While creating processes that allow employees to work in different timezones is logistically beneficial, on a deeper level, it also makes it easier for diverse global talent to join your team. Check out the Collaboration Superpowers podcast for the latest stories of remote teams doing great things. The next tip I got from Johanna Rothman back in episode number 87, and that is organize your team well.

• Remote working isn’t automatically a freer way to work—it can be just as stressful as any 9-to-5 job.
• A little mindfulness will help everyone maintain normal working hours and be able to properly disconnect when their workdays are over.
• Fewer interruptions leads to more deep work, which can dramatically increase productivity.
• Finally, a successful asynchronous collaboration calls for a set of functional tools to seamlessly tie all autonomous teams and operations together.

Certain etiquette should also be followed in terms of communication while working across time zones. Unless there’s an urgent situation, employees should avoid contacting colleagues when they’re outside of their working hours. While it may be the middle of the day for one worker, it may be midnight for another, and frequently sending work messages at an inconvenient hour can result in burnout and stress.

Leave Room for Synchronous Communication

Read on for 10+ strategies on making your communication inclusive and seamless. When considering candidates from different regions than where the company is based, SMB leaders must review how their taxes, payroll, compliance, recruiting, and benefits may be affected. Hosting an open virtual meeting meant to replicate an office breakroom can also be fruitful.

Encourage employees to block off the times outside of their working hours on their calendars. Establish a process for requesting meetings outside of someone’s regular working hours. Of course they’ll have to happen https://remotemode.net/blog/10-tips-on-working-in-different-time-zones/ from time to time, but it works best if you ask them what day can work best for a late night in advance. It might be helpful to add time zones to personal profiles or contact information for easy reference.

Fun (Not Cheesy) Ice Breaker Games & Activities Your Team Will Enjoy in 2023

When assessing team chat and collaboration apps for your distributed team, look for features that allow flexibility, autonomy, seamless collaboration, and transparent availability status options. Moreover, a lack of communication across teams carries another set of risks. For one, it threatens to disrupt the trust between team members, as there’s not sufficient information and knowledge sharing going around.

As questions arise, figure out a mutually agreeable time to meet and discuss specific issues. Since you will not always be able to collaborate with your teams in real-time, it is ideal that you clarify your expectations from the beginning. At the beginning of the week, sit down with your team and establish the goals for that week. This will make sure every member of the team, including yourself, understand what has and will be done, regardless of the timezone they are in. In the 2021 State of Remote Work report by Buffer over 59%of the people interviewed reported they work with teams who are spread over 2 to 5 timezones.

Best Practices for Working With Teams in Different Time Zones

When you are looking for employees or business partners, it can be tough to find the right person in an industry where ‘who you know’ is just as important as what you know. By hiring remote workers, you’ll never have to worry about geographical limitations again. When it comes to quick communication some tools, like Slack, will even give you a notification before or after you send a message stating which timezone your recipient is in.

Furthermore, it reduces barriers to asking questions, getting help, and taking risks. When you have a colleague in Portugal and another in India, it’s harder to keep track of time. Additionally, team members can find it harder to collaborate in an asynchronous environment, and it can take a while for them to adjust. Moreover, scheduling meetings can be difficult, inconveniencing those who have to attend, especially early in the morning or late in the evening. Cloud-based technology allowed a number of industries to adopt some form of remote work model. Naturally, organizations jumped at the opportunity to select from a global pool of talent which is, essentially, the key factor that led to the formation of teams that span across different time zones.

You’ll need to account for different time zones, work styles, and cultural norms in your management style. This is easy for teams that work with people across two or three time zones that are all next to each other. However, it becomes more complicated when working with a global workforce (people who work on opposite sides of the world). For example, if someone works in Australia while another is located in the United States, it may be difficult to attend a meeting at the same time unless the Aussie gets up pretty early in the morning. To learn more about tools and software that can help global and remote teams, check out this helpful list.