Jane Doe, HR Director
November 5, 2005
Page 1
Memorandum
To:Jane Doe, HR Director
From:Alicia Davis
Date:November 5, 2005
Re:Proposal to Write a Feasibility Report for an Employee Telecommuting Program
The following is a proposal to write a report examining the feasibility of instituting an employee telecommuting program. This proposal contains brief background information on the subject, a description of the proposed report including the benefits of such a report to company executives, an outline of the report, a listing of graphics and tables as well as information sources, details of my qualifications, and both a projected schedule and the anticipated costs of the project.
Background
It is estimated that nearly 45 million Americans or approximately worked from home at least one day per week last year, and an estimated 20% of the U.S. workforce are telecommuters. The practice of telecommuting not only offers benefits to employees and the environment, but also to employers themselves.
Report Description
The proposed report will focus primarily onemployer benefits of telecommuting. It will provide recent statistics and details of telecommuting studies. It will describe the pros and cons of instituting such a program and cite available case studies. The report will also offer best practices from companies who have successfully implemented telecommuting programs for their employee. The report should ultimately offer company executives sufficient information and data to make a decision as to whether or not to continue the process of implementing a telecommuting program.
Report Outline
The following is a tentative outline for the proposed report:
- Introduction
- Telecommuting Data and Statistics
A. Yearly Telecommuting Stats
B. Increasing Numbers of Telecommuters
- Telecommuting Pros and Cons for Employers
A. Pros
1. Increased Productivity
2. Business Continuitiy
3. Facility Cost Savings
4. Reduced Sick Leave
B. Cons
1. Increased Set-up Cost
2. Added Administration Considerations
3. Lack of Employee/Manager Interaction
- Best Practices
A. Case Studies
B. Company Success Stories
- Conclusion
Graphics and Tables
The report will contain various graphics and tables to help illustrate the data and information provided. The following is a tentative listing:
DescriptionGraphic Type
Cisco Telecommuting ROIChart
Employer
AT&T Telecommuting SavingsGraph
Nortel Employee Relocation CostsGraph
Dow Chemical Administrative
Cost Savings Pie Chart
Commuting Hours Comparison to
Productive Work Hours Graphic
Information Sources
The following is a tentative listing of information sources. Addition sources will be added as necessary.
Dinnocenzo, Debra A. 101 Tips for Telecommuters: Successfully Manage Your Work, Team, Technology and Family. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 1999
Langhoff, June. FAQs about Telecommuting. 10 October 2005. June Langhoff’s Telecommuting Resource Center. 5 November 2005 <
Piskurich, George M. An Organizational Guide to Telecommuting. Alexandria: American Society for Training & Development, 1998
Vega, Gina. Managing Teleworkers and Telecommuting Strategies. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2003
Author Unknown. Telework Facts. 4 November 2005. The Telework Coalition. 5 November 2005 <
Author Unknown. What’s So Good About Telecommuting. 2 August 2002. The American Telecommuting Association. 5 November 2005 <
Qualifications
As a technical writer, I have specialized training and experience in researching and synthesizing information related to complex topics. From a company standpoint, I have been an employee for over a year and thus have stock options and a vested interested in ensuring that the company performs at an optimal level financially. From a personal standpoint, I have a worked the technology industry for similar companies for the past five years and have personally experienced both successful and unsuccessful telecommuting programs.
Schedule
The completed report will be delivered to the HR Director and other executives on December 18, 2005. The following are tentative milestones that will be used to manage the project:
Proposal ApprovalNovember 8
Research Topics November 9 – November 30
Write Initial DraftDecember 1 – December 7
Create GraphicsDecember 8 – December 10
Complete Initial DraftDecember 11
Revise Initial DraftDecember 13 – December 17
Deliver Final Report December 18
Projected Cost
I estimated the project to take approximately 200 hours to complete assuming I work exclusively on this project each business day during normal business hours from November 9 – December 18, excluding weekends and holidays. At roughly $20 per hour, the total cost will be approximately $4000. The cost by milestone is broken down as follows:
Research Topics 112 Hours $2240
Write Initial Draft40 Hours $800
Create Graphics16 Hours $320
Revise Initial Draft32 Hours $640
Total: $4000
The cost of printing and binding areexpected to be minimal as most can be done onsite using existing resources thus they are not included in the project cost.
Conclusion
The information contained in the proposed report on telecommuting should provide you and the other executives in the company with sufficient data to decide whether or not to move forward with further investigations into implementing such a program. Additionally, I have developed the report contents according to criteria that businesses typically use to measure success of implementing new policies and programs. If there are additional points that you feel should be addressed, please contact me to discuss. I look forward to sharing my findings with you and helping the company to grow and thrive.