If you are an international business owner that manages various teams remotely, there is a good chance that you have faced struggles pertaining to keeping connected across multiple time zones. With workers and clients spread throughout the globe, it can be extremely difficult to keep track of what time it is where some of your colleagues and clients are. If you are freelancing and not limited to a specific location for work, managing clients across different time zones may be the challenge at hand. Even if you are not working remotely, it is easier than ever to do business with others in different time zones. As technological advances help our world to become more connected, differences in time zones become even more important to understand and manage.
Any remote team should have a plan in place for how they will communicate regularly. This may include daily or weekly check-in meetings using video conferencing, a regular conference call and the use of various project management systems. This type of communication, if it is managed properly, can make the flow between various time zones smooth and help to increase productivity dramatically. It can also serve as a point of reference for the start and end of each workday, which may help to mitigate any tension or stress that can be caused by time differences.
Source: Global Call Forwarding
The Importance of Staying Organized
Keeping connected across multiple time zones takes a lot of organization. Having set weekly goals and tracking those goals closely with regular progress reports with everyone online is helpful. Setting up a communication plan that is clear for everyone can also help management from slipping into a micromanagement situation. Otherwise, it is fairly simple to fall into the habit of micromanagement and asking employees for constant accounts of how they are specifically spending every minute of their time.
A remote work environment should always encourage performance rather than presence. If this is the focus, then you do not have to worry about the time that is taken off or how many hours people are working – the sole focus is on results and having a high-performing team of staff that is able to get the job done.
There’s More to Life than Work
Keeping connected across multiple time zones should not be focused solely on work either. Managers should factor in time to deal with common tech issue resolution, as well as to allow staff members to talk about vacations, travel experiences, life celebrations, and such. This can help remote staff members to feel more connected to their colleagues, which is valuable in building workplace happiness and loyalty.
Research indicates that keeping connected across multiple time zones is not only in regards to management reaching out to staff members. In fact, it is suggested that staff members also reach out to headquarters from time to time in an effort to stay in touch, and to generally feel like more of a part of the whole.
Source: TimeAndDate.com
Making Meeting Times Manageable
An area of challenge that may arise when keeping connected across multiple time zones is in setting meeting times. Remote staff may generally have more flexibility about meeting times, though this should not require middle of the night meetings. It will be important to set times for meetings that accommodate all members at decent hours.
Thanks to technological advances, options such as VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) make it simple to connect with others across the globe. With VoIP international calls can be made at a significantly lower cost than regular calls and through the use of an Internet connection. Half of the success is to find your VoIP provider match in a plan and options and Top10VoIPList.com will be helpful in making your choice.
United World Telecom sells virtual phone numbers to both business and personal use clients across the world and offers exceptional VoIP features. Keeping connected across multiple time zones has never been easier. With the use of the Internet and a well-thought-out communication plan, keeping connected across multiple time zones can not only be simple and low cost but may actually be the best option for many businesses aiming to take advantage of clients and workforce intelligence in other markets overseas.
Source: Colorado Springs Gazette
