Managing a global workforce brings opportunities and a few challenges. Here’s what to consider on the world stage.
Operating internationally brings huge benefits and opportunities, but it’s not without its challenges. We’ve put together some things to consider if you are operating on the world stage.
Your offices may be geographically near to each other, perhaps a few bases in Europe or parts of the US, but often companies have offices spread across the world and inevitably these cross into different time zones.
Whilst it’s not quite as bad as an astronaut losing many Earth years by spending a day on another planet, different timezones can affect your ability to work in-time with your teams. You may have teams going to bed as others are rising for the day. Elsewhere, the cross-over may not be as distinctive but its still there. Without a standard ‘9-5’ office day for everyone, you can run into sticky patches with regards to planning and communication, continuity of work, and making time for collaboration and creativity.
To help with this conundrum, you need to look at ways to work around time zone differences and create a plan that works in-time and around time too.
Firstly, it’s wise to establish everyone’s time zone and working hours, so there is no confusion. You can do this manually or use websites such as https://www.timeanddate.com/ to help you create a customised world clock.
Clarify to everyone what channels of communication teams are to use and any relevant technology and software. Seek out programmes that help you manage work planning and scheduling, and which enable teams to synchronise diaries no matter where they are. Team Today provides this with its Whereabouts and Work Planner features and lets you sync calendars so you can see at-a-glance where and when people are working.
Make use of shared availability times for important in-person communication and working. This is a good time to schedule meetings and phone calls and any check-in time.
If this isn’t possible, for instance if one of your offices’ daytime is another’s night, you can work around this with careful and considerate scheduling. Perhaps hold evening meetings or early morning catchups, being mindful not to have colleagues working too many hours outside of their normal working day. Hours should be adjusted when required.
You should have in place ways to update and/or handover to your international colleagues, in the absence of a morning check-in. You can use your company’s internal comms systems for this and leave notes and plan for in-person communication when everybody is available.
Practice considerate communication, giving regard to people’s working hours. An email sent during the day may not reach an international colleague until the middle of the night, so it’s a good idea to schedule communications to arrive when you know colleagues will be online.
And if you are already working in a remote environment, you will have processes for synchronous and asynchronous communication, which should be utilised here.
Being a global workplace means operating in different countries with cultures, customs and traditions unique to them. Teams and managers should be aware of the nuances involved in working in this way.
Obvious differences can be seen in customs observed by a country; these could be religious or historical national practices, or they could be more localised regional differences. The manner in which people communicate and regard one another can vary greatly from country to country too, and colleagues should be aware of norms, expectations and of things to avoid in case they offend.
Workplace culture and working style can also vary. Some countries follow a highly hierarchical approach to working, where it is unusual to challenge senior managers, whilst in other countries a more liberal approach is adopted with colleagues encouraged to voice their thoughts and ask questions.
Similarly, some nations place their focus on work/life balance and wellbeing, whilst others are focused on success shown by working long hours to demonstrate commitment. Within all of this, employee wellbeing is paramount, and managers should be mindful always of their duty of care.
Having teams spread out across the world has huge advantages and whilst there will be reasons for colleagues to visit other offices for business, it’s also incredibly beneficial for them to gain an understanding of how each area operates and it helps foster a stronger feeling of a global working community in your business.
There are of course considerations when your teams are travelling. Time zone differences need to be borne in mind when booking international travel, especially that which involves changing flights or stopping over. Accommodation should be arranged if the visit involves multiple days and, depending on the area your teams are travelling to, there may be health considerations such as vaccinations required.
Travelling colleagues must have up-to-date passports and there may be additional visa requirements and restrictions which need to be factored in, such as the Schengen area restrictions in Europe.
It’s likely your teams will be travelling with equipment. Security and data protection are crucial. There should be a contingency plan, which the teams are aware of, in the event of equipment being lost or stolen.
And not forgetting your duty as an employer for your teams’ safety, this applies here too. Managers should conduct a business travel risk assessment before any travel. Colleagues should know how they can help keep themselves safe, any known safety risks or hotspots, and what to do if they are in difficulty.
Managing a global workforce involves navigating an intricate network of international laws and regulations. As an employer you have a responsibility to adhere to the laws of the country or countries in which you operate. Whether these are labour laws, health and safety, tax, or quality and compliance, you need to know the rules for local, national and international legislation. These should be incorporated into your policies as part of your global HR framework, and they should be clearly communicated to all staff and management.
Operating your business on the world stage opens the doors to much promise and opportunity. With careful planning and consideration, you can have a successful, productive and happy global workforce.
For more insights and articles about hybrid working from Team Today, visit our blog here.