The popularity of remote working opportunities has skyrocketed, with work-from-home becoming a key hiring tool and giving companies numerous benefits—such as cost savings, improved productivity, and better morale. But it’s important for organizations to set guidelines and approach any remote worker programs carefully to ensure success. This ebook looks at tips, strategies, and best practices for managing a remote workforce.

From the ebook:

Work-from-home policies and fully remote companies are becoming more of a norm in the tech industry. In fact, IT and development roles are typically in the top 10 career fields for flexible and remote jobs, according to Sara Sutton Fell, founder and CEO of FlexJobs and Remote.co. And employees in computer and mathematical fields work remotely much more frequently than their peers, according to a report from FlexJobs and Global Workplace Analytics.

Flexible schedules and remote work policies topped the list of workplace perks tech employees want the most. “Flexibility is very important to employees,” said Jennifer Deal, senior research scientists at the Center for Creative Leadership and co-author of What Millennials Want From Work. “If they can work remotely at least some of the time, that gives them that flexibility—especially if managers are good and make sure they’re meeting all of the timelines and deliverables.”

Remote work has also been shown to improve worker retention, reduce absenteeism, increase productivity, and improve the health of workers overall, Fell said.

However, “the biggest benefit of allowing tech workers to work remotely is the ability to recruit more talent in different locations, and not limit hiring to just their local geographic areas,” Fell said. “Given how competitive the market is for highly skilled tech workers, companies can broaden their talent pools significantly when they hire remotely.”

The FlexJobs and Global Workplace Analytics survey found that telecommuting at least half time increased 115% over the last 10 years. “Done well, remote work helps companies be more competitive, do great work while reducing expenses, and succeed,” Fell said.

With the new workplace paradigm comes the need to shift management styles to include employees who work from home part time or full time. Here are five tips to more effectively manage remote workers.