Working with clients in different time zones - 5 tips

Are you working for a busy young Wall Street wolf lying in a comfortable hammock hung between palm trees in the Seychelles? We're gonna envy! But we will also advise you - which in practice helps in working with clients located in other, remote time zones.

Have time information on time

In the multitude of cases, orders and e-mails it is easy to lose track of time - in the literal sense. Even for a person with the best mathematical abilities, the current recalculation, which is currently the time in New York, Seoul or Timbuktu, takes a bit - nomen omen - time and in the overload of duties it is easy to make a mistake.

See this: The company, or you - stability instead of growth

It is therefore worth using convenient applications that indicate the current time in a place of interest to us - such as Every Time Zone or World Time Buddy . And for those who can not sit with a computer on the beach, it is worth considering hanging an additional clock in the office   - practical, but stylish!

Save yourself in time

Make sure you know how to mark the time in different time zones. Learn what the enigmatic abbreviations UTC and GMT and the numbers next to them mean. Time in Poland is Central European Time (CET, UTC + 1: 00), valid from the last Sunday in October to the last Sunday in March. In the rest of the year, it is Central European . Soon, however, because it is planned to abolish the change of time soon!

It is worth getting acquainted with the terminology associated with time zones to avoid confusion in determining the hours of telephone conversations and teleconferences with customers. Take a moment to develop a standard, understandable form of appointment messages sent to customers.

If you suspect that your client may not have experience working with people in different time zones, help him! Send him a message saying "Let's talk at 4pm GMT - that's 8am PDT". Converting the meeting time from your time to the time of the client should avoid exchanging emails several times specifying the date of the conversation.

Let me know when you have time

Not every Australian wonders what an entrepreneurial freelancer on the Vistula is dreaming about when he finishes sipping his second coffee over comments on the project for this Varsovian. To provide the client with knowledge about when you can receive a phone call from a subject other than "Friend, I am in prison from Mexico, come to the rescue immediately", please include in your email footer the information at what hours you work , necessarily provided in an understandable to all in the world form (see point above).

Count on time

Since you are already working in Seychelles, you probably do not want to spend 10-12 hours a day in your working hammock - you need to have time to surf not only on the Internet. Analyze your responsibilities and the types of tasks you perform.Determine which ones require the direct involvement of the client, and which you can successfully do yourself and develop a work day schedule . Postpone the first type of tasks to the hours when you know your client will be available. The rest you can do successfully when your client is already in pajamas.  

Time for employees

If you are an employer, you must not only manage your own time, but also those you employ. For them, you can also develop a daily schedule - by 14 we refine the presentation and all materials, because from 15 there is a chance to find out Face Time to Face Time, whether Mr. Smith from New York is satisfied with the pastel colors of our charts.

In addition, consider all options to make your people's working time more flexible.What? Shift work comes first - when it is not possible to set the working time to conveniently contact clients, you may need to work for an afternoon or night shift.Another option - flexible working hours so that employees can come to work sooner or later, but also sooner or later after leaving their duties. And also remote work - thanks to it employees can perform their tasks even at unusual hours without having to come to the office. 

As you can see, there are many ways to organize and facilitate work with clients in different time zones. It is worth considering their use to be able to enjoy the benefits of working in a truly global village in the best possible mood.