Sell Telecommuting to your Manager

If you’ve decided that the long commute to work is no longer for you but you’re not sure how you’re going to pay your bills without your job, don’t despair. There’s a chance you can keep your job and work from home as well. The solution is telecommuting and it is a choice that many companies are accepting as a way to keep employees, improve business, and support “green living” by helping to cut down on the number of long distance commuters whose cars affect our air quality.

Your first and most important challenge will be to identify whether or not your job can be done from home. Thanks to technology many jobs that involve the handling of sensitive or confidential data can now be conducted safely outside company walls without concern or worry that the data will be compromised. Many firms allow data entry operators, customer service representatives, claims adjudicators and others to handle confidential information about clients from their home computers because the appropriate security measures are part of the information technology system.

If you have a job that you can complete effectively outside of the physical walls of your company office, then you really can consider telecommuting. Your most important challenge will be to explain and “demonstrate” to your employer how you will be able to complete your job while meeting or exceeding current performance expectations.

You’ll want to prepare a proposal that illustrates the advantages of your telecommuting position. I’d suggest you set up a matrix that lists each task associated with your job showing clearly how that task is done now, how it will be done from your home office, and the advantage for the company in having you work from home.

To illustrate what I mean, let’s say you’re a marketing specialist and one of your jobs is to develop sponsorship programs for company events. One of your tasks will be to secure sponsors. You’ll want to indicate how currently you fulfill that task in the office through prospect list development, letters and follow up calls. The tasks you do at home from your home office will likely be the same; however, the advantages from working at home might be the selling point for your boss. You’ll want to highlight on your matrix that the advantage of working at home is that you will not have the office interruptions you currently have. This will translate into more productive work time and ultimately a more successful sponsorship recruitment program.

It will be up to you if you want to quantify your proposal by estimating increases in productivity or business outcomes as part of the “work at home advantages” you want to demonstrate for your employer. I recommend it if at all possible because actual improved measurable outcomes is likely how your manager will have to sell your telecommuting proposal to the owner or upper management in your company.

It’s within your power to achieve your telecommuting dream. Think about what you do at work and how you can improve your outcome by working at home. Communicate that effectively to your boss using a visually appealing matrix and you might be one step closer to your dream.

Sharon McMillan is a former telecommuter and current writer and advocate for the healthy “new urbanist” lifestyle. She’s a suburban mom of two who has developed a career around marketing and promoting healthy productive communities for families and businesses. If you have comments or questions please visit www.newurbanmom.com or contact Sharon directly at sharon@newurbanmom.com .

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