Whether you are separated by only a few hours or an entire day, time zones can really bring things down. It can make video calls a nightmare, can make coordination tough, and if you are trying to run a business it can slow things to a halt. After all, it's pretty hard to get your work done whenever your boss is always asleep during your daytime!
However, in the world of the internet and especially in the world of telecommunication, there are ways to make doing business and the act of keeping your business running much much easier even if a massive timezone separates you.
Here are some of the best advantages of telecommunication for your business, don't hesitate to give them a try!
PDF's Let You Transfer Things Across Email, With Nothing Else Needed
It can be hard to get documents across a room sometimes, let alone across a time zone. But if something needs to be signed and sent, such as a legal document, then you need to use PDF's.
PDF's allow you to fill out anything from a legal form to a trigonometric identities unit circle, and then you can send it anywhere in the world with just an email. You don't need to print, fax, or otherwise create a physical copy that needs to be signed, just make a PDF and sign everything online.
Plus, since PDFs are so compatible, they are extremely easy to use and will work on nearly any computer.
Use Various Team Programs
One of the hardest parts of leading a team while you are dealing with time zone changes is the fact that it is very hard to get everyone on the same page. If you have a massive project going on, but no one can communicate about the project or get a big picture overview of how it is going, then that is just asking for a lot of trouble to happen.
However, there are plenty of free programs that you and your team can use to keep one another on track whenever it comes to time zone based work and communication. For example, Slack is a great business communication service that allows for users to send messages and receive notifications throughout the day.
Additionally, Trello uses editable note cards where team members can see the big picture of the project that needs to be completed or the tasks assigned for the day, and then can edit and position the cards to show their progress.
There are plenty of different programs that allow you to work as a team even if you aren't all face to face, so give them a try!
Setting An Official Time Zone
Finally, the best way to use telecom information to work across time zones is not to deal with them at all. Time zone confusion can be a massive problem, because if your team is in three different parts of the world with three different time zones, eventually someone is going to miscount and show up to the meeting either early or late. But there are plenty of websites, plugins, and code snippets that can transfer time zones into the local time.
You just need to install one of these on all your devices, and then when you set a timezone in your timezone on a calendar or website, the code will automatically translate the time to the local time of whoever is looking at it. For example, you could put your time in CST, and your employee in the UK will see the same time in GMT. This will cut down on confusion and will make sure everyone does what they need to do on time!
Use These Advancements
It's very easy to see working across time zones as an impossible mountain that you need to climb, but if you use all the benefits of telecommunications and technology, then you will find that it isn't so bad.
Just make sure to give your business some time to adjust to the new normal, and then everything will keep on running smoothly. Especially if you take advantage of working in different time zones to get more done throughout the day!
