GENTLE WORKS SUCCESS STORY X WORLDTEAMS
How a Young Atlanta Firm Built a Remote Design Team Without Full-Time Local Hires
A three-year-old studio that needed to grow with its projects, not ahead of them. Here’s how flex hires became long-term teammates.
Key results
multi-role remote team across admin, architecture, and Revit production.
of time zone lag, vs. 12-hour offshore delay.
of flex hires converted into ongoing engagements.
spent sourcing: WorldTeams delivered pre-vetted candidates ready to interview.
Work smarter.
Scale faster
WorldTeams is a really excellent partner to any firm leader for improving office operations, output, design and efficiency.
Emily Wirt
Principal & Co-founder at Gentle Works
The Challenge
Founded in 2023 by Emily Wirt and Holden Spaht, Gentle Works spent its first six months as a two-person practice, then slowly brought people on through their Atlanta network. By year three, project demand was climbing, but committing to full-time local hires felt premature for a young firm still calibrating its growth.
Challenge #1: Growth without overcommitment
As a newer firm, Gentle Works wanted to stay conservative with fixed costs. Every new local hire meant a long-term commitment that didn’t always match the pace of incoming projects. They needed a way to flex production capacity for bigger projects without locking in payroll for every one of them.
Challenge #2: Offshore staffing that didn’t collaborate
Previous attempts to fill drafting capacity through offshore agencies left the team working with a 12-hour time difference: communication was email-only, feedback loops stretched across days, and real-time collaboration was impossible. They needed vetted people who could plug into their Revit-based workflows and actually work alongside the Atlanta team.
We had worked with some other staffing agencies particularly with drafting help but often those people would be on a 12-hour time difference. The great thing about WorldTeams is we’re in the same time zone.
Emily Wirt
Principal & Co-founder at Gentle Works
The Solution
Start flexible, prove the fit
Instead of committing to a full-time local hire, Gentle Works tested WorldTeams with a flexible arrangement. The first hire, an Administrative Assistant, started in November 2025 at ~20 hours per week to help with office operations, email management, and coordination.
“It also wasn’t too much of a risk with the flex arrangements, but having started with some more flexible arrangements, we’ve now hired people full-time and have been very happy.”
Same time zone, real-time collaboration
Unlike previous offshore staffing agencies with 12-hour time gaps, WorldTeams talent works in or near Atlanta’s time zone. The team collaborates via Microsoft Teams, chat, and video calls throughout the day, solving problems together, not waiting overnight for email replies.
Result: The working relationship is that of any other team member in the office. Every hire arrives Revit-fluent and picks up Gentle Works’ internal office standards quickly.
Scale across role types, not just drafting
What started as a search for drafting help evolved into a multi-role remote team as Gentle Works discovered WorldTeams’ broader talent pool. Today the team includes an Administrative Assistant, an architect, and two Revit drafters.
Result: A team that spans drafting, design, and operations: every one of them started flexible and stayed long-term.
WorldTeams has been essential in us hitting deadlines.
Emily Wirt
Principal & Co-founder at Gentle Works
From Drafting Room to Design Room
Before WorldTeams, Gentle Works’ project managers wore every hat, designing, managing, and drafting all at once. It’s a common trap in small firms: the people meant to lead projects spend their days in the drafting room.
With the remote team carrying operations, Revit production, and design support, the in-house PMs finally have space to do what they were hired for: manage projects and lead design decisions.
It’s allowing our project managers to spend more time managing, designing, being a little less out of the drafting room, which is what we want. We want our project managers to be delegating.
Emily Wirt
Principal & Co-founder at Gentle Works
10 Months, 4 Roles, Zero Overcommitment
For a firm founded in 2023, growth is a balancing act: take on too little and you stall, commit too much and you overextend. WorldTeams gave Gentle Works a third option: staff up when the projects call for it, keep the people who fit, and free the in-house team to lead rather than draft.
What started as a cautious flex arrangement is now a four-person remote team spanning administration, architecture, drafting, and design, every one of them a keeper. For a young studio building for the long term, that’s growth that matches the pace of the work.
Measurable outcomes
Multi-Role Remote Team Across Admin, Architecture, Drafting, and Revit Specialization
Every Hire Retained Beyond Initial Engagement
Real-Time Collaboration in the Same Time Zone
In-House PMs Freed to Design and Manage, Not Draft
