Ordering company T-shirts is one of the most popular practices to increase both employee morale and brand awareness. And while the T-shirt options are virtually endless, this immense variety isn’t worth much if you don’t make the right call.
Instead of plunging straight into this otherwise fun venture, it’s crucial that you take a few factors into careful consideration before ordering company T-shirts, which is why TeeJunction has picked out the most important, but often easily overlooked ones.
Know the Purpose
The choice of company T-shirts should first and foremost depend on the activity they’re meant for.
While personal tastes will always vary from person to person, the universally accepted etiquette can’t be disputed, and nothing makes a worse first impression, especially in the professional circles than an inadequate choice of clothing.
This is why it’s crucial for you to know the purpose that the particular company T-shirts are meant for. What might be the perfect T-shirt for a sports event would probably be the least appropriate one for a formal occasion, like a trade show, for example. In the latter case, you want the design of the T-shirts to be clean, professional, and simplistic, but stylish at the same time, perhaps with a little extra touch in the form of a tasteful embroidery for an added sense of personality; in the former case, you clearly need something sporty and comfortable, but there’s some room for experimentation and brighter colors as the occasion is more casual and fun.
Beyond the appropriate T-shirt style in the general sense, there are other aspects to consider, like what elements of your company you want included on the T-shirts. You can place the focus on the logo, the slogan, or perhaps couple them with a thematic image or message that you came up with specifically for the event. You can take a more fluid approach in that regard while still keeping a firm touch with your company’s identity.
Generally speaking, if you’re planning to order company T-shirts for a specific event, especially if it’s one of particular importance, it might be a good idea to consult with a designer who can help you pick out something that fits in, but also stands out.
Know the Quality
Choosing a high-quality product is arguably the most universally relevant rule of thumb when ordering company T-shirts, and neglecting it is one of the surest ways to hurt both your employees’ morale and your company’s reputation.
Regardless of the scale of the event or activity, the T-shirts are meant for, and how tempting it may be to cut some costs, under no circumstances should you opt out for something of low quality.
First off, your employees will hate it and won’t want to wear it unless they absolutely have to. Even when they do, they will look miserable, which is the worst possible advertisement of your company.
Second, how will your employees respect the company they work for if it doesn’t respect them enough, and respectively itself, to purchase something decent, especially if that is something they are forced to wear?
Know the Size
Under no circumstances should you take the easy, one-size-fits-all route.
First of all, the T-shirts will be a terrible fit for lots of your employees, which is equally bad as having them wear products that are either poor quality or inappropriate for the occasion. Your employees will feel inadequate and unprofessional, which is also bound to affect the way others perceive them, too.
Second, even if the T-shirts do somehow happen to magically fit your employees, just them knowing that you don’t care enough to order custom-sized T-shirts will speak of your lack of care for their individuality altogether, which is one of the fastest motivation killers, even in the most generic workforce and formulaic work settings.
Know the Material
Comfort usually comes with quality and the correct size, but it also depends on the material, and sometimes, the highest quality in the world doesn’t make up for a fabric that’s not nice to the touch.
Regardless of the event, your employees need to feel comfortable in their T-shirts, otherwise, they’ll start associating that discomfort with your company altogether.
Also, choose T-shirts that are easy to take care of, as no employee would be happy to spend more effort on a company T-shirt than his/her own clothes.
Know their Preference
While it may be impractical, or even impossible to cater to every individual’s preference, giving your employees at least some options and/or gaging your team’s overall taste can improve the experience tremendously.
One of the easiest, but also thoughtful things you can do in that regard is to offer different color options unless perhaps your company’s identity is firmly tied to a specific hue already.
You can also choose the mandatory design elements and style, but give your employees some freedom to play with them and come up with something a little more individualistic that still fits in the overall vision. This may be particularly wise if the T-shirts are meant to be used on several occasions – otherwise, the effort wouldn’t be worth it.
A simpler and more practical way to still honor your employees’ individuality is to hand out a survey and let democracy win. Not everyone will be happy, but it will be fair, and the gesture is what matters the most.
Ordering company T-shirts is no rocket science, but that doesn’t mean it’s a complete no-brainer, either. Approaching it as such will likely end up doing more harm than good for your company.
