Many companies offer workers the option to work from home, and you may already be familiar with the benefits of telecommuting - reduced travel costs, clothing costs, childcare expenses, etc. But what about the cost to the employer? Does telecommuting save you the employer money, and what is the cost of managing a remote team?

According to Gary Grossman, co-author of Beoming a Successful Manager, one way to measure the cost is by evaluating the amount of time you save. One way to save time is by choosing motivated workers. Motivated workers can help you reduce cost and increase the value of the service or product. But for this to happen, managers need to develop the skill of choosing workers who are a good fit and evaluating them based on their skill, level of committment, and their ability to collaborate with other team members. Here are three ways to do this, based on my experience.

1) Create a system that shows how workers have benefited from any training they have received. For example, at my workplace we are administered occasional tests that we must take and pass at 100% each time.

2. Encourage open communication. We have an instant messaging system set up on the desktop where we can access other team members and managers if we are uncertain of something, and we also have weekly meetings.

3. Value the diversity of your team's experiences. We get to bring in and use our past experience when it comes to helping clients online. We are not required to use just what we are taught on the job.

How do you measure your remote team's success? Do you evaluate costs savings and productivity? Do share your thoughts.