tags - look like everyone else who comes into the building. Now let's imagine that we put our library employees - including the directors, managers, and supervisors - into polo shirts or long sleeve dress shirts (they could still wear whatever shoes and pants, shorts, skirts, capris, etc., they wanted). The shirts would have your library logo and/or the name of your city or county on them. Sending them out onto the library floor dressed like this, what might be the reaction from the patrons and the benefits to the employees?

Some patrons may not notice or care, others would certainly like the enhanced visibility, and a tiny few would complain that this is just another example of how they "miss the old days" at the library.

The advantages: it tells our patrons immediately who works there (and who does not, which could also be helpful to our police, fire, and medical first responders who enter the library); it tells our patrons and co-workers who is who in an emergency situation (where some people can get stress-created tunnel vision and not recognize an employee); and it suggests to our patrons a bit of professionalism that they are already used to seeing elsewhere. Most public contact jobs have a standard "uniform" for their employees: fast food and sit-down restaurants, bank tellers, hotel workers, repair people, airline crew members, car rental counters, and retail stores, to name a few.

The disadvantages: there will be an additional budget expense to buy and provide at least four to five shirts per employee; employees may feel like wearing a shirt that everyone else wears takes away from some of their personality and feels blah, bland, or controlling; and you may have to enforce some dress code policy rules if some employees routinely forget their shirts, or come to work in shirts that are not clean or pressed.

It's certainly easier to know who is an employee at a certain place if that person is always behind a desk or a counter. But library folks move around a lot and if they removed their name tags, most patrons wouldn't know they were an employee unless they had had plenty of previous encounters (and even then I'm not so sure they would notice, like seeing your kid's teacher at the supermarket and it doesn't sink in).

When rolled out positively, work uniforms can build camaraderie and make people feel more included as members of the library working team. Even library staffers who only work behind the scenes want to feel noticed and connected to their colleagues too.

Might it just be possible that a professional library shirt for all employees would not only cut down on the confusion about who works there, but would also increase the respect patrons have for library employees? Might they see them as more professional, help the employees feel more assertive, and make them instantly more recognizable and approachable? (Haven't we all had that experience where we think a person works at a big box retail store or a supermarket, ask him or her a question, only to find out he or she is a delivery vendor for a company that provides products to that store? It can be hard to tell the players without a scorecard.)

If the managers and supervisors want additional identification, what if we put them in a different colored shirt, that indicates they are the Person in Charge (PIC), the floor supervisor, or a shift manager? Example: all employees wear burgundy polos or dress shirts and the supervisors and managers wear light blue. Again, it's all about how these ideas are presented to the employees. It's not about creating unnecessary separation, but more about helping employees and patrons identify who is the go-to person in an emergency or an escalating confrontation with a patron.

We know most employees who don't have uniform shirts appreciate the freedom to dress as they please, but perhaps knowing you only have to decide what to wear on the lower half of your body for work is just one less thing to have to consider as you leave home for the day.

To me, the pros outweigh the cons, with the cost being the biggest hindrance. Perhaps a local clothing company in town would donate the work shirts, printed with your library logo, in exchange for attaching their tiny logo on a sleeve? Consider the Nike swoosh is on every major league uniform, and every golfer and NASCAR racer is a walking billboard. There might be some creative ways you could cover the costs and outfit your staff in cool clothes that improve service and security at your library.