[wglb]

I once ran a project with four contractors working remotely. My previous management experience was not remote, and I generally chatted with each person each day. So part of the setup was that I spoke by phone with each person each day just to keep the channel open both ways. I also required an email report from each person each day. Finally, we held a weekly meeting in person, which worked because we were geographically close.

The other thing I insisted on when assembling a team was that they had a room in their house that they called their office and that it had a door.

Not everyone can handle telecommuting, and sometimes the bandwidth of detail/culture/chatter is not enough to sustain the good productive relationship.

You should strongly consider Campfire. This will support communication necessary for remote working. Make the presence in the campfire room required.