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In addition to confounding my brain, time zones also provide some fun and interesting challenges when it comes to how we all work together at Buffer as a fully remote, distributed team. Of course, for organizations working across time zones, this type of effort would involve coming up with creative ways to have everyone on board and involved in the conversation. It takes really getting to know your team members and tapping into their shared interests to get the casual conversation going. Moreover, companies should rethink the overall effectiveness of each meeting. It’s a good practice to schedule the meetings only for the exchange of information that can’t be communicated over a team chat app, a document, an email, or a memo. Sure, a team brainstorming session is most effective over a video conference, however, a general weekly update doesn’t necessarily require a 5 a.m.
We have put a lit of our best pointers and practices to help you get through your intercontinental workday by working remotely in different time zones. When compared against the benefits, the downsides of working across several time zones are minor inconveniences. This is proven by the fact that an increasing number of businesses are electing to work remotely, with Blueface research estimating that remote work would rival office labour by 2025. It becomes easier to manage when course correction is required, and when team members go above and above to reinforce the culture, exemplifying those acts to the rest of the team becomes easier than ever.
Challenges of working remotely across time zones
Being conscious of inclusion could go a long way to maintaining your team members happy and invested at work. It also indicates that you can collaborate with other team members wherever you are, as it does not matter what time zone they happen to be in. Such tools let you work on the same documents, share tasks, communicate more efficiently, and help resolve concerns easily. The best way to work remotely is by trying to replicate most of the things you’d do in an office job. For example, you should always reserve a place separate from your bedroom, try to maintain a routine, take breaks, etc. It’s tempting to believe that sending someone a fast email will save them time, while in reality, it may end up wasting more of their day.
When you’re working in a distributed fashion, learning to be an effective async communicator is going to be the biggest factor in your success. This means that if one team member works while another is sleeping, it does not mean they can’t communicate or collaborate with each other effectively (unless this pattern repeats itself for several weeks). The tool shown above is one that our awesome developer Dan made just for Buffer, and it helps us all a ton to know what’s going on with any teammate at a glance. (If you’re a developer yourself and want something similar, he’s made the code available on Github). An enormous amount of effort is needed to overcome this particular downside of global remote work.
Global Teams are Possible
For one, it threatens to disrupt the trust between team members, as there’s not sufficient information and knowledge sharing going around. Of course, differences in locations and backgrounds can also add another layer to the misunderstanding and distrust. If left unattended, this malpractice can take root and degenerate further into team silos. The actual time difference between co-workers is a significant barrier to effective real-time communication. If remote employees don’t have overlap in work hours, there can be a lag between a question being asked and answered. Certain etiquette should also be followed in terms of communication while working remotely in a different time zone.
It may be a case of trial and error, but it’s worthwhile if it leads to the right tool for your team. For example, if some of your meetings have meant that your team members in France have had to attend at 1 am local time, try to arrange your next meeting so that they can attend during their usual work hours. Consider establishing a rule that unless everyone in your team can be together in the same room, every meeting should be held through video calls to ensure fairness and clarity. If part of your meeting is taking place between people in the same room, those who cannot physically attend can find it more difficult to chime in. With everyone attending the meeting separately on video calls, regardless of their location, everyone is on a level playing field. It makes it easier to track who is speaking and avoids prioritising communication between select groups.
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