How to Get Started Telecommuting

Some say distance is dead. Others disagree. While it’s true that a phone call, email or videoconference can never substitute for a face-to-face meeting, certain job responsibilities can easily be done at home, such as writing, crunching numbers or communicating with people outside the company. Your commute isn’t a part of doing your job, and eliminating it can free up hours each day. But telecommuting requires a specific management style based on product rather than process, and some employers will need to adjust to that in order to offer a telecommuting program. Typically, employees who have proven themselves are more likely to get to work at home.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Check if your employer has a telecommuting policy in place. You may want to do this casually (or quietly) to give yourself time to prepare your arguments before formally asking to work at home. Start with the Human Resources Department.
2. Read your Employee Manual carefully to see if there isn’t a telecommuting policy in place. Does it expressly forbid working from home? If so, find out why and see if you can address that. Also, check for other policies relating to flexible schedules. They may indicate your employer's willingness to consider telecommuting as well.
3. Check the company Mission Statement to see if working from home is in keeping with its spirit.
4. Find out if your competitors or other companies like yours in your region have a telecommuting program.
5. Consider whether telecommuting will hurt your chances of being promoted. Make sure you are comfortable with your priorities, whether they are getting ahead or working from home.
6. Evaluate your home office and available equipment. Do you have what you’ll need to do your job there? Itemize what you’ll need (computer, fax, high-speed Internet connection, phone, and so on).
7. Research telecommuting. The more you know the better your argument is going to be.
8. Consider if you have the self-discipline to work from home. Your boss needs to perceive you as being able to work independently and you actually need to be able to do it--two not necessarily related matters.
9. Consider if your job functions are adaptable to working at home. For example, writing is easier in the quiet comfort of home, whereas managing a team project isn’t. List what you can do from home and what you can’t--when you begin telecommuting, you’ll need to be very organized around these tasks.
10. Identify your unique selling points. Will you be more productive with the quiet time at home? Figure out how your employer will benefit from this arrangement.
11. Approach your boss with a concrete proposal (see below). Don’t bring up the issue until you’ve got your facts straight.
12. Work with your superiors to devise a system through which they feel comfortable supervising you remotely.
13. Get your arrangement in writing. You’ll need this for your taxes and in case there are any disputes with your employer.

Your Proposal

14. Present your proposal both orally and in writing. An oral presentation will prepare your boss for reading your “official” written proposal.
15. Emphasize how your employer will benefit from this arrangement.
16. Highlight your value to the company. If they don’t want to lose you, they’re more likely to let you have what you want.
17. Include when you would like to telecommute, which specific days per week or month.
18. Stress that you will be available by phone and email when you are working from home in case of last-minute priority changes that might bring you into the office or change what you’re working on. Instant messaging is a good tool for remote working of any kind.
19. Suggest how your employer might evaluate your productivity remotely. Their most likely objection is that they won’t be able to tell that you’re working (even if they don’t say this). Ultimately, they’ll need to decide on the evaluation criteria, but if you have some suggestions it might make them more comfortable with the idea of you working at home.
20. Describe your workspace at home. If you have a home-office already in place, tell them that. Explain what equipment you have (and need) and how it will help you do your job well.
21. Describe your personal reasons for wanting to work at home, whether it’s a family matter or to reduce your travel time, but remember that this a secondary concern to your employer after their needs are addressed.
22. Suggest a trial period. Most employers will feel more comfortable with a temporary commitment to this kind of arrangement.
23. Use your research. Employ a cost-benefit analysis if you think it will help. Cite how it works at other companies.
24. Be prepared for objections, and have (or get) the information to address them.
25. Don’t give up. If your proposal is shot down, keep collecting information and improving your argument.

Tips & Warnings

• Job responsibilities and objectives must be clearly defined for telecommuting to be effective.
• Most jobs don’t start with a telecommuting option. First, you have to prove you’re a reliable worker. Then ask for this additional flexibility.
• Most telecommuters don’t work at home full time. Instead, they do so one day a week or a few days per month depending on the nature of their job.
• Telecommuting is not a substitute for daycare. If you have children, parents or a partner who is home during the day, make sure you can still get your work done. Even if your boss is okay with reduced productivity due to distractions at home in the short-run, you’ll damage your reputation among other workers, your chance of promotion, and the reputation of telecommuting in general.
• Experience indicates that employees who telecommute are often less likely to be promoted.
• Your employers may have higher expectations for you, as a telecommuting employee, than employees who they can observe working (at the office).
• Your home equipment might be frustrating after you’ve been used to the equipment, and support of that equipment, provided at the office.
• If you thrive on social interaction, you might find telecommuting too isolating.
• Office functions like corporate culture, loyalty, communication, access to people and managerial control can’t be replaced by the virtual office.
• While overhead decreases with telework, the cost of technology (a portion of overhead) will increase. Demands for technical support are higher, and most workers need better equipment to do their jobs.

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