6 Tips for Managing Work Across Time Zones

Juggling multiple time zones can feel like an impossible task, but seasoned professionals have cracked the code. Insights from a senior project manager and a founder & CEO reveal strategies to optimize work hours across diverse teams. From setting up regular check-ins to establishing core hours and time-zone buddies, this article compiles six expert tips. Discover how these leaders make remote work not just possible, but efficient and productive.

• Set Up Regular Check-Ins

• Leverage Flex-Time Policies

• Automate Scheduling and Updates

• Prioritize Asynchronous Communication

• Empower Local Leadership

• Establish Core Hours and Time-Zone Buddies

Set Up Regular Check-Ins

Set up a regular meeting time, at least once a week, for check-ins. This really helps build a sense of teamwork and keeps everyone on the same page with goals and priorities, no matter where they are. Plus, it helps your team feel supported and connected.

Diane Howard, RN and Founder, Esthetic Finesse

Leverage Flex-Time Policies

Leading a team spread across different time zones is all about leveraging the power of precise scheduling and flexibility. At Rocket Alumni Solutions, we've successfully managed this by implementing flex-time policies. These allow our team members to set their own working hours, ensuring they can work when they're most productive. For instance, some of my team members prefer working early in the morning, while others are more productive in the evenings. This flexibility has led to a 30% boost in operational efficiency and a significant reduction in turnover rates.

One key tip is to use data-driven insights to schedule core overlap hours for team meetings, ensuring maximum participation without disrupting personal productivity patterns. To facilitate seamless collaboration, we also rely on interactive tools like the Touchstone, an interactive touch-screen platform. This tool helps highlight achievements and align objectives across different time zones, keeping every team member informed and connected, regardless of their location. Managing across time zones is about creating a system where everyone feels connected and part of the bigger picture.

Chase McKee, Founder & CEO, Rocket Alumni Solutions

Automate Scheduling and Updates

As someone with a diverse background in construction management and IT, I've mastered effective team leadership across time zones. My experience in construction taught me the importance of efficient project management and clear communication. To handle diverse time zones, I set up a protocol where critical updates are shared at predetermined times, ensuring everyone is on the same page, regardless of location.

When I transitioned to a writing career, I leveraged my IT skills to automate scheduling and update systems. One tool that has been especially beneficial is Asana. By creating customizable, time-zone-responsive dashboards, my teams can view tasks in their local time, reducing friction and increasing productivity. This method also allows everyone to identify peak hours for collaboration, balancing productivity across the board.

In roofing projects, coordination with teams and contractors in different regions was key. By establishing a clear point of contact and rotating on-call schedules, we effectively handled immediate needs without causing burnout. I prioritize flexibility in work hours and ensure that communication lines are consistently open, which is crucial for seamless project execution and team motivation.

Jimmy Hertilien, Senior Project Manager, Herts Roofing & Construction

Prioritize Asynchronous Communication

To effectively manage a team across different time zones, I focus on creating a seamless workflow anchored around our mission—streamlining complex processes into efficient systems. A specific strategy I use is the establishment of asynchronous communication while prioritizing key real-time interactions. Given our focus on continuously improving payment solutions for gig workers, it's essential that my team stays aligned. We use project management tools that support asynchronous updates, reducing the dependency on real-time meetings, which ensures that productive hours don't get wasted waiting for synchronized meetings.

One tip for optimizing work hours is to empower your team with the flexibility they need, while setting clear expectations and outcomes. At Gig Wage, I've seen remarkable success by allowing my team to define their peak productivity times and encouraging them to self-manage their workload towards achieving set objectives. This approach has led to us not only retaining talent but also advancing project completion timelines due to increased motivation and efficiency.

Additionally, my experience in playing professional basketball overseas taught me the importance of adapting to new environments and leveraging diverse skills across time zones. In our industry, the gig economy demands constant learning and iteration, and using the varied perspectives from different geographic zones can be a game changer if managed correctly. This diversity in time zones is not a hurdle but an opportunity to innovate solutions around the clock, amplifying our ability to serve the gig economy more effectively.

Craig Lewis, Founder & CEO, Gig Wage

Empower Local Leadership

Having scaled Premier Staff from Los Angeles to successfully managing operations in New York City, we've learned that empowering local leadership is crucial for cross-time-zone success. Our most effective strategy has been developing strong team leads in each market through our Captain Development program, then giving them autonomy to make decisions based on local needs. 

For example, when we handled Ferrari's Formula 1 activation in Las Vegas with 120 staff members across multiple time zones, we relied on our proven system of organizing teams into pods of 5-8 people with empowered local leaders. This structure ensures clear communication channels while respecting time-zone differences. 

The key is to trust your local teams—when you've invested in proper training and development, you can confidently delegate decision-making authority to your on-ground leaders.

Daniel Meursing, Founder/CEO/CFO, Premier Staff

Establish Core Hours and Time-Zone Buddies

One approach to coordinate teams in different time zones that is often overlooked yet powerful is establishing "core hours" instead of expecting every employee to work a specific time block between 9 and 5 on local time. 

Core hours provide a few hours when the time zone overlaps in midafternoon; ideally, this will be two or three hours when all team members are online together. 

Besides, I highly recommend creating "time-zone buddies"—pairing people in time zones that are directly adjacent to each other. They can exchange power and hand over tasks or help one another at the beginning and end of their workday. 

Not only does such an arrangement continue workflow, but it also reduces the bottleneck since records will not only be passed one to another in pure handoffs, but completion is possible within a short time, avoiding the lock of waiting the next day for someone else's overlap.

It is an efficient way to keep the flow going without having to force anyone to work obscure hours.

Alex Padalka, CEO & Founder, JetBase