Remote teams working across time zones have clear advantages—increased client support availability, capacity to meet diverse client needs, and optimal agility in the face of factors that threaten operations. But challenges exist, such as scheduling meetings effectively in a remote work environment.
Learning how to overcome time zone differences when you have a distributed team creates a remote work environment in which every team member can be successful and, by extension, have greater team success. Here's what good time zone management looks like and how you can accomplish it.
Teams have been working across time zones for over 50 years. However, that antiquated top-down scheduling model based on HQ leadership convenience and expecting others to fall in line is over for human resource and productivity reasons.
A 9 PM meeting for someone who's been working since 7-9 AM means they've already checked out mentally after a very long day. You won't get their best work. The whole team suffers from that brain drain.
We don't have to tell you scheduling meetings this way isn't good time zone etiquette. You'd try to avoid the above scenario, of course. But many leaders don't realize that small changes could significantly improve how remote teams work together.
Honestly, most could and should work across time zones more efficiently.
All team members deserve an opportunity to succeed. And more importantly, what works for some doesn't have to make it harder for others. To start, it's essential to set some standards.
Bottom line: We became a 100% remote agency a few years back. It wasn't easy at first. But it's worth it. Having an agile mindset is critical.
Think about it. How do teams communicate, collaborate, meet, and achieve objectives across time zones?
While some team members are sleeping, spending time with family, maintaining their household, and staying physically active, others are at work. And vice versa. Every team member needs to be able to do non-work activities to live a whole life, pursue happiness, and perform well at work.
All team members have a similar number of hours in the day to work and the number of days a year. But those days and hours aren't the same.
Sure, it's not that big a deal if you have someone in New York time and the other in Chicago time. It gets a bit more complicated the further people are apart. On top of this, communication delays are inevitable when some sleep while others work.
By understanding this impact, you can set up systems allowing all team members to communicate and collaborate effectively in real time and asynchronously.
Don't only look at time zones. Find out everyone's work hours. Assuming everyone works 9-5-style hours in a remote work environment is a mistake. People who thrive as Early Birds, Night Owls, and Split Shifters (Siesta) need the flexibility to work with that tendency rather than fight against it. And often, these patterns are cultural rather than individual, something to consider if you have an inclusive global team.
Since we're working across time zones, we can just as quickly be inclusive of these "alternative" work hours unless employees are needed for customer-facing roles at certain hours.
Create a chart showing each time zone side by side. Highlight the hours that overlap ideally in green. If needed, highlight 2nd best options in yellow that are just outside people's work hours.
Are you one of those who hates meetings first thing in the morning? Or maybe that meeting in the last hour of the day is the worst? These are universal experiences.
If your distributed team is such that meetings will fall to extremes (early or late), the inclusive thing to do is to alternate meeting times. Now, they don't always fall first thing or last thing for the same person every time.
The above steps to plan a respectful, empathetic, and inclusive meeting further highlight a truth you probably already know. Scheduled meetings aren't always the best way to get things done, whether you're working across time zones or not. Most meetings aren't run efficiently and end up wasting time.
We could do with fewer and shorter ones with a clearly defined agenda and structure, as well as pre-and post-meeting asynchronous communication that makes the actual meeting more effective.
So, meet less and get more done.
Create a clear and consistent agenda. Everyone receives it at least 24 hours before the meeting. Follow an agenda template so that team members can quickly review it, understand the meeting's objective, and come to the meeting prepared to get down to business.
List action items and take ample time to centralize ideas. Make this document concise but thorough enough that everyone is on the same page.
This document is one of the most important communications you will create. Every extra minute you spend on it equals hours of improved productivity across the team.
Plan for most meetings to last no more than 30 minutes. Meetings are to get everyone on the same page, strengthen team relationships, and get a jumpstart on initiatives and creatives.
Most true collaboration happens anachronistically after the meeting is done.
Synchronous communication is when teams communicate in real-time. This allows people to respond immediately and get instant feedback on ideas.
Asynchronous communication allows communications to be sent and received (viewed) at different times.
When those who manage remote teams commit wholeheartedly to virtual processes, they realize the strengths inherent in the distributed team model. Working across time zones can become as easy as being in New York and working in Chicago time.
And the simple truth is what's good for remote teams is great for all teams. Here's a look at the project management tools we wouldn't be without in our 100% remote agency. These not only make asynchronous communication possible. They'd help us communicate more effectively and get more done even if we were still all sitting cube by cube.
In an office setting, how many "meetings" happen when team members wait for the coffee to brew or walk to their cars after work? These quick yet meaningful face-to-face interactions mean something to people, even those who have grown up with social engagement happening virtually.
These encounters are relaxed. There's no pressure to do something or impress the boss. They may be about work or not. These fundamental human connections are essential to team relationships and dynamics. Unfortunately, working remotely takes these opportunities away.
Then let's add remote teams working across time zones on top of this. Now, you don't even have people interacting virtually in real time a lot of the time. Leaders need to build a remote work environment that recognizes the importance of socializing among co-workers.
Be sure to consider how people across time zones can engage in these activities to create the most inclusive experience possible.
Working across time zones has clear challenges. The learning curve for management and teams is no joke. But from personal experience, it's worth investing time and temporary frustration. You'll build a stronger, more creative, more productive team. Your customers experience unity as a more cohesive customer experience.
We've been able to build an asynchronous marketing team that works across time zones better than they did when they were all sitting in the same room. We've built an agile team based on mutual respect, empathy, and inclusiveness. That's reflected in the work our team does for our clients.
We went from an overloaded and disorganized team to one that's accountable and able to adapt to shifting priorities. We realized how to overcome time zone differences by building a model that takes the emphasis off when people work and puts it on the quality they produce.