We use instant messaging a lot to keep in contact. Better than trying to get someone on the phone, you can pop up a message that they'll see when they come back from filling their coffee cup. If there's a lot to say we just type "call me."

>>If any of you that do telecommute to some degree could give me your insights as to what the policies are for the company you work for, I would really appreciate it!<
>
>I'm an independent developer, but several of my clients allow developers to telecommute. At least one of them allowed such arrangements after seeing how I was able to produce more work than the "in-office" developers. One client has a rotating schedule, where one developer is always on-site to field calls from users. There are 5 developers in addition to myself, so they go in once a week, then the other 4 days are spent working from home. Our source is maintained in VSS and a Citrix link to the server is available. Office and home phone numbers were distributed and a cell phone was given to the project leader.