Post on 21-Oct-2014
description
Alleviating the Chronic Pain of Time Zones
Cass PhillippsFailCon Founder@webwallflower
#officeoptional
The History of Time Zones
Time zones were actually invented to make business easier!
Time Zone Preparation
And they still can, with a little bit of preparation ahead of time.
Why Is This Important?
Empower your partners, employees, clients, and customers to show up to your meeting at
their best.
If you don’t mess up the easy stuff, you can spend your time tackling the hard stuff.
Ask Where Someone Is
Before setting a meeting, ask – don’t guess! Then find the time there.
Include Relevant Information
Always include your own time zone:2:00pm PT
Don’t include Daylight SavingsYou may just confuse people more.
Consider adding your city:2:00pm PT (San Francisco)
Or using 24h time, just to be safe:14:00 PT (San Francisco)
Stay One Step Ahead
Include their time zone, too:2:00pm PT (10:00pm BT)
Know What It Means For Them
Don’t propose a time that doesn’t make sense.Be Considerate!
Know Your Time Zones
What is a globally acceptable time?
8:00am PT (LA, San Francisco, Seattle)11:00am ET (New York City, DC, Miami)
5:00pm CET (France, Germany, Italy)8:30pm IST (India)
11:00pm CTZ (China)
Common Courtesy
Don’t just default to video calls. People may be at home…or in their PJs.
Dealing With Daylight Savings
Announce DST – email the day before, and post signs ahead of time.
Put a DST alert in your phone, reminding you to check calendar appointments.
Use iCal or gCal invites. They’ll adjust for you…sometimes…
Time Zone Tools
Check The Interwebs
EveryTimeZone.com
Or Simply Google “Current Time In ______”
Add a World Clock To Your Calendar
Google Calendar Settings Labs
Show More Time Zones In Your Cal
Google Calendar Settings
Show Time Zones
Recognize Holidays
Include international & religious holidays in your company calendar. Folks’ll be impressed
with your knowledge and consideration!
For Teams Spread Thin
Call in to a daily scrum (at a time good for everyone)
Ask if anyone needs to follow-up together after the meeting.
Ensure the team knows when everyone is working and respects that.
Be Prepared For Communication
Preparation – it’s not silly.
If you don’t mess up the easy stuff, you can spend your time tackling the hard stuff.
Arrive to every meeting at your best.
Thank You
Cass PhillippsFounder of FailCon@webwallflower