Many people in our company have requested a policy that allows them to bring their dog to work. What guidelines should we follow in creating and presenting a policy to our human resources and executive leadership teams?
Hopefully, someone with experience doing so, will contribute their answer.
I'd suggest you try to present it from a business value standpoint, meaning what the organization will gain by doing so (more access to highly qualified talent, engagement inc. productivity/attendance and longer retention of the talent (which results in lowered costs of recruiting, on-boarding, retraining and reduces intellectual capital loss). Also, potential decreased health care costs due to reduced stress in workplace. Basically, this should be a presented as benefit with significant value.
It will strengthen your proposal to have some figures supporting these financial wins for the company and also present what will be done to satisfy the concerns of those who may not share the same mindset (such as what can be done to alleviate environment for those with asthma or allergies with separate areas and consideration to the maintenance required). If there are non-dog owners, who you can make your allies to support this, especially anyone in HR or management, that will reduce barriers towards implementation.
Here are a couple links that might help as you brainstorm this further: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtool... http://www.slideshare.net/TowersWatso...
I'd review this list of Tips on Creating a Dog-Friendly Workplace from Bark, discuss reasons why dog-friendly companies are "good for business" which is what matters most to the higher-ups and a checklist of items to cover.
There's also a huge list of dog-friendly companies ranging from small mom and pops, mid-size, to large corporations that might help inspire you!
My dog is an ESA and I work in an office. so it is no big deal. Although I only bring him on Fridays. Most people found that he is a welcome part of out team.
First and foremost, I would find out if it's even a possibility. If your company is such that having any animals in the building can't happen due to allergies, liability, etc, then it would be better use of your time to figure on activities OUTSIDE of the work place that those wanting to socialize with their dogs can participate. If you work for a company that has no such restrictions, I would be doing some research to find out if anyone else in the company, at any point in time, has tried to do this and the results of that effort.