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The widespread adoption of remote work<\/a> has enabled a larger number of companies to hire employees from anywhere \u2013 in the same city, across the state, the other side of the U.S. or even around the world. By hiring employees across time zones, many companies are taking advantage of the opportunity to:<\/p>\n So, how exactly can business leaders overcome distance and separate schedules to successfully manage employees across time zones?<\/p>\n Over the past few years, leaders have learned to successfully manage remote employees<\/a>. The virtual environment has shifted workplace culture, and management has also had to shift its focus to:<\/p>\n These are all positive developments and are applicable skills for managing employees over greater distances, too.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve managed remote employees within the same ZIP code, managing employees in other time zones generally isn\u2019t that different. Remote is remote, whether the team member is down the street or five states away.<\/p>\n The core rules of solid leadership in remote work environments \u2013 or any work environment \u2013 still apply:<\/p>\n There are just a few key additional factors you should consider. After all, managing employees across time zones isn\u2019t without its unique challenges:<\/p>\n Once you acknowledge these challenges exist, you can turn your focus to managing employees across time zones despite the potential constraints.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re on a completely different working schedule than some or all of your team members, it\u2019s more crucial than ever to connect, get face-to-face time and learn about work progress on a regular basis. Of course, that can be tricky when time zones get in the way.<\/p>\n Here are some tips you can experiment with to see what works best for your business:<\/p>\n Additionally, think about what on-site meetings mean for employees in other locations. For you, it may mean a commitment of an hour or two. For them, it could be a time commitment of one or a handful of days, depending on travel time, and could introduce unnecessary stress in their personal lives.<\/p>\n When people aren\u2019t directly and spontaneously interacting as much, and instead operating in their own silo and time zones, it\u2019s a natural concern that team cohesion will fracture and workplace culture<\/a> will diminish.<\/p>\n From the on-a-different-time-zone-employee\u2019s perspective, they may also worry that they\u2019re going to be overlooked for opportunities, cut out of the information loop or feel lonely.<\/p>\n Managing employees across time zones forces business leaders to do the hard work of really<\/em> figuring out what makes a team cohesive<\/a>.<\/p>\n Spoiler: It was never about the foosball table or the beer on tap back in the days of everyone working on-site \u2013 those are easy \u201couts.\u201d The answers are actually much more simple and basic, and these practices still apply to more flexible and remote working environments:<\/p>\n Other creative ideas for building engagement and community:<\/p>\n At the outset of your working relationship with an employee in a different time zone, clarify their working hours. Because their schedule won\u2019t be the same as yours, you need to understand exactly when they are available.<\/p>\n And because you won\u2019t be able to manage them in real time, you should also clearly establish and explain all goals, expectations and priorities.<\/p>\n In everything, from setting deadlines to scheduling meetings, specify the time zone to avoid confusion, errors and setbacks.<\/p>\n Adopt a wide array of channels to enable robust communication, such as:<\/p>\n Pick the options that work best for you and your team.<\/p>\n Be flexible and understand that, as a manager, you may sometimes need to hold meetings outside your own core working hours to accommodate team members in other time zones.<\/p>\n Unless there\u2019s an urgent issue, be mindful about contacting team members when they\u2019re off work, even if it\u2019s just by email. You don\u2019t want to upset work-life balance<\/a> by constantly making someone feel pressured to work at 11 p.m. their time \u2013 even though it\u2019s the middle of the workday for you and it feels normal.<\/p>\n Conversely, problems will undoubtedly arise when your employees are on the clock but you\u2019re not. Let employees know how to best reach you outside your working hours in case of an emergency.<\/p>\n Teams can still work effectively and in an efficient, coordinated manne<\/a>r across time zones and distances with the aid of technology, smart business practices and some creativity.<\/p>\n Otherwise, the team can read background materials, brainstorm and complete preparation work ahead of time independently.<\/p>\n Managing employees across time zones isn\u2019t all that different than managing remote employees nearby \u2013 it just requires some additional considerations. Key highlights:<\/p>\n Otherwise, remember to continuously practice the general rules of good leadership that the remote work era has brought to the forefront.<\/p>\n Want to learn more about being a strong and effective leader in any work environment? Download our free magazine: The Insperity guide to leadership and management<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
The general rules of good leadership still apply<\/h2>\n
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Figure out why you\u2019re meeting, and when<\/h2>\n
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Team cohesiveness and preservation of workplace culture<\/h2>\n
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Create cohesive scheduling and availability<\/h2>\n
Communication<\/h2>\n
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Make collaboration a priority<\/h2>\n
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Summing it all up<\/h2>\n
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