Having team members in different parts of the world is increasingly common. Working across time zones will naturally be required as your business grows internationally, you decide to go digital and enable a remote work model, through global partnerships or due to business travel. Regardless of the reason why you work across time zones, having a diverse team will give you access to more resources, ideas, and reach. Iit also means knowing how to manage projects when people are hours ahead or behind you.
To stay ahead of this fantastic change, you’ll need to ensure that your employees across the world have a system in place to communicate and collaborate effectively regardless of where they live. Here’s how to do it.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in the idea of working 9-5, Monday through Friday, if that’s what you’ve always done. Sure, that might work for you, but others may be more productive when they’re able to work different hours.
For starters, flexible work hours have proven to reduce burnout, stress levels, and physiological distress while increasing job satisfaction. It also gives your team the chance to work when it’s most productive for them, whether that’s the morning, afternoon, or even all night. As long as your team is aware of deadlines, is communicating updates with everyone, and is able to get their work complete, then there’s no need to force them to a specific schedule.
It’s also handy to add “buffers” for normal work schedules. This buffer time would be used for check-ins, chats, questions, or anything anyone would need to complete their work that might require communication with someone outside of their timezone.
Having urgent projects come through will be unavoidable, but it’s how you’ll delegate them that will make the difference. When breaking down an important task, keep in mind the timezones your employees are in. If your employee is off-duty, it might look inconsiderate of you to forward them an email or send them a message saying you have an urgent job to take care of.
If possible, send the assignment during a time that matches their hours, and plan ahead so they have viable time to work on it without disrupting their current projects. Planning ahead can be tough to get in the habit of, but it also minimizes work overload and employee satisfaction if you can manage expectations.
Of course, emergencies do come up and employees may need to know ASAP, but both parties should understand the need of the hour for an organization’s growth.
Scheduling chats and video calls across different communication tools isn’t an ideal solution when your team is already across different countries. Rather than using different apps to reach your team, stick with one central hub that takes care of all your channels for you.
By embracing a single digital software, you can oversee all communications throughout your team, projects, and even clients. It also helps with:
…and much more.
Remote teams mean you won’t be able to manage your employees in real-time. Even if you could, no one likes someone watching over their shoulder while they work. That’s why it’s important to set clear expectations with your team.
Give your employees a clear schedule on their tasks for the week, and set attainable deadlines for any scope of work. This gives them time to analyze their tasks and ask any questions too.
By setting clear goals and allowing the right amount of time, your team can set weekly objectives and keep the workflow going, regardless of where they live.
Desktop.com is the ultimate centralizing tool you need to manage team members, partners and businesses across different time zones. Bring all your online content, tools and people into one organized and easy-to-manage space that will save you time and clicks as you move seamlessly through your digital workdays. Set yourself up for success and enjoy the benefits of a secure platform with unparallelled overview.
Try Desktop.com for FREE today.
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