The more connected the world becomes and the more home office becomes a part of our everyday lives, the more often it can happen that participants join a meeting from different time zones. For the organizers of such a meeting, globalization brings numerous advantages, but also challenges. How do you best plan an online conference that makes it possible for all participants from different time zones to take part? This is what we reveal in this article.
Before you plan a meeting, you should first ask yourself what type of conference call you are planning. This question also determines which participants you should expect. For example, if it is a regularly recurring meeting in the form of a weekly or monthly team meeting, you should definitely make sure that none of the people involved are permanently disadvantaged due to the time zone.
Sometimes, however, it is impossible to please everyone. If your team is made up of such different time zones that there can never be a perfect time for everyone, you should consider rotating scheduling. This way, each participant can determine the optimal time for him or her and the distribution is fair.
The number of participants and therefore the most represented region are also dependent on the type of meeting. If you are organizing a one-off conference, it is advisable to conduct a survey in advance to find out who would be interested in attending. Depending on how many interested parties come from a certain time zone, this can be taken into account in your planning. If you cannot please everyone here either, it is best to follow the majority. Ideally, however, none of the people taking part should be given an impossible time.
In order to be able to check that none of the times are impossible for one of the participants, it is advisable to take a look at apps or tables that explain or illustrate the different time zones.
.As with so many things in life, the same applies here: Google is your friend and helper. Whether you want an overview of all time zones or want to find out specifically what time it is in a certain place, Google usually has the answer to such questions. However, there are now also numerous apps that can help you plan and organize your meetings across different time zones.
If you work with Google Calendar or plan your meetings via Outlook, they already take a lot of work off your hands, because both platforms automatically change the times according to the time zones of the participants. This saves you and your meeting participants a lot of work and arithmetic, as everyone can follow the information in their own calendar.
It is also advisable to include some foresight regarding the time zones and other appointments of your colleagues in your planning. The more you are aware of what time zones the other people are in and what established, recurring meetings there may already be for them, the easier it will be for you to organize conferences that everyone can attend.
By creating official meeting invitations and having automated reminders sent out, you help employees and employers not to lose track of things themselves and, in an emergency, to be reminded again shortly before the meeting. Finally, it is also useful for those who were unable to attend the meeting to keep minutes or record the meeting directly. This allows all interested parties to review the most important points at their leisure some time later.
As a professional partner for conference room and media technology, we at ComPeri are the ideal partner to help you with the planning and design of your premises in the Munich area as well as with questions relating to the purchase of the optimal software. We will be happy to advise you on the ideal equipment for video conferencing. With our support, we can provide your office with the necessary hardware, such as displays, video cameras and audio systems. The Working World 4.0 is not stopping at anyone and we look forward to accompanying you on your journey there.
Our services include planning and design as well as the installation of your meeting rooms and then the regular maintenance of your hardware and software. We will also be happy to answer any other questions you may have about video conferencing technology.