If so, then you know the challenges in staying on the same page that come with working remotely. Managing different time zones, language barriers, and cultural differences can be frustrating. Teams who use the follow the sun model troubleshoot issues faster, speed up time to market, and collaborate effectively by working remotely in a different time zone establishing clean handoffs between employees. Instead, you may have to wait for them to answer an email, respond to a Slack message, or plan ahead and schedule a time to connect via video chat. Although communication may not always be instant, it can be effective and efficient if you are willing to be flexible.

• Flexible workers hours have been proven to reduce burnout, stress levels, and psychological distress while increasing job satisfaction.
• However, ideally, this influence will stay minimal, thanks to defined processes and organization.
• Team building might be easily overlooked or pushed to the side when working across time zones.
• Teams that thrive working across time zones have clearly defined roles that fit the model of asynchronous work.

It’s easy to think of only the problems that can come about from coworkers trying to collaborate from different locales without having the same start and stop to their workday. It’s acceptable to inquire as long as you first confirm the other person’s wishes. If you’re having trouble attending numerous meetings in various timezones, you should still raise the issue after having the initial talk.

USE TOOLS FOR ASYNCHRONOUS COLLABORATION

GitLab’s handbook is one of the most famous (and best executed) examples of how to build a fantastic employee manual and distributed workplace culture. At 2,200+ pages, it’s thorough, transparent, even allowing people who don’t work at GitLab to contribute. Ideally, your company will set up Google Drive, Dropbox, or whatever file-sharing system you use so files are automatically accessible to the entire https://remotemode.net/ company. If they can’t access the file, they’ll have to wait for you to be online again. If you are providing information, invest the additional time upfront to answer any questions or solve any issues you think the person may have ahead of time. It’s crucial that you adopt a remote-first mindset, document decisions clearly and concisely for people who are unable to attend, and record the meeting.

• This can be through phone calls, video chats or even using an instant messaging platform like Slack or Microsoft Teams.
• This is why study after study after study has shown remote workers to be more productive than their in-office colleagues.
• See how Lucidchart can be a powerful solution for collaborating and staying aligned while working remotely or from different offices.
• Some companies have introduced a 4 days a week policy in their effort to take off the pressure that comes from working across time zones as compensation.
• When it comes to working remotely with teams across different time zones, the most important thing is to be mindful, empathetic, and respectful.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that sending someone a quick email will save them time, when it may actually end up wasting more of their day. If you need something done urgently or want your co-worker to make a decision ASAP, pick up the phone and talk it out. When you’re working in a distributed fashion, learning to be an effective async communicator is going to be the biggest factor in your success. When processes, work, and project info is documented in one easy-to-find source, the work can move along more efficiently and productively.

AWS Developer Job Description (Template + Tips)

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). Asynchronous communication means working without being in direct contact with people, such as through email, online chat, or by sending video messages such as Loom videos. If your team works in different time zones, then you will need to communicate asynchronously most of the time. The cloud makes it easy for teams to work together, document processes and work info, and stay on track, no matter the time zone or office location.

If teams don’t experience any overlap in work hours, there’s bound to be some time wasted as one team is waiting for the instructions or the input from another one, working at a later time. And, as team communication is directly correlated to productive collaboration, it can lead to unnecessary delays, missed messages, and an overall drop in productivity. 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. Still, as much as it might be pretty seamless for a tech company to adjust their operations to working across time zones, for some industries and teams, this practice is simply not viable.

How to work across varying time zones

Companies employing diverse teams spanning multiple time zones enjoy complete time zone coverage. Having all shifts and time zones covered is especially convenient for support and customer service as people don’t need to work past the conventional work hours in their countries, in the case of an emergency. However, other departments and industries can benefit from the approach as well. With these systems in place, teams can effectively communicate both asynchronously and synchronously, allowing for efficient collaboration and productivity across multiple time zones.

In this blog, I will talk about a few ways in which you can manage communications with colleagues in different parts of the world, making working across multiple time zones easier. On many HubSpot marketing teams, if we schedule a meeting that requires people in other timezones to wake up early or stay up late, we try to be empathetic to those colleagues in some way. Questions over how to ensure equal input, how to streamline meetings, and how to collaborate effectively are all valid concerns. Freelance Brand and Marketing Strategist Janine Maral, who is currently based in Eastern Standard Time, has experience working remotely across different U.S. time zones as well as with global clients.