5 ways to stay connected when running a multi-national company
Despite being a startup, we have been able to stretch out across the globe to areas such as New York, Los Angeles, Athens, Shanghai, Ho Chi Minh City and more. Operating across multiple time zones can be tricky, however, as we need to we stay connected with associates, advisors, partners and clients without always being in the same location. However, by using the latest technology and staying true to our foundational principles including forging long-term relationships, we are able to stay connected as Ideoli expands international. To stay connected when running a multi-national company, consider these five areas:
1. Constant Communication
If you’re not in the same location as someone, it can be easy to let communication decline over time. However, it’s crucial to go against this tendency and instead, find ways to maintain constant communication. Today’s digitally-enabled world makes it easier than ever to communicate with anyone, anywhere, anytime. This communication does not have to be lengthy, but we find that even just texting clients to say hi or getting a quick project status update over the phone with project managers is important to make sure that the business is moving forward successfully on all fronts.
2. Digital Face Time
Seeing is believing, so sometimes communication needs to take the form of digital face time. Whether it’s using video chat platforms like Google Hangouts, FaceTime or Skype, or just sending a photo or video of things like product prototypes, digital face time can help close the physical divide between people working in different locations.
3. Physical Face Time
While digital face time helps us stay connected, it’s also important to not discount real face-to-face meetings. At Ideoli, we plan business trips with the goal of maximizing in-person interactions so that we can more fully-connect with those important to our work. Sometimes that means planning multi-purpose trips, such as traveling to a client’s site to oversee an installation, followed by meeting with a local supplier and potential interviews for new partners.
4. Project Management Tools
To keep everything organized and to maintain a solid communication flow even when associates are far away from each other, we rely on project management tools as our lifeline to the business. Doing so helps us ensure that everyone is on the same page. While we want to maintain constant communication, we also don’t want to start falling into unnecessary communication due to associates duplicating work or missing deadlines because not everyone has the right information. And when traveling, tools like Asana, Zoho and Salesforce make it easy to stay up-to-date, rather than having to dig through emails to find out what’s going on.
5. Targeted Time Zone Shifts
Lastly, Ideoli finds that having constant coverage across international time zones helps us stay connected, have a consistent flow of communication around the world and allows for a truly integrated organization. Rather than trying to serve all our clients globally only during U.S. business hours, we have associates and partners in multiple time zones that can help us provide client coverage around the clock. That way, the company as a whole does not miss out on important opportunities or issues due to time differences
Running a successful multi-national company requires staying connected, and Ideoli is always on the front lines of using technology to make this possible.
