The reason team-building activities are so effective is simple: they work because everyone is present and committed to making an effort. Whether it’s brainstorming in the same room or solving a game challenge together, the whole team’s presence creates a sense of connection. And that connection creates results. But what happens when your team is scattered across continents, time zones, and cultures?

Managing a global team requires a new perspective on what it means to build and sustain synergy.

Having a diverse team is not necessarily a bad thing; such teams can bring fresh ideas, experiences, and perspectives to the table. However, they also come with unique challenges: differences in working hours, culture, and communication styles, which make collaboration more challenging (even daunting).

Success in managing a global team requires proven strategies to ensure every team member feels seen, heard, and valued—even when they’re thousands of miles apart.

This article takes a closer look at the insights for building collaboration and trust across international teams. Keep reading to learn how you transform distance into a distinctive edge.

In This Article:

Benefits of managing a global team

Having an international team as a part of your company is a chance to build a business that drives innovation and resilience. Here are some benefits of having a global team by your side:

You can choose among worldwide candidates. Meaning, there’s a much bigger talent pool. You can select the right candidates that fit your business perfectly in terms of skills, knowledge, and alignment with your company culture, values, and goals.
You can consider expanding into international markets. When you have employees who speak multiple languages, you are able to quickly build a reputation worldwide, ultimately boosting your profits and growth.
You can use your employee’s different perspectives as a foundation for innovation. An international team comes with unique backgrounds, experiences, and ways of thinking, which can lead to more creative approaches to problems and more innovative ideas.
You can always rely on someone working and, hopefully, being productive. When your team members are spread across various time zones, your business can operate 24/7; while one part of the team is ready to go to bed, another is just brushing their teeth in the morning.
You’ll be more culturally aware and sensitive. Managing a global team allows you to learn about cultures, customs, and markets. You can use this information to tweak your products, services, and marketing strategies to resonate with audiences worldwide.

Challenges of having an international team

We purposefully wrote “challenges” instead of “drawbacks” or “downsides” because running a global business comes with a few obstacles but they are never impossible to overcome. You can transform these challenges into opportunities with the right strategies, tools, and mindset.

Here are the challenges:

You’ll have difficulty coordinating meetings. Collaboration can get tricky when a team works in different time zones. You need to find a time that works for everyone to meet up.
There will be obvious cultural differences. Your team members will have different communication styles and work expectations, which can lead to language barriers and misunderstandings. So, you need to build a culture where everyone is open-minded, patient, eager to communicate, and respectful to one another.
Your team may feel disconnected. When a team works worldwide, building personal connections is hard. So, you need to find a way to encourage bonding and get-to-know-each-other opportunities.
You’ll need to invest in the right tech for your team. If you want to ensure that everyone can work, you need to invest in reliable tech (like your team having compatible tools) to keep things running smoothly.

5 strategies for managing a global team

The five following strategies will help you manage an international team effectively and ensure they collaborate and communicate better.

1. Define transparent communication rules

Due to different time zones, languages, and cultural norms, you need to create some guidelines (or even standards) for effective communication.

These communication rules or practices need to work for everyone on the team, and they can include defining channels used for different types of communication (like email, Slack, etc.), regular check-ins, and communication expectations.

Also, since different time zones are a major challenge, ensure that everyone understands what is expected of them regarding availability and response times.

2. Build trust through open and clear practices

A good tip to keep in mind when it comes to trust is that when there’s no trust, your team turns to dust.

It’s true; when there’s no trust in a team, it just turns into a group—a bunch of people working individually but never truly together.

And what comes before trust is even more important, which is openness and honesty. In one word: transparency.

So, be open and honest with your team about your expectations for them and business goals. As long as you are transparent with them, they will be with you. As time goes by, they’ll also build trust in you.

Also, don’t forget to:

Always share essential information with your team, such as project updates, milestones, and results.
Encourage open communication so your team can share their thoughts without fear of judgment.
Follow through on commitments as it shows your integrity, and that you are a reliable manager they can trust.

3. Use technology to improve collaboration

The one thing that will make your life easier is using the right technology and tools to manage your international team.

We’re talking video conferencing tools (like Zoom), project management software (like Asana), a messaging app (like Slack), and even an automatic time tracking tool (like Memtime) to facilitate collaboration within your team.

A project management tool will keep everyone on the same page, especially if it has a time tracking app that connects with it so you can keep track of task progress in real time. That’s why Memtime could be the right choice for your team; it promotes ethical time tracking for remote teams by keeping collected time data offline, on your team members’ desktops only.

4. Build a feedback culture

Managing tasks and helping your team manage their time better is great but it has no value if you don’t promote constructive feedback.

Without regular feedback, your team members can struggle to understand their strengths and things they need to work on, leading to stagnation. Constructive criticism should be viewed as an opportunity for improvement, not a threat to your team’s abilities or worth.

So, please encourage open, honest, and regular feedback to build a better communication foundation and promote collaboration. Encourage team members to give feedback on their tasks, projects, experiences working with others, and the processes you established. With such feedback, you’ll be able to identify areas for improvement and help your team be accountable for their actions.

It goes without saying that you, as a manager, should lead by example and be open to receiving feedback.

5. Create team-building activities

Who says team-building activities are only for on-site teams? Not us.

Building relationships is crucial for any team, so you need to find ways for your team members to get to know each other outside of work. You can do so with virtual team-building activities.

Examples of virtual team-building activities are casual video calls, virtual happy hours and/or coffee breaks, online games your team can play, and even organizing an annual retreat so team members can get to know each other in person.

You can encourage bonding and socializing in multiple ways, so don’t sleep on these team-building activities.

It’s your turn to build bridges across borders

Successfully managing a global team requires dedication, willingness to communicate, adaptability, and understanding of different cultures, languages, and expectations.

With the five mentioned strategies, you can manage global teams and create a culture based on inclusivity, understanding, and mutual respect.

You will encounter challenges, but as long as you openly communicate and work on building team cohesion, your international employees will achieve more than you ever imagined.

Good luck, and keep supporting your team and celebrating their success.🍀