Building teams in different time zones

Building teams in different time zones

Insight from ScrumMastered.

Okay, let’s face it: managing a team spread across different time zones can feel like trying to solve a Rubik's Cube while blindfolded. It's confusing, and a bit frustrating, and if you’re not careful, you’re going to make things worse than when you first started.

The best way to handle time zone differences is to create teams based on location. Now, when forming teams, you’re going to look for several criteria—skills, relationships, level of seniority, etc. 

But if you’re building a remote team, it’s time to add time zones to that growing list. It doesn’t matter if each of your new international hires is a rockstar at what they do.

If they can’t communicate and collaborate effectively with one another, your operations are going to suffer tremendously. 

If you’re from the US, and are looking to hire based on time zones, here are a few regions to consider:

• Eastern Europe: Countries like Poland and Hungary can align well with both Western Europe and parts of the USA. Plus, they have some pretty skilled professionals!

• Latin America: Places like Colombia and Argentina can fit nicely into U.S. time zones, making them great for collaboration without a major lag.

• South East Asia: Look at hiring from countries like the Philippines or Vietnam if you need to align with Australia or the Pacific time zones. Just remember, they might be starting their day when you’re wrapping yours!

• Western Europe: If you’re based in the U.S. but want to connect with Europe, consider Portugal or Spain. They’re in the same time zone as the UK and can overlap well with Eastern U.S. time zones.

This goes above and beyond the hiring process too. If you already have a team working for you, you can create subteams.

Each subteam can have its sync-ups, making coordination smoother. Regular check-ins among subteams can help keep everyone aligned without the headache of scheduling a massive meeting where half the team is snoozing.

Here are a few other things to consider when it comes to time management.

• Availability. Set a standard for when everyone should be online (e.g., 10 AM to 3 PM EST is prime time for meetings). Try to hold this at least once or twice a week. One for actual work updates to keep everyone on the same page. Make the other happy hour to keep team morale high.

• Create time-synced shared calendars. It’s very easy to create a shared calendar with similar time zones. My favorite tool for this is Google Calendar. It’s easy-to-use, but most importantly, it’s FREE! Use this to schedule important meetings and deadlines, so no one else has to worry about time zone conversion.

• Map out overlapping work hours. Identify overlapping work hours. Ideally, aim for at least five to six hours where team members can work simultaneously. This way, they can ask questions, have productive meetings, and avoid the dreaded “Did you get my email?” saga.

Now, I’m not saying that you should make time zone and location a major part of your hiring criteria. 

But when 20% of remote workers cite time zone differences as a major hurdle to teamwork, then it might be time to update your job listings.