Managing Across Time Zones

Your designer is in Manila. Your developer is in São Paulo. Your customer success lead is in Dublin. And you're in San Francisco. Welcome to the reality of global teams.

Managing across time zones isn't just about scheduling—it's about fundamentally rethinking how work gets done.

First, understand what you're working with. A team spanning 12+ time zones might have only 1-2 hours of overlap—or none at all.

Map Your Team's Time

Create a visual map showing:

• Each team member's working hours
• Overlap windows between key collaborators
• "No meeting" zones based on local time

Protect the Overlap

Those precious overlap hours are gold. Use them wisely:

• Reserve for high-bandwidth discussions
• Avoid status meetings that could be async
• Rotate meeting times to share the burden

Global teams can't function without mastering asynchronous communication.

Write More, Meet Less

For every synchronous meeting, ask: "Could this be a Loom video? A detailed Slack message? A Notion doc?"

Documentation Standards

Create clear standards for async communication:

For decisions:

• State the context
• List options considered
• Explain your recommendation
• Set a deadline for feedback

For updates:

• Lead with the headline
• Provide relevant details
• Include next steps
• Link to supporting materials

Response Time Expectations

Define expected response times by channel:

• Slack DM: 4-8 hours
• Email: 24 hours
• Project comments: 24-48 hours
• Emergency channels: Immediate

The "Follow the Sun" Model

Rotate meeting times so no single timezone always takes the inconvenient slot. Track this formally—burnout from constant early/late meetings is real.

The "Two Meeting" Model

For critical recurring meetings, hold two sessions—one for Americas/Europe, one for Europe/Asia. Leaders attend both; others choose their slot.

The "Recording First" Model

Every meeting is recorded. Attendance is optional. This respects time zones while ensuring no one misses important discussions.

Time Zone Management

• World Time Buddy: Quickly compare times across zones
• Clockwise: AI-powered calendar optimization
• Every Time Zone: Visual time zone comparison

Async Communication

• Loom: Async video messages
• Yac: Voice messaging for teams
• Notion: Documentation and wikis

Scheduling

• Calendly: Lets invitees see times in their zone
• Reclaim: Protects focus time across zones
• When2meet: Group scheduling made easy

Deliberate Relationship Building

With limited synchronous time, relationships don't happen organically. Create systems:

• Random coffee chats: Tools like Donut pair teammates for casual conversations
• Personal channels: #pets, #cooking, #hobbies—non-work Slack channels build connection
• Celebration rituals: Birthdays, work anniversaries, wins—celebrate publicly

In-Person Investment

Annual or bi-annual gatherings are non-negotiable for global teams. Budget for:

• Full company retreats
• Team-specific offsites
• Regional meetups

The ROI on in-person time is enormous for distributed teams.

Timezone Tyranny

If your "global" team's meetings all happen during San Francisco business hours, you don't have a global team—you have a San Francisco team with some employees who never sleep.

Async Theater

Sending a Slack message and expecting an immediate response isn't async communication. True async means respecting response time expectations.

Documentation Debt

Async work requires robust documentation. Without it, people waste hours searching for information or asking questions that have already been answered.

Hire for Async Skills

Not everyone thrives in async environments. Look for:

• Strong written communication
• Self-direction
• Comfort with ambiguity
• Proactive information sharing

Regular Process Audits

Every quarter, ask:

• What's working well?
• Where are we creating unnecessary synchronous dependencies?
• How can we better respect each other's time zones?

Leader Modeling

Leaders must model good async behavior:

• Don't send messages expecting immediate responses outside work hours
• Document your own decisions and thinking
• Be patient with time zone delays

Building a global team? RealHires connects you with pre-vetted talent across every time zone. Our video profiles let you assess communication skills before hiring—crucial for async-first teams.