During onboarding, make sure your communication policies and collaboration tools are properly defined and communicated. These rules can be reviewed and referred to by employees, so they know what to do and what is expected of them. When working with teams in different time zones, the most important thing to remember is to be mindful, empathic, and courteous. To ensure that all staff are able to be productive and work efficiently, remote team managers need to create expectations around their remote work policies.
Make sure you take careful consideration of everyone’s different availability hours. For instance, if half of your remote team is located in the US and the other half in Europe, you can still have some hours of overlap between the two remote teams. The team that is based in San Francisco could be online from 10 AM to 12 AM, while the team in London is from 6 PM to 8 PM. The San Francisco team could explain their task for the day, and the Londoners can discuss what they did during the mornings. Let’s outline all the key steps companies can take to better manage working across time zones within the asynchronous collaboration framework. Probably one of the most talked-about challenges of working in different time zones is the effort it takes to schedule meetings.
Set some time for new employees
You have to navigate not just the time difference but the difference in language, accent, and even energy levels. The person on the other end of the Teams or Zoom call is having their last call of the day and you are just getting started with the highest possible energy level or vice versa. working remotely in a different time zone When scheduling meetings, tools like SimplyBook.me or Calendly can help you find a time that works for everyone. Remember to also take advantage of video conferencing tools like Zoom or Google Meet for face-to-face communication, which can help build rapport and trust among team members.
- Practice good self care while traveling by listening to your body.
- For example, writing an email, sending a Loom video, or leaving a voice message for someone so they can respond to it whenever works best with their schedule (and yours).
- By taking your mind off the task at hand, you may find that your brain relaxes and restores ☺️, even if momentarily.
- Once you know what time it is in the place you’re working, plan your schedule ahead of time.
- However, having colleagues in all time zones makes it difficult to keep track of the time and create boundaries.
- We’ll email you 1-3 times per week—and never share your information.
Take 5 minutes and jot down 3-5 things that went well this week 🎉. Are things ticking along relatively smoothly or do you feel rushed 🏃🏾♀️ and anxious? Or a couple of days in the woods 🌲, implementing time for a ‘digital detox’ can help https://remotemode.net/ reduce stress and mental functionality. With the digitization of our world, our brain 🧠 needs downtime from all the stimulus to recharge and restore more than ever. And you may find the most peace ✌️ when you’re unplugged and untethered 🔌.
Pros and Cons of Working With Teams In Different Time Zones
Without the need for overtime or late-night shifts, teams can collaborate to fulfill deadlines. Employees in the one-time zone can hand over half-finished projects to peers in another time zone to finish. Working across time zones might be difficult for teams working in the same room or state—however, more people than ever before desire to work these days remotely. Therefore, team members working across borders and time zones may become the norm soon. If you have different offices around the world and staff that need to collaborate across different teams, then companies need to also allow for flexibility, including flexible working hours. For example, an employee may need to be able to work a few hours in their local time zone and then later on in the day work a few additional hours to coincide with international colleagues.
You should also seek feedback from your team, clients, or partners, and appreciate their input and suggestions. You should also share your learnings, best practices, and tips with others, and learn from their insights and experiences. Learning and improving will help you grow, adapt, and excel in working with different time zones. The third step to managing your time is to plan ahead and prioritize your tasks according to their urgency and importance. You should also consider the time zones of the people you need to work with, and allocate enough time for feedback, revisions, or approvals.