Staying Visible to Your Employer

In 2013, search engine giant Yahoo banned working from home, with CEO Marissa Mayer citing that working side-by-side through face-to-face collaborations was the only way to grow and develop as a company. A memo from the company’s human resources department indicated that telecommuting programs and initiatives would be phased out several months after the announcement and prohibited thereafter. While Ms. Mayer’s reasons for the switch may resonate with some employers, working from home doesn’t have to mean jeopardizing the future of a company – that is, when it’s done right. Both employers and employees need to take a proactive approach in staying visible and maintaining open lines of communication. The following ideas and suggestions can help you to remain maintain an active and visible member of your work team.

Take Visibility Seriously

One of the major concerns that career-minded individuals have with respect to telecommuting is whether or not it will hurt their professional development. After all, when you’re never around the office, you might not be the first person to pop into the boss’s head when it’s time to dole out a promotion. Like the old adage, “out of sight, out of mind.” Other than your work, your employer may not feel that he or she has much to go on. That’s why visibility is key. You may be consistently performing well – but if you’re not visible, it hardly seems to matter to your employer.

Three Factors

Studies have identified three key factors that affect how people progress in the workplace. Naturally, the first is performance. Working from home shouldn’t change your performance. The second, however, is image and how your image relates to how you project yourself within your work culture and how others see you within your work culture. Finally, the third factor is exposure. Exposure relates to who sees you, including both your image and your performance. Are you being exposed to the right people, opportunities, and experiences to move forward?

While performance may pull more weight than the two other factors, there is no question that being seen as a highly effective employee also has to do with the image you project and the opportunities that you are exposed to. As a remote worker, you need to be conscious of these two factors if you are already a consistent performer.

Image and Exposure

What image do you want to project? What exposure would you like to have? Both of these things can further your career, but working remotely can make it difficult to improve or increase them. It’s up to you to make sure that the image you’re projecting to your company is coming across.

Do you attend meetings through teleconferencing regularly? Do you make an effort to drop by the office at times, if possible? Does your boss have a sense of who you as opposed to just what you do? You will need to market yourself, including your unique skills, achievements, and experience. Finally, if you want added exposure, get involved in projects or activities outside of your work. These activities may be related to your company, such as sitting on a health and safety committee or playing for a company team. If it’s not possible for you to do so because of distance, consider getting involved in similar activities in your own community as a way of increasing your exposure to opportunities for development.