Expert shares pros, cons, best practices when it comes to working with people in other countries
For most Canadians working in a remote or hybrid model, being part of a team that includes people from different parts of the world is part and parcel of their job.
Overall, 66 per cent collaborate with a colleague in a different country at least occasionally and 53 per cent work with them at least monthly, according to a recent Capterra report.
Only 34 per cent of those surveyed say they never work in global teams.
And in this setup, most Canadians have the tools they need for effective collaboration: 87 per cent say their workplace uses effective tools for collaboration. And most welcome these collaborations.
“The overwhelming response we got was that 85 per cent view this international teamwork as an opportunity to grow, to learn new things, to work in different ways. And I think that's really a point of pride for Canada in general,” says Tessa Anaya, senior content analyst at Capterra and author of the report.
“It's especially amazing to realize that these colleagues like these people, and international teams are viewing this in such a positive light, especially when there are many difficulties that are in their way.”
Recently, one HR leader told Canadian HR Reporter about her role in different countries and among different cultures.
What are the benefits of working with international teams?
The biggest perk workers belonging to international teams is the flexibility that they get, says Anaya, citing data from the Capterra report.
“The people who work, collaborate regularly in these global teams say that their top benefit is the flexible work environment.
“Because they're dealing with those volatile work hours, maybe they have a bit more freedom to choose when it works best for them to meet. Also there's a lot of flexibility on when to pick up projects, to pass maybe responsibilities back and forth depending on who can take it. Flexibility, it's just a huge benefit for everyone in the workplace.”
What are the challenges working in international teams?
Two-thirds of global companies are finding it challenging to align with local cultures and communication styles, especially when a company spans multiple geographies, according to a previous report.
And there are a lot of challenges for workers working in international teams, according to Capterra’s report based on a January 2024 survey of 267 Canadians who work with colleagues located in other countries on either a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
A large majority of transnational team collaboration (93 per cent) happens across time zones, and the following are the top challenges these workers face:
- Volatile work hours (51 per cent)
- Language barriers (43 per cent)
- Conflicting communication styles (30 per cent)
- Cultural misunderstandings (29 per cent)
- Use of different work tools (24 per cent)
- Conflicting processes (23 per cent)
One in five (20 per cent) of workers in different parts of the world also say they have too many meetings, according to another Capterra survey of 6,490 respondents in 13 different countries, including Canada.
And 70 per cent of Canadians have colleagues with different native languages than their own.
Here’s how to make meetings more successful, according to one expert.
Wanted: meeting policies for international teams
Given these data points, it’s imperative for employers to come up with meeting policies that are fair to everyone, says Anaya.
“It's more important than ever to really establish the norms of your meeting policy so that they apply to everybody across the organization, no matter where they're located,” she says.
She suggests “strict starting and ending meeting times, so that it's not going over or it's not becoming more inconvenient for somebody to stay joined in a meeting than another person in a different time zone.”
Anaya also suggests meeting-free days so that it's not “a constant struggle to accommodate different schedules”.
“The best tip is setting up an agenda and being very clear with follow up actions for the purpose of the meeting, and just making that as transparent as possible. So nothing gets lost in cultural misunderstandings or even a language barrier. Just be as clear and established as possible.”
