When a team spans multiple regions, there’s rarely a perfect time. The usual failure mode is that one region always gets the early morning or late evening slot. Rotating the time is the simplest way to make the burden feel fair.
Define “reasonable hours”
A practical default is something like 8:00am–6:00pm local time. Some teams expand it (for example 7:00am–8:00pm) for large global groups. Pick a band and document it so nobody feels the schedule is arbitrary.
A simple 3-slot rotation
If you have three major regions (for example Americas, Europe/Africa, Asia/Oceania), rotate across three windows:
- Americas-friendly: late afternoon Europe, morning Americas, late night Asia.
- Europe-friendly: midday Europe, early morning Americas, evening Asia.
- Asia-friendly: morning Asia, early morning Europe, evening Americas.
Rotation doesn’t need to be perfect. Even “rotate once per month” is better than “the same people suffer forever.”
How to pick the windows quickly
Use the Schedule tool with two representative cities (for example New York and London, then London and Singapore). You’re looking for windows that keep most people inside the reasonable-hours band most of the time.
Publish the schedule clearly
- Include the anchor time zone (city or IANA identifier), not just an abbreviation.
- Include the UTC time for clarity when possible.
- Call out DST seasons (March/April and Oct/Nov) and re-check conversions around those weeks.
Mini-FAQ
What if a region can never attend live? Record, rotate who summarizes, and keep “must-attend” meetings rare.
How often should we rotate? Monthly works well; weekly can feel chaotic; quarterly is usually too slow to feel fair.
Does rotation hurt attendance? In practice, it often improves morale and makes attendance more consistent over time.