Aaron Cakiroglu
Posted in
For Restaurants
tags:
Talent Development
by Aaron Cakiroglu
Nobody has the right to tell somebody how to tackle their daily routine of personal hygiene and grooming. It would be a take off of the “nanny state” telling people not to drink alcohol, smoke or eat sugar. As in the recent remark by Liberal MP Teresa Gambaro advising new migrants to wear deodorant in order to assimilate into Australian society; rude and offensive it may be and although wearing a deodorant is not confined to Australia and would not be defined as a specific cultural trait, you just can not tell people these kinds of things.
But, if somebody’s daily habits are distasteful to those around them or are regarded as a health risk by modern standards; you should have a right to regulate such practices in common areas with a mutual agreement. As an interesting example, wearing perfume, scented deodorants and other smelly cosmetics is banned in hospitals, all municipal buildings as well as many workplaces in Nova Scotia, Canada. If someone’s body odour is distasteful, you will normally not be able to warn this person and directly tell them to wear deodorant as it would not be a civilised action to embarrass people in such ways. But it is also not very civilised to have poor personal hygiene, foul smelling clothes or breath, or annoying personal habit like making clicking noises.
Hence, companies may consider adopting policies for personal hygiene and/or use of unscented care products in addition to the usual dress code policies, if there is a significant, ongoing issue. When implementing such a specific policy, the following can be considered:
- Conduct a survey of the employees to determine the extent of the issue. Collect opinions and suggestions to help you develop a policy appropriate to your workplace.
- Involve the health and safety committee and get management commitment from the beginning.
- During the implementation, make sure that all employees have been fully informed of the policy. Inform your employees of the related health and business concerns and send email notifications and give presentations to educate them.
- Address any concerns the employees raise openly, fairly and honestly. Reinforce the idea that this policy is being implemented as a result of medical concerns and/or for business professionalism.
Once you have your policy in place, you may consider holding individual, one-on-one conversations with employees who are not doing their best to cooperate. During these discussions;
- Think twice before you talk, but keep your focus on the particular issue and ensure the employee understands the impact of the issue.
- Make references to the fact that these are in the interests of running your business in a professional manner.
- Be very sensitive to the different norms of different cultures and beliefs, but try to explain so they understand their behaviour should not interfere with the harmony and the productivity of the workplace.
- Tell them that this is not only affecting the co-workers and the business but may also affect their own career.
- If you are the employee’s supervisor/manager, you owe it to the employee to hold the conversation; understand that if you don’t hold this difficult conversation, the employee’s co-workers will, and if this is not held effectively you may not achieve to minimise the embarrassment and discomfort.
And yes; everyone should be presentable at work, keep their workplace and common areas tidy and clean; but again, we should not fall into the trap of
dictating the daily lives and routines as it is not our job to tell people how to care for themselves and for their personal hygiene. These are qualities that people would have acquired from their upbringing and education. You should address such issues sooner rather than later to keep your main focus on
enhancing your business and service excellence.
~ Aaron Cakiroglu, Talent Development Expert