7 Ways to Work Across Time Zones

by Elle Werle

Time zone differences are a huge setback for several international businesses with clients, customers, and employees in various parts of the world. Overcoming time differences would mean navigating the challenges and coming up with a smart solution for each. In this article, we’ve highlighted the 7 ways you can effectively work across different time zones.
1. Leverage Technology
Technology and the internet are going the extra mile to connect people across the world. Using the right remote collaboration software can effectively solve the time zone puzzle. Our Weet platform, for example, has been built for remote collaboration. The instant video messaging platform allows teams to work on projects asynchronously, so nobody is disadvantaged due to time zone restrictions.
2. Use a Mobile-Friendly Software
People are not only obsessed with their smartphones because they’re trendy but because it offers unmatched convenience. Imagine if you had to get back to your office to log in for a work meeting. Or, wait until you have your computer so you could reply to business emails. Adding this problem to the time zone challenge would make life unbearable. A mobile-friendly platform like Weet allows you to connect with your remote busy bees anywhere, anytime from the comfort of your smart device.
3. Set Deadlines
It’s easy to lose track when your remote teammates are more than 12 hours ahead or behind you. To solve this confusion, always set a deadline for a remote project. This will help you track the number of hours that have elapsed since you began working on a project. Deadlines will help your Weet team organize their tasks in order of priority.
4. Manage Your Asynchronous Meeting
If you are to run a successful asynchronous meeting, it’s necessary to plan how you’re going to carry yourself with the other remote workers. You’ll need to establish what type of communication will be used in which tool and even set expectations on updates and feedback. To avoid a situation where individual members take a week to add their notes on the project, you want to assign each member a portion of the project and track their progress.
5. Ensure Constant Communication
No matter how busy you can be, you should always find a way to communicate with your remote busy bees. Using a remote video collaboration tool is the best way to ensure constant communication, quickly and effectively. Our busy bee Weet has been created with this in mind. We believe in getting back your time and giving you the freedom and power to control your remote tasks.
6. Outsource What You Can
The idea of outsourcing is a nightmare for many people. There are several reasons why companies fear outsourcing part of their tasks and projects. The truth is, you can learn to overcome the fear of outsourcing by using the right remote collaboration tool. Here is why outsourcing is healthy, not only to your business but personal life:
- You get to focus on what you do best and let other people handle the rest
- You reduce costs and enjoy some free time
- You become a better manager as more workload is taken off your schedule
7. Manage and Control
Managing a remote team goes beyond assigning projects and collecting feedback. It lies deep within your leadership skills to motivate, guide, and offer them the necessary resources to get the job done. Luckily enough, some of these leadership features have been built into our Weet platform. With the ability to manage your Weet, customize the feedback options, and even protect content – you’re definitely in control of everything from the comfort of your smart device.
Conclusion
When it comes to working across time zones and bringing together remote employees, there’s no secret recipe to success. The above seven tips will help you stay ahead of time zone challenges as you use our busy bee Weet to build a capable team that will deliver the best results and nurture growth and knowledge sharing.