Are you a hiring manager who recruits workers in Canada or other countries that are not in your time zone? This situation has become even more common now with so many people working at home since the Covid-19 lockdown. If you don’t know some basic guidelines for managing departments across several time zones, this job can be challenging. Here are six tips for managing departments living in multiple time zones, along with some considerations and warnings.
1. Don’t Try To Work 24/7
Don’t try to burn the candle at both ends or work 24/7. Maybe you’re one of those people who think that they can get by with only a few hours of sleep, but this isn’t a good idea. Eventually, you may crash and compromise your health. Consider that global team management isn’t a race to see who is able to work the longest.
2. Be Fair
Instead, of being on call 24/7, create a rotating meeting schedule in which each member of your team is slated for one midday, one evening and one early-morning meeting between midnight and sunrise. This way each team member will only have to attend one middle-of-the-night meeting.
3. Record Your Meetings
Because it can be hard for everyone on your global teams to attend every meeting, it’s important to record your meetings, such as recording on Zoom. This lets employees who were sleeping know what occurred. Another perk is that it can make them feel that they’re valuable team members.
4. Send Calendar Invites
Calendar invites are ideal for all types of events, but they’re even more beneficial when you manage departments across several time zones. By using calendar invites, you can be sure that both you and your invitees get the right time as to when you are really going to meet. When receiving your invite, your guests can respond by clicking on the “Yes”, “No”, or “Maybe” links in an email. You can see those who’ve responded by simply clicking on the event.
5. Stay Updated With Technology Tools
It’s important to remain current on all the new technological collaboration tools. What’s more, consider how the various tools are designed for different purposes. These tools include those, such as Dropbox, which is a place in which all the content of your team can come together. There are several effective video conferencing tools, such as Zoom, Skype and GoToMeeting.
6. Schedule at Least One Annual in-Person Meeting
Even though modern technology is a must today, technological tools still can’t replace in-person meetings. That’s why you should plan at least one meeting in which everyone is in the same room together for events, such as workshops. This can be an excellent time for engaging in decision-making and strategic discussions as well as getting to know one another on a more personal level.
Other Considerations and Warnings
- Try to sign onto a video conference at least five minutes before it’s scheduled to start so that you can spend a few minutes getting to know your team members better.
- Be sure to use good eye contact when talking to team members on videos.
- Maintain consistency in meeting times.
- Double-check your math when scheduling meeting team members living in different time zones.
- Add your time zone to emails — This is another way to make people more aware of your time zone. Furthermore, add your time zone to the bio section of your profiles on social media.
- Use the clock app — Probably, the most helpful app when you work with employees scattered across the world is your clock app. This is a world clock that tells you the time wherever someone is located.
- Use tools, such as Asana, which is a tool that allows for continued progress when some members of a team are sleeping.
Conclusion
Questions? For more tips on how to manage a remote team, besides information on our wide range of employee-related services, contact us.
