Running a team across time zones: India with the US, UK and Australia
2 min read · Updated October 2, 2026
Time zones are the first worry for most companies considering a team in India, and the easiest to solve with the right shift pattern. The trick is deciding which work needs live overlap and which work benefits from happening while you sleep.
Know where your day falls on India's clock
India runs on India Standard Time (UTC+5:30) all year, with no daylight saving. That means your overlap shifts by an hour when your own clocks change.
- US East Coast: your 9-to-6 is roughly 7:30pm to 4:30am in India, a night shift
- US West Coast: roughly 10:30pm to 7:30am in India, a late-night shift
- UK: roughly 2:30pm to 11:30pm in India, an afternoon-to-evening shift
- Central Europe: roughly 1:30pm to 10:30pm in India
- UAE: roughly 10:30am to 7:30pm in India, a normal day
- Eastern Australia: roughly 4:30am to 1:30pm in India, an early-morning shift
Split work into live and asynchronous
Customer-facing work such as phone support or live chat must happen in your customers' hours, so it needs a shift that matches them. Much other work, including data processing, bookkeeping, QA testing and many development tasks, doesn't need you online at the same time. Running that work in India's day means it's finished when you start.
Many teams combine the two: a few hours of overlap for standups and questions, with the rest of the day for focused work.
Make handovers a habit
A short written handover at the end of each shift prevents most time-zone friction.
- What was done, with links
- What is blocked, and who needs to unblock it
- What the next shift or your team should pick up first
Communication habits that work
Default to writing: decisions and context in a shared channel or document, not only in calls. Keep one regular live meeting at a time that works for both sides. Record important walkthroughs so the team can watch them on their own time. And make sure the team has someone senior on their side who can answer questions during their hours.
Look after night-shift teams
If your hours put the team on a night shift, hire people who choose that shift, keep their schedules stable, and plan cover carefully. Stable night teams are common in India's service industry, but they don't happen by accident.