Why we’re a remote team – a non-Covid(!) perspective

I am Daniel Weberman, an attorney by trade and the founder of Kabinet (www.Kabinet.com), a platform for homeowners which allows you to keep track of everything you do to your home through the years.

Kabinet was in its early concept stage prior to Covid - but we were always designed as a remote organization. As an attorney, I was accustomed to running around like a chicken without a head to meetings throughout the world to prove to clients and management how “committed” I was. I did not want to recreate that nightmare with Kabinet!

I could write my own version of the countless articles around how we can hire the best talent and are not limited by borders (blah blah blah) but you have read that elsewhere, as have I.

This is my primary reason for why we are remote - The work does not get done any better with me breathing down someone’s neck in an office.

I have always done my best to hire skilled and decent human beings. Of course, you do not know someone’s skill level until you begin to work with them, but this is not affected by micromanaging their work. At Kabinet, your work determines what we think of you, not how well we get along. This policy is much easier to maintain when everyone is remote.

In an office, a significant portion of hiring process is determining whether or not the new person will click with your already existing in-office cliques. No one will admit this but if you have ever been at a job interview they make sure you feel their “culture” as soon as you walk through the door… don’t they?! It’s not about your work and that is truly a shame.

Our work gets done to an extremely high standard (as I hope you can see from Kabinet!) and that is what I employee people for. Employment is not about being beholden to a location (office or geographical) of an owner’s choosing and having to stress about whether you are looking busy enough throughout the day.

A day will certainly come when Kabinet needs a physical office; however, I believe that revolves around how our divisions begin to grow and our collaborative work flow changes. We are currently a team of eight and collaborate extremely well online. I view the modern office as a collaboration space, not an individual work space.

The workplace is different now than it was two years ago and the companies that do not evolve will be left behind. I am confident that our way of working will stand the test of time and Kabinet will continue to thrive in spite of our logo missing from a glass skyscraper in Miami.