You're in the US and Your Team is in Manila: Surviving the Time Zone Difference

Among the challenges that often come with outsourcing is managing time zones. Where most companies need only wonder how many hours to devote to each task, those involved in outsourcing often need to choose which part of the day those hours fall on. For a business based on the West Coast, for example, hiring a team in Manila would mean one side clocking out while the other’s waking up.

Bridging time zones need not inspire nightmares. With proper planning and the right tools and methods, a company can coordinate projects on two sides of high noon with ease and efficacy—even yielding some unconventional benefits in the process. What follows are four aspects to consider when working with outsourced solutions from another place and another time.

1. Plans and Protocols

Before anything else, it’s important to develop an overall strategy for the project in question. This should cover big picture issues, like what is to be developed and when it is due; what resources will be tapped, whether part- or full-time; and other fundamental points of agreement.

From there, the plan should go into more detail. In discussing what is due and when, for instance, you might consider creating a Gantt chart. A Gantt chart is a useful tool for planning and visualizing tasks and processes considered in terms of time—both how long each should take, and where each starts and ends relative to the others. In this way, all parties involved know what they should be doing at a given time, as well as what to expect from their co-workers. A more detailed look at Gantt charts can be found at www.gantt.com.

The plan should also cover communication between teams. Communicating across time zones has a few more constraints than communicating within the same one, and the lack of physical contact has limits, too. In this environment, a degree of control and consistency goes a long way to smoothing the path. Both sides should agree to a schedule of regular communication, including the channels to use for it. Regular check-ups might be made daily or weekly, for instance; through live chat or video conferencing (we’ll get more into communication later on). Naturally, this should be complemented by a protocol for urgent, non-routine communication. This should address not only channels, but also persons to contact—and, for more pressing situations, who calls the shots when immediate communication isn’t an option.

2. Awareness

Time zones are typically something we take for granted, so simply keeping track of people working in a different time zone can itself be a major shift. With a proper plan set in place, the inconveniences this presents can mostly be ignored, but minor slips can still result in miscommunication. One simple way to maintain awareness is to ensure each side keeps the other one aware. For instance, you might include your time shift in your e-mail signature (and ask the other side to do the same), and always schedule in two time zones, e.g. “Let’s set a conference call for 4:00p.m. PST (7:00a.m. your time).”

Establishing patterns like that can aid a great deal in communication, but there are also tools available to help visualize the difference. Coordinating can be made easy with one of these tools for managing time zone differences.

3. Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication

When dealing with different time zones, it pays to understand these two kind of communication. Synchronous communication covers channels and media that require both parties to be actively either sending or receiving information at the same time, such as phone calls, instant messaging (both sides online at once) and videoconferencing. Asynchronous communication, meanwhile, covers those that allow a party to send information for the other side to receive and digest at a later time, and vice versa. This includes e-mail, instant messaging (only one side online at a time), and project collaboration tools like Basecamp.

When working on projects across time zones, asynchronous communication should generally be preferred. After all, routines are often scheduled around the time of day, which changes across time zones even when two people are technically active simultaneously. Even more compelling is that asynchronous communication allows each party to choose when to respond to communication, allowing for work to proceed uninterrupted for longer stretches—no disruptions from untimely calls, or endless waiting on responses.

At the same time, nearly all forms of asynchronous communication provide for the option of synchronous communication. If you want to respond to a message right away, you’re free to do so; you simply have the option not to, which is absent in many synchronous forms of communication. That kind of freedom in determining your pace goes a long way in hitting a productive working stride.

In defense of synchronous communication, however, is the fact that it allows for a broader range of things to be communicated. Asynchronous communication typically misses out on non-verbal cues and also doesn’t ensure an immediate response to follow-up questions on complex topics. For this reason, synchronous communication shouldn’t be abandoned entirely. Rather, it should be used sparingly and, ideally, at regular intervals convenient to both sides.

4. Find the Right Team

All of that being said, the pangs of adjustment can be eased simply by finding a team that fits your system best. Many outsourcing companies are flexible in their offers. For example, you might hire a team at a premium rate to work during your shift, regardless of time zone. On the other hand, even if you choose to pay regular rates and select a team that works another shift, the agency might provide points of contact for off hours. And in selecting the right agency, you also avail of the experience they bring. Most will be ready with recommendations for an overall strategy, tools and channels for communicating and collaborating, and a general inveterateness in defying the date line.

If you still have unanswered questions on outsourcing to the Philippines, download our eBook on creative process outsourcing and see what solutions work best for you.