How do I get a scruffy dresser to smarten up?

Dear Aunty B,

I have a young man who I would like to promote but he is a very scruffy dresser. His shoes are so old I am amazed they don’t disintegrate and I think he owns two ties.

He is earning a low salary and I know he has family commitments. But the promotion will mean that he will need to do client visits and he could not represent our firm in his current attire.

The problem is I have raised this in the past and nothing happened. I don’t know if he didn’t think it was important or he didn’t have the money.

How do I get scruffy dresser to smarten up without being insensitive to his financial situation?

Want to help,
Vic

Dear Want to help,

You do two things. First you explain how important it is to dress smartly. Ask him about his ambition. He will agree he wants to take the next step. Then you tell him a little story about how you did it. And what you did when you were his age was to emulate someone in your company that you looked up to. Describe how you studied the shoes they wore, the ties they wore, the suits they wore and the type of haircut they got. Explain how important it was that your personal appearance matched the brand, products and promise of the company.

Tell him that once you began dressing for the next stage, people perceived that you were prepared for promotion.

Second, talk about the pay rise that comes with the promotion. If you can manage it, earmark a little and tell him that this extra is to help him prepare for the next step.

That’s as sensitive as I get. If that doesn’t work, you are going to have to spell it out: smarten up and here is how.

Good luck!

Your Aunty B

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