Telecommuting Full Time & Long
Distance: Can
it Be Done?
Occasionally I hear from
individuals who want to keep their current job even though they are
moving away quite a distance from where they work.
This is a tougher application
of the Telecommuting Proposal
Package, yet it has proven to be effective. Below are some examples.
“I
moved from Houston to Abilene, Texas [375 miles away] and still wanted to
work for my employer. They were not willing until I submitted the
[WorkOptions] proposal to the COO of the company.
I will work from 730 AM to 4 PM Monday thru Thursday and off at 1330 on Fridays...I put in the proposal exactly what I wanted and they gave me everything. Thanks.”
Marc E. Amberson
Master Trip Support Specialist
Licensed FAA Aircraft Dispatcher and Aviation Expert
Abilene, TX
Marc told me he'd
worked for his employer for 15 years before he moved. And it sounds to me
as if his job is quite specialized.
These are favorable negotiating
factors, so the proposal's role was to show how the new arrangement would
work. And it did. Here's another example:
Baby boomer Janet wanted to
telework from about 100 miles away from her employer to be closer to her
elderly parents. She works for the federal government which has
telework policies, but she still had to make her case for working
remotely on a full-time basis.
“With
your [Proposal Package ] guidance I prepared a strong document that convinced management to approve my request. Thanks—it
made a tough sale much easier!”
Janet (preferred first-name only)
Management Analyst
Mississippi
Brad's job was in a call
center which was adaptable to remote work.
“I wanted to telecommute full-time in my current job
because I was moving to Atlanta from San Francisco. With the [Proposal Package]
template, it was easy to just plug in the pieces that related to my job. It
also made me really think through what I needed to do to get approval; I was well-prepared with a strategy and ready answers
to my boss's questions and concerns. Bottom-line: my telecommuting proposal
was approved. Thank you.”
Brad Palmer
Atlanta, GA
This request for far-away
telecommuting won over FOUR higher-ups in THREE
layers of management for FIRST-time-ever approval:
[My immediate boss] was impressed...Unfortunately, she
was not the final decision-maker ...Our VP...was very
impressed with [the proposal's] professionalism, detail,
references and quotes...he needed to talk to his boss
(the Senior VP) and the CIO (about feasibility of
technology and security issues...).
Two days later my VP told me that
while he had never
allowed an employee to work from a home office and that
the idea was very progressive, his answer was "Yes!" The
Senior VP and CIO had both approved my proposal.
I am walking on air and still can't believe my dream has
come true! I truly couldn't have made a better
impression without the help of [your Proposal Package. It] gave
me the tools I needed to pursue this alternative work
arrangement with confidence. Thank you...
Shannon Bryant (got approval to telecommute from Maine)
Healthcare Analyst
Chesterfield, MO
One way you
can bolster your case is to do some of your job from
your current home using remote access. Show
your boss now how you can do your job later from a distance
using the remote access software such as GoToMyPC or LogMeIn. Then follow
through with the proposal for long-distance telework.
So if you want to keep doing
your job in a full-time, long-distance telecommuting set-up and you're
moving away anyway, you have little to lose by making the pitch with a
persuasive proposal.
Here's an unvarnished
description of the Telecommuting Proposal Package I found on a forum by a
user who is now teleworking long distance. (New window opens; if the link no
longer works, let me know and I'll give you a free copy
of the Proposal Package.)
Here are
details on the Telecommuting Proposal Package. Of if
you can't wait to get started...
Related article: Telecommuting
Proposal: How Many Days Working from Home Should You Request?
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