Group of colleagues having a hybrid meeting at work.

Embracing Hybrid Work: A Workplace Revolution is on the Horizon

The worst of the pandemic seems to be behind us, but it has forced everyone to look at the world from a different perspective. The office as we knew it, is now a thing of the past. Many organizations, of all shapes and sizes, are embracing hybrid working - allowing employees to split their time between working at the office and working elsewhere.

A recent Work Trend report from Microsoft, titled ‘The Next Great Disruption is Hybrid Work – Are We Ready?’ shows that some 70% of workers want flexible remote work options, while over 65% also value in-person work. 66% of businesses are planning to redesign their offices to become more strategic assets, with workplaces set to evolve into centers for staff collaboration and socializing that can facilitate greater interactions between remote staff.

In another report titled ‘Five Best Practices for Success in the Hybrid working Era,’ Verdantix outlines the top five hybrid working strategies being used today by many organizations. One of those highlighted in the report is the 60-40 approach, which allows employees to spend 3 days in the office and two at home, or vice versa. This arrangement gives employees social and collaboration time with colleagues in the office, while still offering the benefits of remote working, such as reduced commuting time and flexibility.

The importance of technology for successful hybrid working models


These new hybrid working models bring interesting new dynamics to the purpose of office space – but they also bring new challenges. One of the biggest being, how to equip employees with the right technologies to give them access to and visibility of space availability across distributed sites and colleagues’ schedules, now that everyone will be more in flux. Traditional space booking solutions will struggle to accommodate this level of complexity.

And it’s important to note that meeting management technology only scratches the surface of the workplace challenges that need to be considered by corporate facility and real estate executives.

  • Employees are increasingly expecting their wellbeing to be considered
  • Possibility of future disruptions that call for better business resilience
  • Need to reduce energy consumption in the workplace
  • Peaks and lows of workplace attendance that call for flexibility in facility services.

Organizations equipped with an integrated workplace management system will have a better starting point for implementing and introducing new technologies to the workplace and their workforce, to meet the needs of hybrid work strategies. Organizations working with an open platform IWMS vendor with a robust partner network will have an even greater advantage – getting access to the latest generation of workplace apps, like the Planon Workplace App can help facilitate safe and healthy workplaces and enable an enhanced employee experience through smarter meeting management capabilities.

Five actions to take today to enable hybrid working success


As companies accelerate their implementation of hybrid working strategies, there is an endless array of projects that need attention by facilities and workplace managers. However, the top priorities for corporate managers should be making use of employee feedback and ensuring that staff have the best technology tools to get the most out of hybrid working models.

The Verdantix report mentioned above also highlights five actions that companies can take now to get the most out of hybrid working models. Those include:

  1. Leverage regular employee feedback when iterating programs
  2. Bring business successes learned during lockdown into future working plans
  3. Prioritize investments in employee-facing workplace solutions
  4. Look for untapped cost efficiency that hybrid working will open up
  5. Future-proof strategy by making it flexible

Of course, for any hybrid working strategy to be successful, it needs to be flexible to meet the changing needs of both employees and businesses. Real estate managers should not think of hybrid working as the ‘end goal’ of the office, but rather as the next step in the long term evolution of the workplace.

To read more about these best practices as well as the top hybrid working strategies being implemented by organizations today, make sure you check out the full Verdantix Report – ‘5 Best Practices for Success in the Hybrid Working Era.’

Peter Ankerstjerne

Peter Ankerstjerne

Chief Strategy Officer (CSO)

Peter leads the Marketing and Communications functions as well as Strategy Development and large strategic partnerships at Planon. In addition, he is Chairman of the Planon North America Board. Peter has an extensive record of workplace and facility management experience, including senior management positions with leading companies such as ISS, WeWork and JLL. Also, Peter has been part of IFMA’s Board of Directors since 2016 and served as Chairman of the Board from 2020 until 2022.

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