There are numerous benefits to employing a global team, and today remote teams that span across countries and continents have become the norm rather than the exception.
However, collaborating with co-workers across multiple time zones isn’t without its challenges. It can be difficult to schedule meetings that everyone can attend, company morale can be negatively impacted if employees feel disconnected from colleagues, and so on.
We’ll take a look at nine practical tips, proven methods, and smart habits to help employees collaborate seamlessly with teammates — no matter which time zone they’re in.
Key takeaways:
- Working with a globally distributed team has many benefits, but it also presents challenges such as time zone coordination, communication issues, and reduced morale.
- Asynchronous communication and models like “follow the sun” help maintain productivity across time zones without requiring constant real-time interactions.
- Building team cohesion, setting clear boundaries around work hours, and focusing on outcomes over hours worked are essential to managing remote teams effectively.
The Challenges of Working With a Distributed Team
There are innate difficulties to working across time zones. Scheduling conflicts can arise, and miscommunications can occur due to asynchronous communication methods. Plus, difficulties connecting with co-workers can affect productivity and employee morale.
“There are many benefits to the individual and the company from embracing work-from-anywhere,” Prithwiraj Choudhury, a professor who researches remote work, told Harvard Business School. “But there are also challenges — and one of those is that when people are spread out across time zones, communication is affected.”
However, there are steps you can take to solve these challenges. In fact, a study by the McKinsey Global Institute found that companies can increase global teams’ productivity by up to 25% by implementing the right communication tools and strategies.
How to Get the Most Out of Distributed Teams
1. Leverage the Right Tools
There are numerous tools that can help global teams cooperate and work more effectively. Communication and project-management tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Asana, and Jira can streamline task management and daily communication.
Calendar-sharing through Google or Outlook enables team members to see co-workers’ availability across time zones. And there are time zone tools like TimeandDate’s Meeting Planner or Every Time Zone for easy coordination. You can also take advantage of a timezone overlap calculator like World Time Buddy.
2. Embrace Asynchronous Communication
Encourage async updates via tools like Slack, Loom, and Google Docs, and establish communication norms for your employees to follow by defining expected response times, how to flag urgent messages, and when it’s necessary to meet face to face.
Follow the examples of companies like Buffer and GitLab, which prioritize async meetings over live ones. You can also check out GitLab’s Remote Playbook for more tips.
3. Apply the “Follow the Sun” Model
Create 24-hour workflows by distributing teams across time zones to ensure continuous project momentum. For example, a task might begin with a U.S.-based engineer, is finessed by an employee in India, and then reviewed by a teammate in Portugal.
This model takes advantage of working across time zones by enhancing support coverage and accelerating turnaround time.
4. Strategically Align Staff Based on Time Zones
Place key decision-makers or team leads in every major time zone, so they can handle urgent issues locally. This reduces bottlenecks and helps distributed teams feel supported in each of their time zones.
5. Set Clear Boundaries and Communication Expectations
Employees should designate their working hours and block off time for personal commitments in shared calendars, so that it’s clear when each team member is available (and when they’re not).
Managers should also model healthy working hours and encourage workers to update their calendars or Slack statuses to communicate when they’re on lunch or shouldn’t be disturbed.
6. Build Cohesion Across Borders
There are numerous ways to help internationally distributed employees feel like they’re part of a cohesive team.
- Host regular virtual social events, such as coffee chats, trivia games, virtual escape rooms, or themed hangouts in rotating time slots.
- Use a tool like Donut to randomly pair up employees for chats.
- Organize annual in-person retreats or regional meetups so employees can have opportunities to interact face-to-face.
- Create async “watercooler” channels in Slack, such as #pets, #bookclub, etc. to maintain connection beyond work tasks.
7. Redefine Productivity and Avoid Micromanagement
Trust your team. Focus on outcomes rather than hours worked, and clearly communicate that output matters more than being available 24/7.
You can use tools like Trello, ClickUp, or Notion to track project progress transparently without constant check-ins.
8. Rely on Documentation and Knowledge Sharing
Emphasize the importance of knowledge sharing and commitment to documenting everything, including workflows, meeting notes, and more. Use shared wikis, internal handbooks, and searchable repositories like Confluence, Slate, and Notion.
It’s also a good idea to encourage a “document before discussing” culture, which allows async contributions and avoids repeating information.
9. Check In With Employees Regularly
Hold recurring one-on-one meetings with employees to address any problems they may be facing, celebrate their wins, and maintain a human touch despite differences in time zones.
Use tools like Calendly to allow team members to book time that suits their schedule. You can also leverage feedback surveys to monitor employee engagement and morale.
Grow Your International Team with RemoFirst
Working across distributed time zones isn’t without its challenges, but with the right strategies, tools, and mindset, a globally dispersed team can be advantageous. After all, hiring across borders gives you access to the world’s best talent, and a diverse, international team can increase productivity and innovation, among other benefits.
Partnering with an Employer of Record (EOR) like RemoFirst can make hiring, managing, and paying your remote employees a breeze. RemoFirst removes the legal complexities of international hiring and makes it easy to compliantly grow your team in 185+ countries.
Book a demo to learn more.