How to handle contractors from different timezones. (4)
Just as the headline states, how do you handle out sourced employees who are in different timezones? While keeping everyone on a fixed time schedule (9-5).
Example: My timezone is Central time zone in Chicago, where as, some of my employees are based in the Philippines. Do I ask them to work the "night" shift respectively, or do I try to set their fixed hours with a layover were we're both online for 2 hours, etc.
Any help is appreciated, Thanks!
In my opinion, requesting them to work the graveyard shift regularly is unreasonable, especially if you are looking for a long term relationship.
Instead, I'd work on decreasing the communication overhead as much as possible by writing detailed documentation, using very clear directives, paying extra $$$ for solid employees that actually think while they are working etc.
If you reach a bigger number of outsourcees, you could even think of appointing a dedicated project manager that handles all the "low-level" communication for you, so you have a single point of contact.
Ideally you should be able to send a single e-mail with ToDos and get back the results after their shift, so timezones won't be an issue anymore.
Of course this whole thing is a process and won't work from the getgo, so you will probably have to bite the bullet and do some graveyard shifts yourself at first 
It would depend on the nature of the work.
Does it need to be carried out synchronously or can it be asynchronous?
It many outsourcing heavy hubs like India or Philippines, it is perfectly normal to have people working (their) night shift. In fact, it is almost part of the culture for a large segment of the society involved in the business process outsourcing industry.
I have been outsourcing to the PH for years now and always asked my employees to do the 5pm - midnight shift ( 9-5 my time ).
Has worked pretty good so far 
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