In a 2015 Gallup poll, 37 percent of U.S. workers said they have telecommuted, up slightly from 30 percent in the past decade but four times greater than the nine percent found in 1995. Telecommuting is no longer a cutting-edge trend; it's a way of life. It saves money, time and provides the convenience needed for today's busy lifestyles. However, managing a team of employees who work in various locations from home offices can be challenging.

Yesterday, Promotional Consultant Today shared four key tips for successfully managing remote workers. Today we share three more from author Jason Evanish, founder of Lighthouse, an app to help managers motivate and retain team members.

1. Balance schedule inconvenience. Evanish points out that once you start adding remote employees, it won't be long before you have people across many time zones. That can make meeting schedules a real challenge. Often times, you will get one person that always wants to call in very early or very late, during traditional off-work times.

You show a lot of solidarity if, every once in a while, team members in your main time zones accommodate your outlier. It will help your other team members to recognize the sacrifice their teammate is regularly making and help them empathize more with the distant, remote person.

2. Build a culture of adding people on Skype. It's easy to have discussions without the remote teammate and then think, after the fact, "We should've included Bob." Evanish suggests, as a leader, set an example and pull in the remote employee.

Tools like Skype for video conferencing make it easy to grab remote employees for a quick conversation or ad hoc meeting. When situations like that arise, you should go out of your way to get the remote person into the meeting. If you would have interrupted someone in the office, then it's worth bringing them in, or waiting until they're available.

3. Build a sense of team with promotional products. Evanish sends branded items to his entire team and their families. T-shirts, pens and notepads go a long way to building excitement and a sense of belonging to the company. Remote employees will feel more connected to the team and less forgotten by the main office. As Evanish says, "In my experience, the moment remote coworkers get their swag is a big deal; getting to work for a company that is exciting, cutting edge and has cool swag is part of what likely convinced them to join your company instead of something locally."

Bonus points if you send the right size shirts for their husbands, wives and kids, too. There's a good chance the family will wear them and next thing you know your products are on their Facebook and Instagram showing off your awesome company.

4. Don't forget about your employees' career paths. Remember that remote employees also have goals and aspirations. Make sure you work with them on setting goals and achieving those goals. Avoid frustration and confusion by ensuring they make progress on their goals for growth and understand the career paths available by being remote.

5. Get together face to face at least once a year. Make an effort to get the entire team together for face-to-face planning at least once a year. This will help to build camaraderie and allow teammates who've never met each other in person to build personal connections. The energy from these gatherings is always high and provides a unique opportunity to have larger discussions around vision and goals for the coming year.

Source: Jason Evanish is the founder of Lighthouse, an app to help you motivate and retain your team by making it easier to follow best practices and to build the habits of a great manager.