66 / MASTERING REMOTE COMMUNICATION
Managing a global workforce
Flexible and remote working mean you
can recruit from anywhere in the world.
The result is a strong talent pool to draw
on that will feed into the success of your
business. The tricky part is managing
people who don’t work the same hours.
Some overlap in shifts is best for live
collaboration, but if you can’t work at the
same time, you can still work together
eciently with good planning. It’s
important to respect dierent schedules,
cultures, and personalities, and make
sure everyone feels like a valued
contributor. Be sure to make work/life
balance a priority for every sta
member, wherever they are.
Overcoming time zones
As a manager, you may have colleagues and sta working in
dierent times zones from you. While this can present challenges,
you can overcome these through careful time management, clear
communication, and eective planning.
Clever time management
Make the most of periods when
everyone is online—a quick weekly
video meeting creates a solid team
dynamic. Use “asynchronous
collaboration” (teamwork that’s
not done at the same time) to cover
the rest of the workload, using
agreed feedback times to avoid
delays. Use messaging apps or live
documents to ask for input, so that
answers are waiting for you when
you log in the next day. Sometimes,
you might need to join a meeting
later or earlier than you’d like.
When working across time zones,
take turns to do this so the same
people aren’t always being asked
to compromise their plans.
Tip
CHECK THE TIME
Do you need to send that
message immediately? Use
sites such as timeanddate.com
to check the time where your
recipient lives. See if your
tools allow you to schedule
messages to send later.
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OVERCOMING TIME ZONES / 67
Clear communication
Speak and write in simple terms,
especially to those working in a
second language. Think about
compiling clear communication
guidelines for your sta. If you’re
recording a presentation to
circulate later, speak clearly, and
summarize what you’ve achieved
at the end. When setting tasks,
give enough detail for them to be
completed while you’re logged
o. State a desired response time
or a firm deadline using time-zone
abbreviations: “11am EST,” not
just “11am.”
Detailed planning
Recording all work shifts
on a shared team calendar
highlights crossover points
and shows who is available
when. Ask someone in each
location to record significant
dates for their territory: national
holidays, religious celebrations,
and even key seasonal changes
that could aect work, such as
monsoon. Add working hours
and time-zone abbreviations to
sta email signatures to provide
a regular reminder.
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