Rather than fight morning traffic or spend 30 minutes every morning getting ready to leave for work, more and more employees seek options for working remotely from home. While this sounds appealing at first, you have to establish good working relationships with your boss and co-workers as you develop a telecommuting routine. Discover these six tips to work better from home as you gain your supervisor's trust.
1. Agree on Your Goals
Before you embark on working remotely, you and your supervisor should agree on your goals and objectives. That way, there are no questions about what you must accomplish and in what time frame. Set goals a few quarters in advance so you can budget your time wisely every day, meet long-range objectives and complete projects on time.
2. Check in Regularly
Consider weekly check-ins with your boss to keep him abreast of your progress. Several videoconferencing and phone conferencing tools let you speak to your boss while recording the conversation to refer back to the call at a later time. Use a communication method that your boss prefers to make your supervisor more comfortable with your telecommuting from home. Communication tools also keep you in touch with your team.
3. Ask Questions
Ask your manager what he prefers in the way of technology to use while working remotely. Your company may let you have a laptop and company smartphone while working at home so you can keep up with company software. Your boss may prefer to talk to you over the phone or on camera, and he may prefer monthly check-ins rather than weekly ones. Asking questions gets all of the details taken care of sooner rather than later, so you can start good working relationships at the beginning of your telecommuting journey.
4. Track Your Progress
Use software to track your progress on various projects. This can be spreadsheets, CRM tools, proprietary computer software used by your company, or a simple calendar tool that alerts you when you should accomplish certain tasks. Share these tools with your supervisor through the cloud or by email so both of you know what's going on and what you need to finish by certain times.
5. Understand Success
Your boss should lay out what it means to be successful while working remotely. This is why regular communication is vital to achieving your goals. This also prevents any surprises during reviews and when you receive feedback from your supervisor. If you surpass your goals, you and your supervisor can re-evaluate telecommuting moving forward.
6. Prioritize Well
Your boss tells you what to prioritize, because those priorities may change. Try not to stress out when something comes up and gets in the way of your goals, because it's more helpful to be a team player at some points rather than sticking to your pre-arranged plan for working remotely. Learn to adapt and get ahead in the game so when things change, you aren't scrambling to play catch-up later on.
Working remotely saves you commute time and gas money while saving your employer wasted productivity because telecommuters get more done, statistically speaking. However, this arrangement must work well for all parties involved. Use these six steps to alleviate some worries that your boss may have about your desire to work from home.
Photo courtesy of Mike McCune at Flickr.com
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