Although the traditional 9-5 model is still the norm for many businesses across the world, with better connectivity than ever before, more companies are employing people from different countries who will work remotely.
This working across time zones creates a new dynamic within the workforce, as it requires a shift from managing hours to managing outcomes.
When employees are working across time zones, it means that they have different start and finish times despite working the same number of hours.
While this might seem like it’s not much of an issue, the main problems occur with communication.
Imagine you own a business in the UK and want to hire professionals from New Zealand; that’s a 12-hour difference, which means that while the British day might be just beginning, the Kiwis’ day is just finishing.
Managing performance when working across time zones is very important. This guide will explore this and help your business run more efficiently by having employees from a range of different countries. Continue reading to find out more.
Effective Performance Management
Asynchronous Culture
Effective performance management for time-zone distributed teams can be controlled with an asynchronous culture. This shifts the focus away from inefficient real-time communication and pivots towards fairness with all decisions and feedback being documented in one place.
This helps with eliminating dependency on immediate responses.
Managers can leverage asynchronous tools like video messaging to deliver better feedback without forcing early-morning or late-night calls.
This promotes a healthier work-life balance by encouraging the scheduling of messages to arrive only during an employee’s local working hours, avoiding any toxicity.
Prioritize OKRs
Instead of keeping tabs on everyone’s time, you can prioritise objectives and key results (OKRs). This shift means performance reviews must be based strictly on measurable outcomes rather than subjective measures like attendance.
Goals should be intentionally designed to be achievable despite the time zone restrictions. This can make your large or small business more trustworthy while making an employee’s contribution clear, regardless of their local time.
With annual reviews being too slow for remote work, managers instead conduct frequent check-ins that facilitate rapid course correction and prevent minor issues from escalating due to asynchronous communication delays.
Master the Synchronous Overlap
Since completely asynchronous work isn’t always feasible, successful global performance management relies on synchronous overlapping to handle essential real-time interactions.
There will be a few hours each week when all key team members can commit to being available, reserving this time for the most essential collaborative work.
Rotating these meeting times periodically ensures no single time zone is burdened with inconvenient hours. You can even record all essential performance and strategy meetings to reduce the risk of any miscommunication.
Time Zone Consideration
Creating a time zone map can help plot every team member’s working hours, so everyone will know when colleagues in a different country will be active.
Organizations must invest in cultural competency training for managers, helping them decode how subtle differences affect how feedback is given and received.
A respectful global approach requires accommodating all local holidays, adjusting performance deadlines to honor the employee’s time off rather than pushing them to work through a significant cultural event.
Set Time Zone Boundaries
Time zone boundaries for both employee well-being and clear performance management in a global team are essential to manage properly.
Managers should lead this by facilitating the creation of a visual time map that clearly displays every team member’s local working hours and preferred availability. This can help improve time management as a whole.
Managers can use a feature that allows them to send messages and emails later, ensuring that no work-related messages are lost in the shuffle and will reach the employee while they’re working. This protects their off-hours and prevents the expectation of being always ready to work.
Build Accountability
Building accountability in a multi-time zone environment requires managers to shift entirely from micromanaging activity to monitoring measurable outcomes.
Implementing Centralized Project Tools allows performance to be measured by visible task completion rather than hours logged, which benefits having a workforce that spans different time zones.
Managers must delegate clear ownership for blocks of work that can be completed autonomously within an employee’s local work window. This streamlines workflows and simplifies individual contributions, so that everyone knows what’s done.
Final Thoughts
Maximizing the productivity of your employees when working across time zones is crucial for the success of your business.
This makes managing their performance crucial, as you can see what they’re doing right and all the things that might be going wrong, which can help you with the future planning of the business.
When you’ve got a business in the UK, not everyone will have an indefinite leave to remain and be in the same country where they work. Getting the right employees from different countries and embracing their time zones will give you the best chances of success.
Featured Image – Freepik
About The Author
