TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Job Managing director.
Where Gate 7.
Why is it important? Our core business is promoting tourism destinations around the world. Every day there will be a conversation with someone in the US or Germany, where we have clients. [To plan a meeting or a call] we sometimes jump online to check the times, but we also have a physical clock on the wall in the meeting room so you can see all three time zones.
We know the US is best in the first couple of hours of our day. Of course, the east coast of the US is trickier; you have to get up earlier, or do the call from home. For Germany, we slot in time at the end of the day. Sometimes you have to call them after dinner.
What do your colleagues think? The biggest thing people have to get used to when setting a time for an international meeting is being aware of the date line. People think they are being clever by saying 3pm Wednesday, but whose Wednesday, ours or theirs? Outlook is good for this, it actually understands the time differences so the meeting request goes to the right day and timeslot.
Unusual moment? The trickiest time is when you have one country moving into daylight savings before the other moves out. That's the time our wall clock gets used the most.
How much does it cost? The wall clock costs about $100. Googling the time in any city works too; I do that about 10 times a day.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Time zones matter because global tourism promotion involves daily conversations with clients in different countries. Coordinating calls and meetings with partners in the US and Germany requires knowing local times so you don’t schedule meetings at inconvenient hours or on the wrong day.
A simple approach is to check online time converters when planning meetings and keep a physical world clock in the meeting room showing the key time zones. Combining quick online checks with a visible wall clock helps teams spot overlaps and avoid mistakes.
For the US, early in your workday usually works best — though east coast calls can mean getting up earlier or taking the call from home. For German clients, late in your day often fits well, and sometimes calls happen after dinner.
People sometimes say a time and day without specifying whose day it is (for example, ‘3pm Wednesday’). That can cross the international date line, so it’s important to confirm whether the date refers to your local calendar or the other party’s.
Yes. Tools like Outlook understand time differences and will convert meeting requests to the correct local day and time for invitees, which reduces the chance of scheduling on the wrong day or in the wrong timeslot.
The trickiest moments are when one country moves into or out of daylight saving time before another. Those transition periods can shift meeting windows, which is when a physical wall clock or extra checks are especially useful.
A dedicated wall clock showing multiple time zones can be handy for quick reference; in the example given it cost about $100. Many people also rely on quick online searches to check local times.
Frequent checks are common — one example is Googling city times around 10 times a day. Regularly verifying times helps avoid missed calls and mis-timed meetings when dealing with multiple time zones.
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