In today’s world, working with teams in different time zones has become common, especially with the outbreak of Covid-19. The situation has changed, and companies are now looking to hire people from different parts of the world, manage them online, and get the work done. This has also made it mandatory to manage the employees working in different time zones. So it is of utmost importance to get the team working across time zones.
Here are the 11 Tips for Managing Teams in Different Time Zones
Make Proper Communication
Communication is one of the most important aspects of working with remote employees. The manager needs to make sure that everyone is properly informed about the meetings and no one is burdened with odd hours. The manager needs to clearly communicate with the employees about the working time for each and the meeting times.
Recommended Read: Asynchronous Communication for Remote Work: Does it Really Matter?
Get Precise with Deadlines and Dates
When working remotely and managing employees from different time zones, make sure that the deadlines are given and communicated properly to each employee at different time zone. They need to be aware of the dates and timeline to finish tasks and update them, so you can also provide them with special timeline software that can help them in performing better. Therefore, time zone management is of utmost importance.
Be Aware of the Other Team Members Working Hours
When you communicate with other team members, you need to make sure that you are not disturbing them during their working hours. For this, you need to know the working hours of other team members. Try to communicate with team members when they are free or when it is convenient. Challenges of working in different time zones can be eased in this way. When you’re unable to locate the emails of your remote co-workers, you can use a LinkedIn email finder to find them within your network on LinkedIn — an easy way to contact them without being too direct.
Try Out Split Shifts and Working Days
When working remotely with people at different times zones, take a chance to ask your manager whether you can work for a half-day and then work the early morning the next day to associate with the other employees in different time zones. For a team to work well, there needs to be communication among all the team members.
Make Use of Virtual Tools and Techniques
When collaborating with remote employees, make use of the virtual tools in the most effective manner so that you succeed. Many tools online will help the employees collaborate and be productive, such as Slack, Zoom, Trello, Hubspot, MS Teams, etc.
Recommended Read: Top 101 Remote Work Tools For Happy And Productive Remote Teams [2022 Updated]
Send Less Important Emails When Team Members are Active
It is always advisable to send less important emails to the teammates at their available time. This means you are communicating properly, and there is proper rapport with everyone. The most important ones can be sent at any time regarding other team members’ availability.
Be Patient When Sending Unscheduled Messages
If you are sending unscheduled messages, be careful to send them at a time when the other team members are ready. We need to replace the other team members and always try to send unscheduled messages conveniently to the recipient. This can make the understanding between the team members great.
Schedule Meetings at a Time that is Convenient for Everyone
In an organization, there will be meetings for various purposes. When conducting the meeting, it has to be at a time that is convenient for everyone. Utilizing a reliable meeting scheduling tool can help ensure that the meeting time accommodates everyone, even if they are in different time zones. So be clear about how you should schedule a meeting with someone in another time zone.
Be Flexible when You Need
Occasionally, there will be times when you need to get into a call without prior scheduling, which cannot be avoided. But, conversely, there will be circumstances when things are urgent, and there is no time to schedule calls. Be sure to get into a meeting and start conversing at these times.
Understand the Limitations
When working remotely as a team, you need to remember that everything will not be perfect. This does not mean that you are losing. No, it simply means that you will have to be more flexible in your work style than the office setup. Once you get used to working remotely, things get better and better. Leading global teams is a challenge.
Enjoy the Experience
Working remotely as a team is enjoyable and is an enriching experience. One will get to know about many things, especially about the tools and techniques to use, and the excitement is huge. So make good use of the experience and get the most out of yourself. However, managing a global team and living and working in different time zones is not easy.
Conclusion
The article has explained how to overcome time zone differences. Working remotely is a great experience, and it has a lot of advantages. Although this is the case, there need to be certain things that need to be learned by the team members to make it a fruitful experience and to cherish it. The better organized and committed you are, the better will be the results.
