LEASING
ROMMEL ANACAN | the RELATIONSHIP DIFFERENCE
Dress up your dress code
T
here must be something in the DNA
of the residential property management
industry that seems to compel
thousands of people to wear “property
management blue” each and every day. In fact, I
may be wrong about this, but I think there may
be a “Pantone Property Management Blue”
swatch somewhere in the universe that is the
reference color for all in the industry.
I mean, the next time you walk into a community, or attend an industry event, don’t we all
seem to have the same blue-toned shirts or blouses on?
Before I upset you fans of “Property Management Blue,” understand this, this is not an assault
on the color blue. I love blue! As a matter of fact
I have several blue dress shirts, I’m wearing a blue
shirt now as I write this article, and I like them all.
Incidentally, If you’re a company that encourages or allows your associates to wear dress shirts
or blouses other than Property Management Blue
or white, this post is not for you! But feel free to
pass on to your friends in other companies that
only wear blue or white tops.
But if your company dress code is more conservative, with a limited amount of options, I’d
encourage you to consider allowing your associates
the ability to wear other colors! Today’s fashion
environment is very different from a decade ago
and colors that were considered non-professional,
or too informal a few years ago, are now considered
business normal in much of the workplaces of
America. And, as Millennials and Generation X-ers
continue the process of becoming the majority of
people in the workforce today, it is imperative that
your dress standards change with the times.
Looking business professional no longer means
only wearing a black suit, a blue or white shirt or
a red tie.
There is a heightened sense of awareness of
fashion (even among men today) which I think is
great. (I like this era a whole lot better than the
grunge look of the 90’s!) And we know that when
people look good, they feel good~and when your
associates feel good they’ll perform better, they’ll
be perceived by clients and residents better, and the
image and perception of your company and communities will be better too.
I have a combination I wear consisting of a
charcoal grey suit, a pink dress shirt with a cream
tie ah dark brown shoes (If you’ve never worn dark
brown shoes with a charcoal grey suit, you need to
do it!). And every time I wear it, I get lots of
compliments on it. People love fashion and people
love being fashionable.
Don’t force your people to be “white rice plain”
all the time! Allow them to put some “soy sauce
and wasabi in their wardrobes”, spice things up a
bit, add some flavor and let them express themselves
(within reason) and see the positive results that can
follow.
Rommel Anacan has been involved with the residential
property management industry for years. Prior to founding
The Relationship Difference Rommel worked at both the
on-site and corporate levels, where he developed a reputation
for solving common industry challenges in uncommon ways.
Rommel is a frequent blogger at MultifamilyInsiders.com.
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MARCH 2015 • TRENDS | 27