When you start your Gather pilot, it’s best to announce it to the team in a way that clearly communicates what Gather is and your expectations for using it.
How to use this template:
- Copy/paste the text below into an email draft or Slack post.
- Modify to describe your goals for using Gather, pilot timeline, and admin details.
- Hit send and gather with your team in your new virtual office!
Template:
Hi everyone, I’m excited to announce that this month, we’re piloting Gather: A communication tool that helps remote teams collaborate like we’re in person.
Gather is used by thousands of distributed teams, including Coinbase, Beatport, and Ford.
Why are we doing this?
We've noticed that people resort to scheduling meetings that would otherwise be a quick chat in a physical office – whether it's just to say "hello" or to hash out a quick decision. Not only does this cause meeting fatigue but it is really inefficient. Gather conversations tend to be <10 minutes and their customers have fewer scheduled meetings – we want that too!
We've also heard from you all that you miss feeling the energy and presence of being together. With Gather, you see everybody together in the virtual space, you see people chatting, walking, and you can even literally "bump" into people or peel off with people after a meeting to debrief!
Pilot Details
We’ll trial Gather from [start date to end date]. At the end of the trial, I’ll send a survey for feedback.To help us fully evaluate Gather, our ask for the team is to:
- Hold all internal meetings in Gather
- Be online in Gather throughout the day
In between meetings, you can sit at your desk. This will help others see if you're around. Use the "Do Not Disturb" mode if you need to refill coffee, go on a walk, or focus on something.
Getting Started
- Download the Desktop App
- Check your email for an invite or click here: [Insert Member Invite Link]
- Claim and decorate your personal desk
- Connect your calendar and install the extension (guide for Google | guide for Outlook)
- Move/Schedule all internal meetings in Gather (follow this guide)
- Read our Onboarding Guide to learn more about the [Team Name] Office and our specific team expectations
We’re a team that prides ourselves on trying new things to help us get things done and to enjoy each other's company. We hope this helps! We'll make this as smooth as possible and the Gather team is committed to helping out, too.
Questions? Talk to me or one of our team admins: [Admin name] [Admin name] [Admin name]
Example
