Over the past two years, Vinta has transformed into a fully remote company. Although this transition was smooth operationally, our biggest challenge was preserving our people-focused culture. We've strived to sustain healthy interactions, ensuring psychological safety and well-being.

With team members across over ten Brazilian states and Europe, we endorse asynchronous communication to boost productivity and work-life balance. However, we also need real-time interactions to foster team efficiency and solid personal connections.

Daily interactions are common in a traditional office, but creating a communal space in remote settings can be challenging. At Vinta, our solution is a virtual office—not just any space, but one powered by Gather Town.

Vinta's metaverse using Gather Town.

The metaverse concept is widely debated, and its future remains uncertain, but virtual environments like Gather Town have proven to enhance remote culture significantly. As one of the first Brazilian companies to adopt it, Vinta has become an "early user" of the platform.

Using Gather Town is straightforward: customize your avatar and enter our virtual office, where communication flows as long as cameras and microphones are on. It’s intuitive and engaging.

Our virtual office at Vinta features meeting rooms and team spaces designed to facilitate various interactions. Team members can group at shared tables, enhancing communication. We’ve also created rooms for meetings, one-on-one mentoring, and even spaces for pets and social events, all integrated with Google Calendar for ease.

Vinta’s creative minds often redesign spaces, adding personal touches like virtual pets or secret passages, fostering a deep connection to our virtual office.

Observing how new members react to our virtual office is fascinating. Many find it fun and reminiscent of childhood games, quickly adapting to how it enhances their work in a remote context.

Immersive onboarding and daily routine with Gather Town

New employees join Vinta and dive into the Gather platform on the first day. They are taken on a tour of the virtual environment, learning about team workspaces and social areas — everything needed for a smooth start. Additional features are discovered organically, with colleagues naturally introducing them, fostering relationship building.

All internal rituals at Vinta occur on Gather: onboarding, team meetings, general meetings, events, one-on-ones, and happy hours. Interactions are constant, with avatars bustling about, enhancing our virtual office life. A remote office strengthens bonds, improves communication, promotes valuable connections, and fosters a sense of belonging, making working in a gamified environment fun and dynamic.

A key aspect of using Gather is providing employees with a "real" office experience to start and end their workday. This helps in immersing in a work setting and disconnecting after hours. Walking your avatar to the office exit switches you off from work mode.

At Vinta, we prioritize a healthy balance between personal and professional life. Hence, such apps are not installed on mobile devices. If someone is not on Gather, they are not available for work, respecting their personal space and work boundaries.

Remote Culture at Vinta: Beyond Just Virtual Interaction Platforms

Remote culture is not merely about having people work from home using an excellent virtual interaction platform; it's much more profound. At Vinta, the tools we choose reflect our corporate culture and principles.

Selecting effective platforms is crucial, but building sustainable processes that empower employees and facilitate interaction is even more critical. We have established clear guidelines and living policies that evolve based on our experiences and feedback from our team. This ensures clarity in what's allowed and promotes excellent experiences within our virtual office.

At Vinta, we fine-tune these guidelines, ensuring they resonate with everyone involved and accurately reflect our values. Gather Town has been instrumental in creating an engaging and user-friendly virtual office environment. 

This commitment to a welcoming space that promotes healthy connections highlights our priority at Vinta, which is to maintain a culture felt by all daily.

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