We also have a lot of tools for asynchronous, everyone-at-their-own-pace communication, including Threads, Trello and Paper. In these tools, we can log what we’ve done, what we’re doing or questions and comments we have and know that other team members can read and comment later on their own schedule. Another working remotely in a different time zone handy one, especially if you’re planning a meeting across time zones, is Every Time Zone, which allows you to toggle around to see what the time of your choosing is across every time zone. And as our team grows and changes, we sometimes have to change and renegotiate the way we work through time zones.

Some team members might have to attend meetings outside of normal business hours, which can be inconvenient and make it harder to maintain a work-life balance. It’s also possible that language and cultural barriers will hinder communication. Team members from different parts of the world may have trouble understanding one another and working together due to regional differences in communication styles and preferences. It is crucial to encourage cultural awareness and equip people with the tools or education they need to better communicate across cultural boundaries. Successful remote work across time zones requires clear communication and close cooperation among team members. Challenges arise when members of a team are spread out in different areas, but these can be handled with good communication.

How do I know what time zone someone’s in?

Many business leaders are re-calibrating and tailoring their operations to best support a dispersed workforce. Here we’ll explore several tips for SMB leaders and managers to accommodate employees working across time zones. So usually, on most teams, there are going to be one or two hours of overlap that you can have and really prioritize that time together.

If you’ve made it this far, there’s a good chance you’re either looking to find a remote job, already working remotely, or looking to hire remote employees. Zapier are on a mission to make automation easy and accessible to everyone at work. With over 400 remote employees spread across 30 countries, Zapier is one of the largest fully remote companies. They know what they’re doing and write great guides on how to get the most out of remote work. They’re proudly a remote-first company and took full advantage of remote collaboration long before coronavirus. A great way to introduce a more async, documentation culture is to build an employee handbook.

Common Mistakes When Working With a Dispersed Team

You can use an online tool like TimeAndDate.com to determine the time zone your colleague is in. You can also try asking them what times they are available during, and when their day starts/ends so you know how much overlap there will be with yours. To work more efficiently with distributed teams, you need to treat your team like they are all working together in one office building. While this may not be possible, it is the mindset you need to adopt to organize your time and responsibilities. But it doesn’t have to be that way if you organize your team and schedule your projects around the time zones of everyone on it.

These times can be set aside as prime for group meetings, ideation sessions, and other forms of collaboration. Remote teams can overcome the obstacles of working in different time zones by creating clear communication channels and following these guidelines. Working across time zones necessitates a high degree of adaptability on your part. If the needs of your team or clients require it, you should be flexible with your work hours or schedule. Cultural and linguistic limitations are one of the most difficult aspects of remote work across time zones.

There are a number of strategies you can use to make sure everyone is on the same page, no matter what time zone they’re in.

If you have a large distributed team, you might not need to try so hard to stay connected. “Since there are people working from nearly every time zone in the world, there was always someone online to help with a problem or joke around with when you’re working,” he wrote in his book. When working across time zones, it’s likely that you’ll be on meetings at strange times of the day. I’ve found that I’m not always at my best during weird hours and so my notes become all the more important.

Because supervisors cannot see remote workers, they cannot contact them every hour or so for updates. Too much messaging or calling your team members can cause unnecessary stress, inhibit productivity, and eventually lead to a hostile work atmosphere. Managers should instead give their workers some leeway when it comes to setting work schedules or deadlines, as long as they deliver high-quality results.

OUR FAVORITE CHECKLIST TO HELP YOU FACILITATE ONLINE MEETINGS LIKE A PRO

Working from afar in different time zones can often cause emotions of alienation and loneliness. Team morale and dynamics can be negatively impacted when team members rarely get the chance to talk to one another in person. There are a number of software tools and solutions that make managing a remote team easier. Then, if you want another easy way to know what time it is everywhere your team’s located, you can turn on the World clock in the Calendar Labs settings. It’s a simple, text-based world clock provides an at-a-glance update.