By Finscreener
What, as a company owner, prevents you from keeping track of many time zones? Having to work with coworkers in a different time zone might be difficult. Here are some methods for managing your time effectively so that you never get behind again. Working effectively across time zones is a crucial but often ignored difficulty for remote employees. Companies that operate only online often recruit from all around the globe. Working with experts from across the world is great for your career, but it also forces you to keep strict timetables. In all likelihood, you can’t work the standard Monday through Friday schedule.
This post is for company owners who manage remote teams or interact with customers or colleagues in multiple time zones. Okay, then, let’s get going!
The Best Time-Management Tips To Work With A Geographically Diverse Team
Share Your Current Location With Others From The Get-Go
Give the other person an idea of what time it is where they are right now. While introducing yourself, be sure to provide your availability and preferred method of contact so that your colleagues can plan accordingly. Moreover, use this opportunity to establish limits. Describe the exceptional circumstances in which you may continue to send and receive messages after your job has been completed.
Posting your availability on social media platforms is a great way to let people know when you’ll be available for them. True, not everybody will keep it in mind. If you want to avoid confusion, include your timings on your contact list, business conversation profile, LinkedIn page, as well as Google account.
Simply remember to revise them as needed. You must inform your schedule of any changes, such as working alternative shifts or leaving work early.
Recognize The Effects Of Working Throughout Time Zones
To begin, you must learn what time zones are and how they work. Time zones are regions of the world with consistently long hours of daylight year-round.
As a result, it is not always the case that a team will be unable to effectively communicate or cooperate if one person operates while the other is asleep if no practice persists for a significant amount of time (say, a few weeks).
To keep up with a team that spans many time zones, you’ll likely resort to asynchronous methods of communication.
Get A Reliable Time Zone Calculator
Pakistan, England, New York, and the States are all in various time zones. It might be difficult to schedule meetings with dispersed groups. Besides the fact that they work at different times, yet some of them don’t even bother to account for time zone variations. Organizers of a meeting cannot simply give the same schedule for all 24 time zones. Time Zones are equally important for business owners who are into trading and use automated platforms to run their trades for them. Therefore, it is essential for every kind of employer to procure a time zone calculator.
In order to keep everybody in sync, your team ought to employ a time zone converter. Various alternatives may be considered. They might also be linked to other group-wide applications, such as scheduling and project programmes.
When Feasible Communicates In An Asynchronous Manner.
Communication methods like email, internet chat, and video messaging services like Loom are examples of asynchronous communication. Furthermore, this indicates that you are not necessarily conversing simultaneously.
Learning to effectively communicate asynchronously is the single most important skill you can acquire while working in a dispersed environment.
However, this is unnecessary if the team is well-organized and the projects are scheduled to accommodate everyone’s available time.
Employee management software
Employee management software is an essential tool for businesses working with geographically diverse teams, offering numerous benefits tailored to this unique challenge. This advanced tool simplifies the process for team members to pick up a shift, accommodating different time zones and personal schedules. It ensures fair and efficient shift distribution, helping managers to seamlessly assign and adjust workloads across various regions. The software also acts as a central hub for communication, crucial for coordinating tasks and maintaining a unified workflow despite distance. With features for tracking progress and productivity, it keeps everyone on the same page, regardless of their location.
Schedule With Military Times And Time Zones.
Meetings should be regularly scheduled using military time, with time zones noted. Never leave anything to chance. You may also include a note to inform them to adjust the time to their zone if necessary. Therefore, the time zone symbols will not be forgotten.
If you want to keep everyone on the same page, utilise the same time zone. Suppose you’re from the Big Apple. While it may be more practical to utilise your time zone, colleagues in different states or countries may find it inconvenient to constantly convert times.
Freelancers should work around the time zones that are most practical for their customers. Making the necessary modifications on your end will help you seem professional and kind, which will leave a good impression on your business colleagues.
It’s Important To Schedule Meetings Around People’s Availability.
Teams that span just two or three adjacent time zones have an easier job of it. With a worldwide workforce, though, things become more difficult (people who work on opposite sides of the world). Meeting at the same time may be challenging if, say, one person is based in Australia and another in the United States the Australian would need to wake up quite early in the morning.
Set Up Recurring Appointments Automatically
It takes a long time to get confirmation when scheduling meetings with remote employees. Getting instant feedback is difficult because of time zone variations. If you and the other party are on opposite sides of the world, you most likely won’t receive a response from them until the following business day. A week may easily be wasted on a few messages back and forth.
Take advantage of trusted appointment booking software to simplify the procedure. Popular scheduling apps like Google Calendar and Calendly make it easy to see when everyone is free. The individual is solely responsible for selecting their preferred timings. After everyone has selected a time and day, the application will aggregate the statistics so the presenter may determine whether or not to go forward with the gathering.
Some Business Tasks Should Be Outsourced Or Automated.
Transferring time-sensitive, repetitive chores to AI is an option to explore if you find yourself constantly rearranging your schedule. Prepare yourself for more involved tasks by devoting less time to routine ones. Scheduling, time monitoring, email filtering, and task management are just some of the mundane tasks that may be handled by automated systems.
Freelancers may be contracted for work that can’t be automated by AI. You should look for reliable experts that have the necessary skills to fill in for you when you need time off. If your team’s workload continues to grow, though, you should talk to human resources or your manager about hiring a full-time employee.
Experiment With Several Time-Of-Day Routines
The advantages of remote employment, such as more time off when needed, come with the drawback of more frequent schedule changes. Meeting times for distributed teams must be coordinated in advance. You may be working shifts that you weren’t used to at the office, so come up with a plan for how you’ll keep alert.
Accept the possibility of varying timetables. If you’ve spent your whole working life on the same shift, now is the time to make a change. To provide just two examples, you could have your exercise completed and your housework is done by noon. Actually, who can say? Working outside of normal business hours might help you get more done in less time.
The End
Proper preparation is essential for productive collaboration with international partners. Since the other person probably doesn’t share your time zone, you shouldn’t expect instant responses or make demands that can’t wait. Take appropriate measures to control your workload. Delegate to AI systems the time-consuming but essential chores of scheduling meetings, organizing emails, and issuing announcements.
If part of your job description includes managing a distributed team, you may find it helpful to draw out a routine that everyone can stick to. The answer is yes individuals do have varying preferences for which shifts they prefer. Even if you try to work around your employees’ schedules, they may not be productive if they don’t have a set routine.
Disclaimer: The writer is an experienced financial consultant who writes for Finscreener.org. The observations he makes are his own and are not intended as investment or trading advice.
