PASADENA, Calif. -
In fact, Wescom Credit Union has already spent $300,000 in Visa gift cards to help its employees upgrade their professional wardrobes.
Wescom CU SVP for Planning and Development Joe Schaeffer said the credit union has a long-standing policy of wearing proper business attire that even extends to "casual Fridays," with no jeans, sneakers, athletic wear, shorts or halter tops permitted.
"This is L.A. where sometimes looks are everything," he said. And despite the "anything goes" mentality that seems to rule in Hollywood, that doesn't represent all of L.A. "It's a conservative environment in the first place. Capri pants aren't all right. It is in Hollywood on a Friday night. But it's not at Wescom on a Wednesday."
Schaeffer said the credit union was looking for ways to reinforce employee professionalism and was tipped off by internal employee surveys mentioning business attire.
Wescom considered ideas such as a no-interest loan, but selected CEO Darren Williams' idea of using a Visa gift card.
Schaeffer said Wescom decided to simply "bite the bullet" and give all full-time employees, plus managers, the $300 card last February.
"Obviously there's been a huge appreciation of that, especially with the younger generation," Schaeffer observed. "We have quite a lot of visitors. They all comment on how they look. They have a professional demeanor."
Schaeffer said new hires are told early in their orientation that they are expected to dress with high standards in mind and can look around the branches and see for themselves.
Employees are given two Wescom collared shirts combined with slacks such as khakis that make up "Wescom attire day."
The $300 allowance can also be used to maintain existing clothing with proper dry cleaning or repair work on footware.
As the credit union has $3.8 billion in assets and more than 300,000 members, Schaeffer said there are no plans to track who is buying what type of clothing as long as it's up to snuff.
"It's difficult to monitor. We're not going to look at 1,000 employees, we can see the affects with our own eyes," he said. "We don't get any negative comments. Their appearance reassures members of a well-run operation."
Schaeffer said the $300 per year stipend is here to stay and will be paid in two $150 installments in February and August each year.
The clothing gift card program is also part of Wescom's employee benefit program that has resulted in the credit union being named among the top 50 Best Small and Medium Companies to Work for in America by the Society for Human Resources Management for 2006.
Schaeffer said the combination of quality dress codes, solid benefits and happy employees all combine to better serve the member.
"People like working here," Schaeffer summed it up.
