Cloud Collaboration Across the Pond

Here at zkipster, we embrace a truly international working environment. We work 24/7, across the globe, from 5 different locations worldwide, and we just thought we’d give you a quick insight into what it’s like to work in a truly international environment!

ZHR <-> NYC

christina_vincenzo_skype-resized-600zkipster is operates out of New York City, Zürich, London, Los Angeles and Prague. Our sales and R&D arm extends out of all of these cities, but the marketing magic happens mainly between New York and Zürich. There are some obstacles to overcome, some hurdles to jump, but thanks to the Internet and smart time management we make it work and enjoy the benefits of collaborating across the big pond. To show you some of the benefits, we’ll begin our story in the motherland, Switzerland…

While our man in Zürich is brewing his first Espresso of the morning (his Italian heritage obliges him to drink at least 5 cups a each day), the zkipster team in New York is still off visiting the land of sweet dreams. The six-hour time difference between Switzerland and the US means the NYC office inboxes are often overflowing with work before NYC team members can make it back from their morning run, and the same applies, vice-versa, with our man in Zürich. He receives comments and edits while he’s fast asleep, and then gets right back to work, second thing in the morning (first is always that strong black Espresso, of course).

CLOUD CONNECTION

The worldwide team stays connected via Skype and Email, and updates and shares work on the always-handy Google Drive, because we truly believe in the power of the cloud to help us work. We at zkipster not only work in the cloud; we also meet in the cloud. Every Monday it’s time for our Marketing meeting and thanks to programs, like FaceTime and Skype, we are truly connected with the added benefit of seeing our beautiful colleagues across the globe.

zrh_-_nyc_office-resized-600Unfortunately, the time difference also means that there’s a constant danger of miscommunication and conflicts when it comes to setting meeting schedules. But with a little help from Google Calendar, we are able to easily manage all meetings and content publishing schedules online. Another win for cloud services! We also have the need to make an extra effort to be available for not only for each other, but also for our event planning patrons as well. We recognize that most events happen after normal 9-6 business hours and on weekends, and that updating guest lists can occur at all hours, so we make sure that someone is always available to guide and instruct clients.

As we iron out our collaboration and communication process, we hope we can serve as a model for small businesses with members in far away places. There are no more boundaries especially for small, agile start-ups, in the cloud!

How do you keep open channels of communication, when team members are far away?