Managing Employees Working in Different Time Zones
Publié le 30 July 2020
For a company to be successful, they must hire the most qualified candidates for every job position. With the rapid rise in remote work, it only makes sense to modernize the job search and include candidates in different parts of the country and the world. Once the best people have been hired it will be up to company managers to lead a virtual team, which comes with its own set of challenges. One specific skill that leaders will have to develop is managing employees working in different time zones. There are a few important factors for managers to keep in mind and steps to take:
- Remember what time it is
- Set deadlines
- Be fair with meeting times
- Use apps & programs to collaborate
- Organize the workflow
- Consider an “office time zone”
- Be patient
Remember What Time It Is
The most obvious new task that comes with managing employees in different time zones is to simply remember what time it is for each employee. Managers need to be aware of who is currently working and who has completed their work day, even when employees are in different geographic areas. It needs to be quick and simple for all employees to confirm if their colleagues are still working, have gone for the evening, or haven’t even started their work day yet. This keeps everyone working on track and builds trust amongst the team.
Fortunately, the clock apps on smartphones are fully equipped to show multiple time zones, and computer clock programs can be adjusted to reflect this as well. For managers who want to go traditional with their time zone tracking, it is always possible to buy multiple wall clocks, label them for each different location where employees are working and set them to the correct time zone.
Set Deadlines
Having deadlines is an effective way to stay organized and productive. A well-run office will have a schedule and deadline for large projects and for individual tasks that are known to all employees. This is all important when managing remote employees working in different time zones. Workers must be confident that their colleagues are completing their tasks, and know that projects will be ready for their input and contributions at the right time.
Managers need to check in on all employees and confirm that everyone is on track. If a task will require more time to complete, they must make this known to all employees and adjust the deadline accordingly. This way an employee will not start their work day expecting a certain task to be completed, only to find their colleague in a different time zone still working on it. It is important to make sure that deadlines are adjusted to match each time zone. If something must be completed by 5 PM in Montreal, employees in Vancouver need to understand that the deadline is 2 PM in their time zone.
Be Fair With Meeting Times
Remember how frustrated you felt the last time you had an 8 AM meeting? The rush to arrive early, the drowsiness, the extra coffee? Now imagine if that same meeting happened at 6 AM, 5 AM or even earlier. That is the reality for colleagues working in different time zones. Meetings do play an important role in coordinating projects, bonding employees and keeping the office on track, as long as they don’t become an unnecessary distraction. Meetings times that work for most employees must be selected, allowing for the day to flow smoothly for as many people as possible.
It is also unfair to expect employees to always return for meetings hours after their working period has typically ended. Studies have found that meetings at the very start and the very end of the day are not beneficial to the office, so a comfortable middle ground must be reached. Establishing meeting times that are fair for all employees working in different time zones is the only way that they will be effective.
Use Apps & Programs to Collaborate
With employees that are separated by geography and times, extra effort is required to preserve the ability to collaborate. Working as a team allows colleagues to accomplish more goals and reach more success than they would working individually. Fortunately, there are many apps and programs that allow for continued collaboration.
Programs such as Jira, Dropbox, Scoro, Trello and even good old fashioned Google Docs makes it easy for projects to be started, worked on and revised by employees working in different time zones and locations. It does require a period of adjustment and a little bit of learning, but with an open mindset a work team will be able to collaborate and reach all their goals and beyond, even with employees in multiple places.
Organize the Workflow
A well-organized workflow is important in any workplace. Projects, tasks and job roles have to be clear and straightforward for work to proceed as smoothly and efficiently as possible. According to a Canadian survey, 37% of workers feel that disorganization in the workplace has negatively affected their own time management, and this can’t be allowed to worsen in a virtual office. When managing employees working in different time zones, it’s important to organize the workflow in a way that simply makes sense for everyone.
For example, if there are employees who live further west, thereby beginning their work day after their colleagues further east, it wouldn’t make sense to always rely on them to begin new projects. Likewise, employees who find themselves constantly waiting another day for updates from their colleagues in a more eastern time zone may become frustrated, so there must be tasks and work that they can still accomplish independently. When starting new projects, this would involve having employees decide who will handle which components, and ensuring that everyone understands the schedule as is expected.
Consider An “Office Time Zone”
One possible solution for managing employees working in different time zones is to avoid the problem all together. This can be done by establishing what is known as an “office time zone” in the workplace. This means that every employee starts and ends the work day at the same moments, regardless of their location. For example:
- Employees in the Central Time Zone will start at 8 AM CST
- Employees in the Eastern Time Zone will start at 9 AM EST
- Employees in the Atlantic Time Zone will start at 10 AM AST
The benefit of implementing an office time zone is having every employee working simultaneously for the entire day, ensuring that there is no period where immediate collaboration is not possible. Meeting times could be relatively flexible, and even lunch breaks could be coordinated to occur at the same time. The drawback is that this is really only effective when employees are separated by no more than one or two time zones. It would not be fair to expect employees in the Pacific Time Zone to start work at 5 AM to be in line with 8 AM in the Easterm Time Zone. For a company looking to hire the most qualified job seekers from around the world, the idea of an office time zone is even more impractical. For certain companies, an office time zone can be an effective form of organization under the right circumstances with employees who support such a schedule.
Be Patient
Just like remote working, having colleagues and employees working in different time zones will be a new experience for many people. There will be mistakes and hiccups along the way. People will forget that their colleague has completed their day, or feel frustrated when an email or chat message is not returned quickly. No one is thrilled when they get a work message at 7 PM in the evening, but employees have to remember that slip ups such as this are bound to happen.
Employees must know that they can decline to answer work emails before or after their work period with the support of managers, and avoid upsetting their work life balance. 38% of workers believe that an increase in remote work opportunities will have a positive impact on their overall well-being, as long as it is managed correctly. People need to be patient with each other, and fully accept that their colleagues are working just as hard and accomplishing just as much, at slightly different times.
Managing employees working in different time zones requires a bit of extra effort and care on the part of leaders, supervisors and employees on all levels of a company. Even though it will take a bit of adjustment, the benefits far outweigh any possible drawbacks.
