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Initially, I had telecommuted because I knew the owners of the company and
they wanted me. I said, "If you allow me to work from home, you've got a
deal".
In my next job, the company had a high degree of turnover in their
development staff, and I was often heard to exclaim, "If we have no
developers, you won't be needed me too much longer." My manager later asked
if there was anything that would convince me to leave. I told her that if I
could find a company that would allow me to telecommute, I'd be gone in a
flash.
I then gave that manager a copy of the Smart Valley Telecommuting Guide,
which does a very good job of explaining the implementation of telecommuting
policies, measurements, etc. I also did a business plan, showing how I'd be
more productive because of the lack of commuting (plus the time we take to
dress up, put makeup on, etc.) and the problems we face with each Canadian
winter (unable to make it to work, taking my life into my own hands, etc.)
There was also electricity to be saved, floor space (for a crowded
department), etc. Plus all the intangible stuff life Life/Work Balance,
Employee Satisfaction, etc.
So, not only did I tell her the benefits of allowing me to telecommute, I
also gave her what she needed as a manager to manage a remote employee,
measurements of success/failure, etc.
Two weeks later, a telecommuting agreement showed up on my desk.
If I still had a copy of the business plan I prepared, I'd send it to you,
but that was over 10 years ago, and I have no idea if Ikept it.
Suzette Leeming
Stouffville, Ontairo
On Mon, May 4, 2009 at 2:15 PM, Latella, Vincent
<VINCENT -dot- LATELLA -at- saic -dot- com>wrote:
> "Agreed. I am lucky enough to telecommute one day a week. No one offered
> it to me. I saw others doing it and I had to make a business case for
> it. Others in my company do it more often, but some of these people say
> they struggle for recognition. I think if a company is begun on the
> principal of the virtual office, telecommuting will be an everyday
> thing. Otherwise, not so much."
>
>
>
> Just out of curiosity, how did you (or any of the other TECHWR-Lers out
> there) go about making "a business case for it?"
>
> I am toying with the idea of moving to two hours from my current place
> of work, and before I *really* start looking, I am preparing to discuss
> it with my manager to see if a partial telecommute schedule is even an
> option.
>
> It's not unprecedented here; one of my colleagues lives four hours away
> and comes into the office three days per week (staying at his in-laws'
> near work two nights), and works at home on Monday and Friday.
>
> While I can easily put together a case explaining how such an
> arrangement wouldn't diminish my productivity, I'd probably have a hard
> time coming up with reasons as to how it would *benefit* the company.
> Nobody telecommutes 100% here, so everyone has an office or a cubicle.
> That said, it's not like they'd be saving on space.
>
> Anyway, I was just curious as to how you brought it up, and what your
> justification entailed.
>
>
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solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
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Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
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