The virtual second shift: Working several time-zones ahead can be a real advantage

For many teams, having members working remotely in different time zones can be a challenge, especially for communication and meetings where everyone needs to be present or just for coordinating events. All of the online tools like Zoom, Google Meet, Slack, and Microsoft Teams really help facilitate communication for remote workers and help manage complicated projects more efficiently. However, when the time zone differences become a bit more than a few hours, even remote meetings can be difficult. For many large international companies, this is already builtin, usually through just accepting the inefficiency as a price for access to new markets, lower labor cost, etc. But for small companies and teams, this can be quite the headache and can really impact speed of development or production.

There is a hidden benefit to having team members spread far apart though: The virtual second shift. Imagine the scenario where you have a content writer and an editor. If they are in the same office, working side-by-side, the editor has to wait until the writer completes the new content before they can edit it. The editor is always at least one day behind the writer. But - If the writer lived on the East coast of the US, say Washington DC, and the editor lived in Central Europe, say Amsterdam; that’s a 6 hour difference between Eastern Standard Time (EST) and Central European Time (CET) with the editor being ahead of the writer. The writer can start writing in the morning EST, the editor gets online 6 hours later (morning CET) and they both can have a meeting online where the two times overlap. At the end of the EST day, the writer sends the content to the editor, the editor gets it, and edits it by the end of the day CET and then sends the final back to the writer - who sees it first thing the next morning. This is effectively creating a second shift for the work day and extending the work day from 8 hours to 14 hours. In a lot of companies - that will make a huge difference to their bottom lines!

Good team management, division of work, and expectations, can really ramp up how fast a company (or team) can produce whatever it is that they produce: Writing code and testing, web content and publishing, consulting and customer solutions, concept and design. Imagine how impressed your customers would be if you effortlessly solved their problems overnight?

There are some challenges though and most are related to the team and occasionally, the work not being a good fit for division. Managers and team members with classic work styles may have difficulty adapting to team members far away and unknowingly, set unrealistic expectations. Remote workers can also be distracted by their day and environment (especially if newly moved) and be challenged not just to work, but to work well and be a part of the team. Sometimes the work or project just doesn’t break apart into shifts because of hard time constraints or is easily handed off so that one team can pick up where the other left off.. 

RPWalter has been helping teams do this for years. We have a lot of experience with remote workers based in Europe who work with companies in the US, seen a lot of challenges, and know what usually works best. We can help you build your team, set expectations, solve problems with long-distance remote work, and help you understand how the transition to a virtual second shift can really turbocharge your teams.

How companies can reduce costs with employees in Europe?

Companies with remote work policies already benefit from minimized office space and often increased productivity and lower workplace liabilities. But companies that have remote workers in the EU also have lower employee administration costs, healthcare costs, and tax and pension costs plus other soft benefits and savings. 

Health insurance is probably the largest area of savings because health insurance in the US is the responsibility of the employer and can often be 20% of an employee’s salary. You, as the employer, have to select the right insurance plans for your employees, pay the costs for those plans, and administer and manage any changes. In the Netherlands, the employee is, by law, required to find their own insurance and can select from many providers and plans that are best for the individual. A typical cost to the employee is €125/month for a premium plan that will cover just about everything. So effectively there are no health insurance costs for Dutch employers. That is an instant savings.

When you consider payroll, taxes, and HR administration on top of health insurance plus expertise you have to have in house to effectively administer everything, it can be quite the distraction from your core business. Furthermore, if this is done poorly, or there are mistakes, things can get complicated very quickly.

Not so much as a direct or measurable expense, but attracting employees is getting more difficult and sometimes does not even mean offering higher salaries. Many of today’s highly skilled workers are looking for not just more money but other incentives. Why not offer the opportunity to live and work in the Netherlands so they can explore Europe in their free time? This can be a great way to attract or retain a key employee who might either look for a European firm or go to another opportunity that does pay more.

How does RPWalter help? When you enter into a professional services agreement with us, we take over all of the typical payroll and HR admin for your employee, sponsoring a Dutch work visa for them, manage all the immigration processes, and free you of much of the HR responsibilities and expenses of managing an employee in another country. The cost savings vary, but they are typically less than half of your current HR and payroll costs and in most cases, roughly 6% of the employee’s salary..

So you want to remote work in Europe

Lots of people do it, why not you?

There are lots of things to consider, most are benefits but there are some challenges that can make it difficult to make the move. Since you have gotten this far, you are already considering the benefits - there are lots and that topic will be covered in future. Let’s talk about two of the biggest challenges:

1. Length of stay. How long do you want to be in Europe? If it is less than 90 days, no problem legally because it is considered a long tourist stay in most European countries. If you are considering 90 days then also consider that in many desired areas of Europe, over-tourism is a problem and they have imposed many limits and restrictions. For example: In Amsterdam, the number of Airbnbs are limited, they can only be leased for 30 days at a time, and can be quite expensive. This means you have to move at least twice during your stay. Also consider that you are making a major move,to a new area, with a lot of distractions that will likely impact your work. If you are busy now working remotely, you’ll be 3x busier because you’ll be exploring new things, absorbing tons of new experiences, maybe some culture shock, and you’ll still want to see the sights and do stuff during your down time. Those 90 days will be pretty exhausting and will be nothing like actually living here.

If it is more than 90 days, or maybe even considering making it permanent, then you need a work visa that allows you to be a legal resident and stay as long as the visa is valid. How do you get a work visa? In a nutshell, you need to have a European company sponsor you for a work visa. Traditionally, this means finding a new job with a European company.

2. Can you, your employer, and team manage with you being 6+ hours ahead?

This can be the biggest challenge depending on your employer, team, and type of work that you do. Most people who work remotely here with American companies adopt a 11-7 or 10-6 schedule. Best thing to do is to make sure expectations are clear and realistic. If you have a routine meeting on Fridays at 2pm EST which is 8pm your time, you can bet you might not make all or many of those meetings, even though your employer might require it. It’s just not realistic.

Luckily, RPWalter Consulting B.V. can help. We work with you and your current employer, hire you from your current employer, sponsor a Dutch work visa for you, and then outsource you back as a consultant. It’s the best of both worlds because you do not need to leave your current job, you get to live in the Netherlands, and your employer doesn’t lose you and find someone to replace you. The only rub is that it is only for the Netherlands. But the Netherlands is a great place, most people speak English, it is central to Europe as a transportation hub, modern with great internet and infrastructure, and an ideal place to start exploring the rest of Europe.

Furthermore, we are an intermediary between you and your employer and can help create a solid realistic working relationship, provide help with best practices around remote working for both you and your employer, and insure there is minimal disruption. We are the people your employer can call when they need advice on working with you remotely and who you can call when you have a challenge with your employer.