Gather’s Post

Beatport engineering went 100% remote early in the pandemic. By the time things settled, remote work for us was permanent. Earlier this year I evaluated a few “virtual office” platforms and a few months in I can say Gather has been a huge level-up to our engineering culture. As a technical tool you'll find it a drop-in replacement to Google Hangouts or Zoom or whatever, with easy calendar integrations and features like whiteboards, and multiple screen-share for pair programming etc. But what we also found was that it provides an atmosphere. A space where people can express themselves and interact with each other outside of formal work channels. A place where we can create a shared perception of what Beatport is and what we’re trying to accomplish. For managers, there’s an incredible amount of information presented in a virtual office that can change your game. You can see interactions between people. You can have quick casual conversations. You can build processes and rituals that you and your people love. Alignment and engagement is suddenly less laborious, more natural, and doesn't require meetings. For us this all came together to help our team become more productive and engaged. Our eng team is moving faster after canceling previously scheduled meetings. Refreshingly, 35% of our conversations in Gather are less than 10 minutes. Remote work is a funny thing. Maybe you or your company has railed against it, but it has always appealed to me. There is so much flexibility to build your own environment and norms. Everything except the work itself becomes like an optional add-on - building blocks that you can choose for your people, or not. If you're building teams in today's remote & hybrid world, Gather is truly the best of a physical office, brought online.