Office Depot headquarter employees were allowed to come in “casual” to inspire innovation.
Sun Sentinel reported about the new plans of for the 2,000 strong head office staff of Office Depot. Employees are now allowed to dress casually at work which is a new implementation from the new CEO Gerry Smith.
Talking to Sun Sentinel Michael R. Allison, Office Depot’s chief administrative officer said: “For Gerry, it sent a quick signal that Office Depot was changing. There has been three or four years that it has been about mergers, whether we were going to be acquired, and whether the headquarters was going to stay here. The associates have really been through a lot in that time frame.”
The new dress code also includes store employees who are also now allowed to wear jeans.
Allison continues: “At the headquarters, to the office is a visual symbol of how Smith is trying to change the company (…). To encourage workers to think more innovatively, Smith wanted to switch to “hipper, more modern” dress.”
“We need to think differently from just an office-supply company to more about a business that’s going to meet the needs of its customers,” Alison concludes.
This new dress code could help with the recruitment of millennials “who are looking for an environment that is fun, is innovative where they can show their own style, and where they can make a difference,” according to Alison.