As someone new to the workforce, you are building your career in a more global business environment than previous generations. With remote work on the rise, the number of Americans hired by international companies grew 62% last year. U.S. businesses are also progressively hiring international staff. The number of employees collaborating across time zones is growing.
Master the Art of Asynchronous Communication
If you work with people in different time zones, you need this skill.
March 15, 2024
Summary.
With the rise of remote and hybrid work, the number of employees collaborating across time zones is growing. If you accept a position on a global team, particularly in a hybrid or fully remote environment, you should not expect to work the same hours as all of your peers. As a result, you will need to learn an increasingly important skill: asynchronous business communication. Here are a few practices that can help.
- Familiarize yourself with company resources. If your organization employs a large, global team, it likely has an intranet with information resources available. Ask your manager about this during your initial conversation. If you come across a problem, check the intranet to troubleshoot it before reaching out to a colleague during their off hours.
- Save your questions. If you can’t find a solution via the intranet, you’ll need to reach out to your colleagues or managers. Rather than shooting off an email every time you have a question, write them down throughout your workday, and send one message out to the appropriate person or people at the end of the day.
- Send a handoff message when you sign off. If you work closely with a peer or manager who signs in after you sign out, they’ll need to understand where you left off in order to seamlessly begin their day. Ask them what kinds of messages would be most helpful.
- Ask for feedback. A big part of learning is accepting that you’ll get better over time. With any form of asynchronous communication you send, end your message with a tagline like, “Was this message clear?”
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Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Writing Skills. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Capture your audience's attention with smarter emails, Slacks, memos, and reports.