How Can Shift Management Help Distributed Teams?

Distributed teams are growing in popularity. The rapid pace of technological change and new business models that shift traditional ways of doing business is forcing large and established organizations to reevaluate how they serve their customers. It’s also dramatically reshaping the way people work, gaining importance by the day, if not by the hour.

One of these important changes has been how technology is helping organizations establish distributed workforces.

You need to rely on tools like shift management software and collaboration platforms. But how do these tools help distributed teams? And why should you use them instead of other methods like email or video calls?

In this blog post, we’ll explore the benefits of using a shift management tool for your team and why they’re such an important part of any successful distributed company.

What are Distributed Teams?

Distributed teams are groups of people who work together but don’t share a physical location. They can be in different countries and time zones, or they may be miles apart, working in different buildings or even different buildings. A distributed team’s members might live in various cities, states, and even countries.

Distributed Teams are Growing in Popularity

In the past decade, distributed teams have become increasingly common. Technology has made it easier than ever to share information with each other and collaborate remotely, so companies are beginning to take advantage of this technology to benefit their businesses.

Distributed teams can be more efficient than traditional offices because they allow employees to work according to their own schedules. For example, if you need an extra hour or two in the evening after your kids go to bed, you can use that time for work instead of being forced into a 9-to-5 schedule at a traditional office.

Distributed teams also tend to be more cost-effective than a traditional office setup: CEO compensation tends not to fall as much when there are multiple locations; taxes may even go down since some tax jurisdictions charge less for business income earned outside their borders (though this varies by state), and there’s no need for extensive real estate investments —you can just rent an inexpensive apartment anywhere and turn it into an office space!

Companies that Have Distributed Teams

The best companies are the ones that foster an environment where employees feel comfortable working in a way that works best for them. That can mean different things to different people, but it always comes down to one thing: making sure your employees are happy and productive.

Distributed teams are popping up everywhere because they allow companies to be flexible and creative, giving them access to top talent from all over the world. But what does that actually look like? How do you go about building a successful distributed workforce?

One example is GitLab, which has been a fast-growing company for 8 years running. GitLab is one of the world’s largest all-remote companies with over 1,500 team members located in more than 65 countries around the world.

Another example is Buffer. Remote work has been the norm at Buffer for many years now; they ditched their office in 2015 and have been hiring remote teammates since 2011. Buffer now has over 85 teammates spread across 10 different time zones.

What are the Challenges of Distributed Teams?

The challenges of distributed teams include:

No Physical Bonding

First, the obvious: there’s no physical proximity. So if you need to get together for a meeting, it’s tough. You have to make sure everyone’s schedules align and you have access to a video conferencing service that works well for your team (and for your budget).

Even then, it’s not like you can just walk over and say hi in person—you need to set aside time from your day to do this, which is hard when remote work is already taking up so much of your time.

Fewer Informal Conversations

Then there are all the little things that don’t exist on a typical team: water cooler conversations don’t happen as often; you may not be able to go grab lunch with someone; there isn’t always someone around who can answer questions quickly, and sometimes it can feel like there aren’t enough people around who “get” what you’re doing.

The Difference in Time Zones

There is a time zone disparity to consider. If you have employees working remotely in different time zones than your main office staff, it can be difficult to manage everyone’s schedules and set up meetings that work for everyone.

Your remote employees might also feel like their input doesn’t matter as much because they’re not physically present at headquarters or at meetings where big decisions are being made.

Collaboration Issues

There’s the issue of collaboration—how do you get people who don’t know each other well enough yet collaborate effectively?

Can be Hard

it can be hard to figure out how to stay in touch. When you’re working with a distributed team, it’s important to find ways to connect people from different locations and make sure everyone is on the same page.

That means setting up regular meetings, using tools like Slack or Google Hangouts to communicate quickly and efficiently, and making sure that everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing.

What is a Shift Management Software?

Considering all the challenges that are associated with distributed teams, there’s a single and most efficient solution — investing in shift management software. Shift management software is a tool designed to help you manage your employees’ shifts. It allows you to set up shift schedules, change schedules on the fly, and keep track of employee attendance. You can even use it to assign tasks to employees who are working their shifts.

The software also allows you to create reports showing how many hours each employee has worked in a given period, allowing you to keep track of labor costs and maximize profit margins.

Benefits of Using a Shift Management Software

Transparency

Shift management software can help to ensure that everyone is on the same page. If you’re working in a remote-only environment, it’s important to have transparency into what tasks are being completed by whom and when.

Communication

Shift management software allows for real-time messaging so you can quickly communicate with coworkers without having to find them in person or over the phone. This helps create an atmosphere of collaboration as well as camaraderie between your employees—especially if they’re spread out geographically!

Time Management

As an employer or manager, you’ll appreciate how easy it is to keep track of employee schedules with shift management software. You can easily create shifts, assign them to people in your department, accept/decline requests from employees who need time off (or want extra hours), monitor attendance, and even set up alerts for when certain events occur (e.g., someone has clocked out).

Flexibility with Self Assigning

It gives employees more flexibility in how they do their jobs because they can access their shifts from anywhere—which means that if an employee has an emergency come up at home or with a family member (or even if they just want to change their shift), then they don’t need permission from their manager!

Helps You Do Your Job Better

When everyone has access to a clear shift management tool, you can focus on what you do best—your job! You can spend less time worrying about when and who will be in charge of a particular task. Shift management is about helping your team complete projects quickly and efficiently by taking care of all the little details that come with working in an office.

Makes it Easy to Track Who’s Available

Shift management tools make it easy to track who’s working on what project and when they’re available. Shift schedules are clearly defined, and project and task details are also clearly defined. When a shift is assigned to a team member, you can see their availability for that time without contacting them directly or sending an email with your questions.

This makes it much simpler to communicate with your remote employees because the information is right there in front of you whenever you need it.

Shift Management Tools help Everyone Stay in a Loop

Shifts can be scheduled in advance, so there’s no need to worry about having enough staff on hand during busy periods or last-minute changes.

Managers have access to an easy-to-read schedule, which makes it easier for them to coordinate and communicate with other team members; and since shifts can be seen by multiple people within the organization at once (e.g., both managers and employees), it’s easy for everyone involved in the scheduling process to stay in sync with each other.

A Good Shift Management tool Makes the System Clear

A good shift management tool will be easy to use and accessible from anywhere in the world, no matter what device your team members are using or how many of them there are.

It should also be able to handle any number of shifts at once so that you don’t have to worry about running out of room while trying to juggle multiple projects at once.