Managing Teams Across Time Zones

by Mike Betty 

April 2011

Long gone are the days where companies hired, sourced, produced, sold and garnered the lion's share of their revenues and profits in the domestic country of origin. The optimistic, and realistic, viewpoint of this irreversible global interconnectedness is positive. Firms that have the foresight and agility to look to other countries to manage costs, increase revenues and reach and effectively partner with other firms have what Harvard Professor Michael Porter describes as a "positional advantage," by utilizing both a cost and a differentiation advantage to outpace the competition.

As with any major strategic decision, choosing to operate and partner in other countries comes with a myriad of challenges and potential pitfalls that can be ameliorated with appropriate forethought and planning. Chief amongst these challenges is the effective management and leadership of remote teams across diverse geographic boundaries and time zones.

The balance of this article will highlight and discuss many of the important milestones to set and steps to take to ensure high quality communications, engagement, productivity and the ultimate achievement of success when managing and leading remotely.

Initial Steps are Critical
Long before the planned evaluation of location for operations and/or employees (Americas, EU, Asia), it is critical that executive leadership understand the distinct possibility that conventional (corporate office) team management skills will likely fall short in effectively accomplishing needed intermediate and long-term objectives.

With this in mind, organizations need to determine if they have the needed internal cross-functional (HR, legal, production) skills and abilities to appropriately hire, staff and train for planned in-country operations. While choosing to outsource this function is often appropriate, prior deep engagement and clear communications outlining the establishment of roles, purpose, goals and objectives, the formulations of in-country roles and relationships and importantly, understanding the culture of the country, when chosen, is critical.

One cannot overemphasize the importance of successfully identifying and installing the appropriate in-country and in-headquarters leadership (new, or does the skill set already exist within the organization?) and employee base to effectively carry out pre-planned stated objectives.

Keeping on Track
Once locations have been determined and the necessary leaders and employees have been identified and hired, ground rules need to be set for the following methods, frequency and timing of ongoing team communications. The permutations of structuring this in an effective manner can be mind-boggling, and there is no one size fits all answer, but certain constants hold true.

Method
There is never a substitute for face to face meetings, especially in a virtual environment, across time zones. Visits should be based on stated need and appropriate attention should be paid to all operations in the various locales. Scheduling flexibility and creativity is critical here.