Be Ready To Back Up Work Proposal

When Kris McKnight proposed a new working arrangement to her boss, she handed over 16 pages of supporting documentation.

“What I wanted to do was make sure my company wasn’t uneasy,” she said.

As executive director, Southwest region executive director for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, McKnight successfully argued she could be more effective as a “road warrior” working out of her Oklahoma City home with a laptop computer rather than at a regional office.

“Because it was new, I wanted to make sure I covered all the red flags my boss and personnel would raise,” she said.

Her concern wasn’t unique. Even as more companies tout flexible work options, individual workers remain fearful of raising the issue. A recent survey by Dallas telecommuting consultant Dr. Joanne Pratt, for instance, found that 61 percent of workers who wanted to telecommute hadn’t raised the subject with their bosses.

“The wannabes sort of lie low, until they see that their managers really support it,” Pratt said. “My sense is they’re very wary of exposing themselves.”

There’s virtually no risk in making a proposal, especially if it’s couched in business terms, said Pratt and others. Sure, supervisors can always say no, and some will.

Ellen Bravo, executive director of 9to5 National Association of Working Women, remembers a caller whose boss objected to time off for her husband’s biopsy. “It was his biopsy, not hers, the boss told her.”

Still, the trend is toward allowing valued workers more flexibility in hours and location of work, a process made easier by computers, faxes and cellular phones. And it’s likely to accelerate in a tight labor market.

Companies such as Texas Instruments Inc. and Nortel are taking pains to send the message that it’s OK to explore flexible work options. Nortel even trains employees in the nuances of telecommuting, said Jack Deere, who works from home as assistant vice president for diversity and work life.

Texas Instruments is revamping policies and training, said Betty Purkey, work/life coordinator. “We’re going to be much more formal in communicating that anyone can ask,” Purkey said.

As with any other type of business proposal, there’s a science to all of this, say those who’ve done it. Here are some of their tips:

Think it through. “You have to figure out ‘What’s my goal here? Is it fewer hours, or maybe just different hours?’ You should also ask yourself, ‘What can I afford; what are the opportunities and risks?”’ said Bravo of 9to5.

Put it in writing. In consultation with Pratt, McKnight used her 16 pages of prose to demonstrate the cost savings of a mobile office and describe a typical day. She included maps to show she could travel more effectively around her five states from Oklahoma City.

Explain the business case. McKnight proposed the mobile office in 1996, after she married and moved from Dallas to Oklahoma, where her husband is president of the state chamber. But she didn’t emphasize her personal agenda in the proposal. “The key thing to outline is why this arrangement is a good business decision for your company,” McKnight said.

Seek out precedents. It helps if they’re in your own firm, said Lisa Wood and Nancy Young, account executives at Exhibitgroup/Giltspur, a Chicago-based builder of trade show, retail and museum exhibits with offices in Grapevine, Texas. Two years ago, estimator Lisa Riales negotiated the first telecommuting arrangement in the local office.

Measure results. That’s pretty straightforward for Wood, who works on commission. For McKnight, it’s important to build relationships with members. So she documents phone contacts.

Stay flexible. Riales of Exhibitgroup was working from home several days a week when the company merged with Giltspur. Her manager asked her to come back to the office full time for the transition, and she obliged. “If they need me for an extra day, I come in,” Riales said. “It’s all worked out pretty well so far.”