Please help me not have to dust off my resume!

bristolcat — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 06:21:38 -0800

How do I convince my boss to let me telecommute? I am moving halfway across the country (USA) in a little over a month. I would be leaving behind a job that I dearly love. I already approached my boss about possibly telecommuting in every day and he was very open about it--but he wants me to prove to him that it will work.

We are a small company with a similarly small budget. I work on a small art team and we do both production work for screen printing as well as creative work for marketing.

My questions are:

-What technical solutions can I bring to the table? I need to be able to access their network as if I was sitting there, and PC Anywhere is too slow. My fiance suggested a dedicated VPN line, but did not elaborate. I'm also looking into a Skype phone and a fax-to-email program. Any suggestions?

-What workflow solutions can I bring up? We have paper orders that float through the plant as part of the workflow. How can I make it easy to integrate myself into that process?

-What is reasonable to expect from an employer? I want to minimize the cost as much as possible for them, as I feel that otherwise, I won't be considered. Should I be able to take the computer I use now with me or be forced to buy my own? Can I expect my salary to stay the same? Benefits?

-What benefits of telecommuting (from a remote office, not home) can I put in my proposal? These would be benefits for the company, not me.

-What potential problems will there be?

I know that a lot of these questions are going to vary from company to company but if you have any insights, I would be most glad to hear them. I tried to Google, but it seems like most of the resources out there are from 2004 or earlier and I'd like something a little more up-to-date.

Thanks much!!!

Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with remoteoffice

Please help me not have to dust off my resume!