What does a company need to do to ensure success with a remote workforce?

One of my favorite corporate communicators, Shel Holtz, "works at the intersection of communication and technology" and is asking about remote workforces on LinkedIn.

What does a company need to do to ensure success with a remote workforce? I'm working on a blog post in response to a number of posts promoting digital nomads, remote workforces, telecommuting, etc. I agree in general, but worry that none of these posts talk about the work a company needs to do up front to ensure they can succeed. If you work remotely for a company, what have they done well and not so well? If you have experience, expertise, or a background on the topic, what steps do companies need to follow to make sure the model succeeds?

You can view the answers on LinkedIn.