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Now’s a Good Time to
Make a Pitch to Your Employer to Allow you
to Telecommute
Dr. Greg Ketchum, 11/05/05
Introduction
The high cost of gasoline may have a hidden
benefit for American workers as many employers
now are more open to the idea of “telecommuting”
as a way to save money and boost efficiency.
Heck, even the President has gotten into the
act by embracing conservation and by urging
employers to cut their energy consumption. Furthermore,
the congestion from the Bay Bridge construction
and the availability of technology that makes
it easy to work from home are additional factors
that create a favorable environment for telecommuting.
If you’ve been thinking about telecommuting
a few days a week to your job now is a great
time to make a pitch. But first, here several
factors to consider as to whether it’s
a good idea for you.
-
Does Your Job Lend
Itself to Telecommuting: Does your
job require your presence in the office full-time?
Make sure that there are components of your
job that you can do remotely.
- Are You a Good Candidate for Working
Remotely: The minimum requirements
to succeed are that you’re a self-starter,
able to work alone, and have great self-discipline.
You’ll likely put more pressure on yourself
working at home than at the office.
- Impact on Your Career: Consider
how not being in the office full-time may impact
your career and your “promotability.”
Ok, so you’ve decided that telecommuting
is a viable option for you, now what? Well,
here are three action steps to get you on your
way to working at home a couple of days a week.
-
Determine
if Your Company Already Has A Telecommuting
Program: Check
with your Human Resources department first.
Make sure there’s no policy against
it.
-
Put
Together Your Pitch: Be sure to focus on the benefits not only
for your company, but specifically on what’s
in it for your boss. The most persuasive points
include money or time-savings and productivity
increases. You’ve got to make the business
case for your request.
-
Prepare
a Written Proposal: A few factors you’ll want to address
include…
-
Start with a trial
period
-
Try it a couple of
days a week
-
Outline the components
of your job that you could do from home
-
Talk about your availability
and accountability requirements
Finally...
Telecommuting is growing every year as more
employers discover the benefits. After all,
most employers now are more interested in the
results that you can deliver than in policing
the amount of time that it took you to deliver
them.
For more information and a list of references
including a sample telecommuting proposal and
guidelines on how to work up a cost-benefit
analysis for your boss go to talentplanet.com
and click on Dr. Greg. Have a great morning.
REFERENCES
®2005 All rights reserved. Gregory
A. Ketchum, Ph.D.
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