Yet, the intricate dance of time zones and diverse cultural nuances can pose distinct hurdles for even the most experienced team leaders. The name “instant” suggest live synchronous communication, but asynchronous communication is still a big part of using instant messaging tools like Slack, MS Teams, and Flock. One-off videos and screen captures shouldn’t be the only place that teammates can turn for information and context in real time. Building an internal wiki that documents best practices and processes is critical, and there are a world of tools out there to help including Notion, Confluence, and even Google Drive. Even if they reside in a different area, employees want to feel connected to their employer.

With different time zones dictating scheduling, it can be difficult to remember exactly when your meetings or events are being held. Help participants prepare for and attend scheduled activities by sending reminders. These can even be automated messages with customized documents like agendas, expectations, and intake forms. If your team is stretched across different time zones, they may have some great ideas about scheduling meetings or gatherings in the future. Use a feedback form to collect ideas, suggestions, and positive feedback to guide your future plans. Remember that if you’re using a team meeting or staff meeting template, you may need to manually include a section for feedback in your agenda.

How do you communicate and coordinate with other teams across different time zones and platforms?

I try to work 40 hours within seven days, but some weeks I don’t. The luxury of being my own #girlboss is that I don’t have to hold to traditional hours. If you’re not yet aware of this, writers like to procrastinate. I had to learn with these clients that the due date they requested was the day before in my time zone. With a major time difference, you may have to submit work early or structure your day differently to get work in on time.

Everyone should be invited to voluntarily join the meeting room at a time that works for them. This sort of impromptu, off-the-cuff discussion can resemble “watercooler chat” and enables colleagues to brainstorm various topics and connect on a more personal level. Managers of dispersed teams should make a conscious effort to check in regularly and connect with individual team members as well as the group as a whole. These meetings not only improve the relationships between specific colleagues, but also contribute to maintaining team cohesion.

Best Practices For Managing Teams Across Time Zones

Alternatively, try giving colleagues three days per week on their home time zone’s schedule and two per week on another team’s schedule. This may work better for colleagues who want a more regular schedule to fit in with family commitments. Tackling these pain points is essential for the success of any cross-cultural remote team. By understanding and addressing these challenges, you can create a more inclusive, supportive, and efficient working environment for team members, regardless of their location or cultural background.

Time zones are geographical locations where people experience similar daylight hours at any given time throughout the year. Managing different time zones, language barriers, and cultural differences can be frustrating. As someone who’s managed marketing initiatives at companies with remote employees and offices around the world, I’ve seen what successful and unsuccessful international collaboration looks like first hand. Now my 10th and last tip for today is even when we’re working with global teams, don’t forget to meet face-to-face every once in a while.

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For instance, I work with Gretchen every single day and I start the work with her at 6 p.m. These are the kinds of things that it’s just good to keep in mind with your teammates. It’s impossible to overstate how crucial Slack—a team chat app that makes it easy to search through all of your team’s messages—is to remote teams. It’s the one app that comes up in nearly every discussion of how to make remote teams work. Even reporters from The New York Times have found that Slack helps them stay connected to their newsroom while away on assignments. Teams in traditional office settings sometimes measure productivity by how long each team member spends at their desk.

Here’s a sneak peek, but keep reading for tips on how to make the most of the pros and overcome the cons that crop up when the world is your office. We each get so much done in whatever places makes us happiest to work. We use a variety of tools at Buffer, many of which we’ve blogged about before.

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Time zone calculators are tools specifically designed to help people schedule meetings across time zones. These online calculators compare multiple time zones and highlight the best overlapping meeting times. Plus, many of these calculators can be integrated into calendars or other programs to help you stay on top of your time zone scheduling.

In fact, by 2022, Gartner predicts that 75% of businesses with diverse frontline decision-makers will exceed their financial targets. We’ll email you 1-3 times per week—and never share your information. Write what you’ve done that day, share where you’re hung up on a project, and ping others with ideas. Developers, perhaps, have it the https://remotemode.net/blog/10-tips-on-working-in-different-time-zones/ easiest with code comments and pull requests, but everyone should share what’s happening in their own “manager of one” domain. The ability to see what others are saying not only gives you insight to how others are working—something you might glean by working together—but it also enables the more fun aspects of working in a team.