Creating effective hybrid work policies: Top tips & template

Hybrid work offers employees the best of both worlds – the flexibility of remote work and the camaraderie of in-office time. But managing a hybrid workforce is not an easy feat, which is why you need to ensure you have the right hybrid work policy.

Often, homeworkers end up working longer hours with fewer career advancement opportunities than their in-office counterparts. Additionally, a lack of a formal hybrid work policy could leave your employees anxious or demotivated. In some cases, it could also create two classes of workers, remote and in-office, with remote employees being treated as “second-class.”

‍So, once you've established your business is ready for hybrid work, you need to create a strong hybrid working policy that:

• Is equitable and fair to everyone
• Provides the right working conditions to all employees
• Outlines all available hybrid arrangements and requirements
• Sets clear rules for remote and office work, including working hours, required office presence, and communication channels and tools

We also advise you to use hybrid work software to make desk booking and attendance management easier.

Just as workplace policies or employee handbooks outline dos and don'ts for employees, hybrid working policies should lay down clear criteria and rules around hybrid work and also provide best practices for employees.

Below, you'll find a hybrid work policy template you can grab and use for free, plus our top tips on how to build a sensible flexible policy that works well for you and your employees – but first, let’s clarify what hybrid work actually is.

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Defining hybrid work

Hybrid work is a flexible work model that allows employees to divide their work time between the office and their home – or different locations, such as coworking spaces, libraries, or even coffee shops. It recognises that not all tasks require a physical presence in the office, and some can be effectively completed from a distance, especially if you provide your employees with the right communication and project management systems.

By implementing a hybrid work model, you can offer your people the freedom to choose where they work and enable them to strike a better work-life balance. This, in turn, can lead to better job satisfaction and retention – and improved employee well-being.

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Your free hybrid workplace policy template

The template below is yours to use; you can simply copy and paste it and tweak it to fit your organisation's needs. ‍

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Policy overview

Beginning [Date], [Company] will implement a hybrid work model. All employees are eligible for hybrid work. Schedules must fit within one of the models described below and be cleared by your manager.

Please read the entire policy and sign to confirm you have read it. Contact [name and email of contact person] if you have any questions.

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Hybrid work schedule

Hybrid schedules depend on your department; you have flexibility within the hybrid model below. Contact your direct supervisor with questions.

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All departments should book office space for in-office days with Officely.

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‍Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Your manager will discuss with you all relevant key performance indicators and how they might be affected by hybrid work.

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In-office amenities

Employees working at the office more than 3 days a week will have a dedicated desk, parking space, and access to the company gym or childcare services.

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Equipment and software

For all employees, the company will provide:

• Laptop
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Headset
• Cellphone

Employees working remotely more than 2 days a week will also receive stipends to cover internet costs.

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Compensation and benefits

Compensation might be subject to adjustments if relocating to a different city or area.

Employees will also receive the following additional stipends:

• Gym memberships/related health membership
• Virtual health consults
• Virtual mental health counseling
• Childcare
• [Add more benefits here]

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Communication tools and guidelines

Use the following tools for remote communication:

• Email for weekly updates, updates for clients, delivery of material to clients
• Slack for team-wide communication, client groups (if requested), quick announcements
• Google Meet for meetings, presentations, stand-ups
• Officely for updating your work location (remote or from the office) and booking desks

Prioritise the use of public channels of communication and be respectful of others’ time and show up punctually for meetings.

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Commitment to equal opportunities

We’re committed to providing a similar experience to remote and in-office employees. To ensure everyone has equal access to opportunities, managers must:

• Use public channels to announce new work opportunities and projects
• Review how often employees are promoted with respect to their work preferences

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10 tips for building a successful hybrid and remote work agreement

Below, you’ll find our top tips on how to manage the transition to a hybrid work model – and how to ensure that it works well for you and your team.

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1. Determine eligibility for hybrid work

Before you start building your hybrid policy, define the roles for which hybrid work is possible and those for which it is not.

Here are some examples:

• Roles suitable for hybrid work: Most roles in project management, software development, design, marketing, finance, accounting, and admin
• Roles that require mostly in-office presence: Front desk and customer-facing roles, field staff managers, facility management staff, any role involving physical work

You might still want to offer employees in the second category some flexibility, for example by providing occasional WFH days. You might even have team members from other departments like marketing or finance cover office-based roles like the front desk from time to time to allow for more equitable access to remote work.

If your team has been working remotely but you'd like to switch to a hybrid work schedule, use an employee return-to-work survey to uncover potential concerns.

Make sure to consider resource utilisation and how exactly you'll manage your office space. One of the best ways to do that is with the help of desk booking software.

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2. Define the right hybrid work model and schedule

Hybrid work isn’t one-size-fits-all. 

Your hybrid work model might be remote-first, where employees are allowed to work remotely most of the time, or lean toward more in-office presence.

Because the term "hybrid" can mean so many things, outline the number of remote workdays allowed in your office and the advantages for each preference. For example:

• Remote 1-2 days per week: Because these employees are in the office more frequently, consider offering them a dedicated office or desk and parking space.
• Remote 3-5 days per week: Employees might have to surrender dedicated office desks but will be provided a hot desk or common area to work in the office. They may be eligible for visitor parking.
• Fully remote: These employees don’t have dedicated workspaces and may be eligible for visitor parking. They might visit the office on occasion for a few hours or a day and reserve a hot desk when they do. 

Desk booking software like Officely can make it easy to manage different schedules and give everyone the visibility they need to organise their work – and come to the office when others are there.

If you offer fully remote roles, specify if these roles are based out of specific countries, states, or cities. If you need remote employees to come to the office occasionally for client meetings and events, you might prefer to hire in your city or region.

For employees choosing hybrid work arrangements, specify if they'll set their own flexible schedule or if schedules will be manager-led. Employee-led hybrid work schedules usually provide better results, because employees know best where and how they work best.

Whatever style you choose, define when you'd expect team members to be available for work-related communication. Certain roles like customer support might need to work specific hours, even remotely.

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3. Review employee compensation

Be clear about how an employee’s location and work preference (in-office, remote, hybrid) affect their compensation and benefits, so employees can weigh the pros and cons of their choice.  

For example, if you have 100% remote positions with the option to relocate to another city or country, you might consider adjusting employee salaries to the cost of living – or decide against it. Or you could provide in-office or hybrid workers with a commute allowance.

Remote-first company Buffer has shared their salary calculator publicly, and you might want to use a cost of living calculator when defining salary ranges. However, you need to make sure you're not penalizing employees who opt for a hybrid model or those who choose to work remotely.

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4. Expand wellness and health benefits

Hybrid work offers ample flexibility, but it also has a few downsides. Employees who often work remotely might feel more isolated and some might need additional support to avoid burnout.

Here are some ways to safeguard employee health and mental wellbeing in remote and flexible working arrangements:

• Offer virtual health consultations on platforms like Teladoc and Wellthy and provide access to mental health services like Talkspace and Lyra Health
• Provide a few hours of free mental health counseling in addition to virtual consulting, if they’re not part of your Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)
• Normalise taking time off not just for vacation but also for mental health and to care for family
• Offer stipends for exclusive in-office perks like childcare and gyms
• Encourage managers to make video optional during some meetings and reduce the number of mandatory calls per week

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5. Make sure you know the legal requirements for hybrid work

Ask your legal counsel or HR department about all local and national laws you should comply with in relation to hybrid work. Explain how you’ll fulfill legal requirements in your flexible work policy.

Here are some questions to get you started:

• Where is your business legally allowed to operate? This might affect the locations from which employees can work remotely.
• Do you need to reimburse employees for home office equipment? In states like California, laws require employers to reimburse employees for office equipment like computers, laptops, and desks. 
• Do you need to reimburse employees for office travel? While daily commutes are generally not reimbursable, for employees who work primarily from home, you might need to reimburse office travel.
• Do you need to pay overtime? Federal US laws require employers to pay overtime if employees work for more than 40 hours in a week, or in some states, more than 8 hours a day. If such laws apply in your country or state, you’ll need to define how you'll track time and whether employees require manager approval to work extra hours.

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6. Implement the right tech to uphold your new policy

The success of your hybrid work policy depends on the tools you use. Hybrid work software like Officely makes desk booking simple – and gives your employees and admin staff visibility into office attendance, making it easier to manage hybrid schedules and resources effectively.

With Officely, employees can easily reserve desks, see who’s in the office, and plan their workdays for better collaboration or focused work, all directly within Slack or Microsoft Teams. 

Other tools you should consider include: 

• Project management platforms like Asana or ClickUp
• Video conferencing software like Zoom, MS Teams, or Google Meet
• Knowledge sharing platforms like Confluence or Notion

For more ideas, check out our article on the best productivity tools for hybrid work.

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7. Set up information security measures for hybrid work

In your office, you're in control of all security measures like firewalls, virtual private networks (VPNs), on-premise servers, data centres, antivirus software, and authorised company equipment. And, while you can replicate most of these measures in a remote setting, your employees might need extra guidance to comply with data security measures.

When drafting your hybrid workplace policy, outline best practices for employees to keep your data safe, like:

• Set strong passwords and update them regularly
• Install security and software updates on a regular basis
• Avoid downloading suspicious, illegal, or unauthorised software
• Block suspicious websites and report any phishing attempts
• Use only work devices for work, and not their personal computers or smartphones
• Report any loss of equipment or information immediately
• Use a VPN as needed

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8. Create clear communication guidelines

Clear guidelines help eliminate communication silos. For hybrid teams, defaulting to remote-first online communication works best because it's equally accessible to in-office and remote employees.

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In your hybrid workplace policy, mention:

• Channels or tools for meetings, quick messages, updates, stand-ups, announcements, and reports
• Expected response time for internal emails, client emails, and Slack messages
• Internal knowledge base tools for looking up company-related information, processes, and policies
• Who to get in touch with for common issues

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9. Track employee performance

In a traditional work environment, time spent in the office was often used as one of the measures of performance and engagement, although we could probably all agree that it's a horribly inaccurate one. In a hybrid workplace, the need for setting clear key performance indicators (KPIs) is even more obvious.

Define what success looks like for different roles. For instance, “Success as a sales manager means contacting X leads per month, a X% of closed deals, and $XX in revenue.”

You can also set goals for employee attendance specially for roles that benefit from in-person collaboration, and use dedicated software like Officely to measure that.

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10. Foster equity between employees working from home or in the office

Proximity bias is one of the most common challenges of hybrid work, or the tendency to favour in-office employees. Team members working from home might miss out on important work-related talks and decisions if they happen in ad hoc meetings or in the hallway.

To provide equal opportunities to all employees, irrespective of the specific hybrid or remote work arrangement they opt for, you might decide to:

• Measure speed of promotion by employees’ work preference to avoid bias
• Announce new work opportunities and challenges using online channels like Slack or email instead of in-person meetings
• Hold virtual ask-me-anything sessions with leadership where employees can voice concerns and ask questions
• Run anonymous employee surveys to gauge employee sentiments
• Make hybrid meetings the norm, so all employees can participate regardless of their location

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The benefits of hybrid work

Hybrid work is a smart way to balance flexibility with productivity. Here’s how embracing a hybrid model can benefit your team and your business.

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Improved work-life balance

By giving employees the freedom to split their time between home and the office, you help them to better manage their personal responsibilities and commitments while staying productive. 

Additionally, you enable them to design their own work environment based on their preferences and needs – and still share time with others in the office whenever they need to work together on specific projects. 

This balance can lead to happier, healthier, and more engaged team members.

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Better collaboration and focus

Hybrid work allows employees to work together in person when it matters most and focus on deep work at home or in dedicated office areas without distractions. Finding the right balance between collaboration and individual work will depend on each person and role, but giving the possibility to switch between the two will help improve teamwork and individual productivity.

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Cost savings for everyone

Hybrid work enables businesses to downsize office space strategically and therefore reduce its associated costs (rent, utilities, and equipment), while employees save time and money on commuting and office lunches. 

Plus, it can also help reduce the environmental impact of your company.

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Steps to implement a hybrid work policy

Now that you have a policy template at your disposal and know what benefits hybrid work can offer, let’s see exactly how you can shift to this model, step by step. 

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1. Assess your company's needs

Before switching to hybrid work and flexible work hours, take the time to assess your company's needs and challenges. 

Consider factors like job roles, team dynamics, and client expectations. Identify potential roadblocks and develop strategies to address them.

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2. Draft the policy

Once you have a clear understanding of your company's needs, it's time to draft your hybrid policy. You can use the template above as your starting point and refine it as necessary. 

Involve HR, managers, and employees in the policy development process and make sure it aligns with both the company’s needs and your team’s preferences. 

Make sure the policy is comprehensive and easy to understand. Clearly define eligibility criteria, expectations, and guidelines for remote and hybrid work. Address issues like scheduling, time tracking, and performance evaluation.

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3. Share the policy with employees

Once the policy is ready, share it with everyone. Be transparent and address any concerns or questions others may have. Provide training and resources to ensure that employees can navigate the hybrid work environment easily. 

Regularly review and update the policy based on feedback and your team’s needs.

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Overcoming challenges in hybrid work arrangements

Now, let’s look into some of the problems you might face and see how you can tackle them. 

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Maintaining team cohesion

One of the biggest challenges of hybrid work is maintaining team cohesion and collaboration and reducing silos. 

Encourage regular team meetings, both in-person and virtually, to build strong relationships. Use collaboration tools to simplify knowledge sharing and manage projects efficiently. 

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Ensuring accountability and productivity

Remote and hybrid work may bring up concerns about accountability and productivity – but empowering employees to take ownership of their work usually yields much better results than micromanaging them.

Define clear expectations, goals, and KPIs for each role, along with metrics to measure performance. Give regular feedback and celebrate wins to keep employees motivated and engaged, and ensure they know what to do whenever they face challenges that might impact their work. 

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Addressing technical issues

Not all remote or hybrid employees will be sufficiently tech-savvy to tackle all technical issues on their own, so ensure that employees have access to IT support when needed. 

To maintain airtight security for your data and systems, you might also consider setting up regular maintenance checks for all company-provided equipment. Encourage employees to use secure internet connections and back up their work regularly.

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Boost your hybrid success with help from Officely 

Hybrid work policies help you build a work environment that's centred around your employees' well-being and work-life balance, which will help you improve productivity and attract top talent.

To implement this successfully, you need the right hybrid work policy template, which you can find above, along with the right software tools. Here's a sample tech stack to get you started:

• Communication platforms such as Slack, Google Meet, or MS Teams
• Productivity and project management apps such as Asana, ClickUp, or Monday.com
• Desk booking software such as Officely

Officely simplifies hybrid work and makes it easier for employees to reserve desks and know the best days to go into the office. Book a free demo to see how easy it can be to build a strong flexible work policy with the right software at hand – and check out Officely’s Complete Guide to Office Management in Flexible Workplaces for more ideas on how to make hybrid work work for everyone. 

How technology empowers hybrid teams

Building a successful hybrid workplace can be tricky, but the right tech can make all the difference. If you have the right hybrid workplace tools at hand, you can build workflows that are simple and efficient – and that enable your team to get their work done, regardless of where they’re working from. 

Technology helps hybrid workplaces in a few different ways, as it enables them to: 

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Improve collaboration

When your team is scattered across different locations, getting everyone on the same page can feel like herding cats. 

Thankfully, nowadays there’s plenty of tools that let everyone share ideas and work together on projects at the same time, in a way that works for everyone. Collaboration is a top priority for employees, too: According to a study by Corel, 41% of workers have left or considered leaving a job due to poor collaboration: 

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So, if you bring everyone in the same virtual room (or on the same page of a Google Doc), teamwork becomes much easier – sometimes even easier than if everyone were in the same office. 

The result? Better ideas and outcomes. 

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Communicate better

When some of your team members are at home in their PJs and others are in the office, good communication is essential. Good communication tools enable everyone to join the conversation, even if virtual meetings do have the potential to feel a bit awkward at first. 

Thankfully, not everything needs to be a Zoom call – sometimes, exchanging a few Slack messages with a coworker are all you need to get started on a project, or you can just tag a person in a ClickUp card to make sure they see the latest update. 

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Engage and retain workers more readily

With the right technology, you can engage your team and create a hybrid culture where everyone feels involved and seen. 

‍Tools that support flexible working can be very helpful for this, be it to book desks, recognize achievements, onboard new employees, or survey employees to make sure they have the right conditions to do their best work. 

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Improve accessibility and inclusivity for all teammates

Hybrid workplaces already have the potential to be more inclusive than companies where in-office work is the norm: Not everyone has the same needs, working styles, or peak energy hours, and that’s totally fine, if you have the right hybrid team tools to accommodate your employees’ preferences. 

Technology can level the playing field by making sure everyone has access to all the tools and information they need. 

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Save on office space 

Office space is pricey, and let’s be honest – do you really need all of it if half your team is working from home? 

With hybrid work tools, you can manage who’s in the office and when, and make better use of the resources you’ve got. Hot desking and space management apps like Officely help you avoid empty desks and overcrowded meeting rooms.

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Make data-first decisions about resources and staffing

When you need to make decisions, guesswork is not what you want to base them on. Most hybrid working tools collect tons of data and can provide invaluable insights into how things are really going. 

Look for tools that come with strong analytics features to make the most out of the data they collect, whether it’s to track productivity, understand office usage, or figure out who needs more support. 

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Top hybrid work tools to strengthen your work environment

As a hybrid business built upon a hybrid product, we like to think we’re pretty clued up on the best tools for all things hybrid.

Below you can find our top picks for each category. 

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Hybrid office scheduling tech

Managing schedules in a hybrid office can be challenging, but you don’t have to do it manually. 

Hybrid office scheduling tools are super helpful, whether you need to boost office attendance, offer hot desking to your team, or simplify meeting room bookings.

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1. Officely

Officely is an in-Slack app (that also integrates with MS Teams) enabling hybrid businesses to have better visibility over who is in the office, provide a simple hot desking solution to their employees, and encourage them to come in and work together, at least a part of the time. 

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Because we get it, your home has your comfy sofa in it and the office… doesn’t. However, the office is where the best conversations happen, which is instrumental in helping your team come up with new solutions and ideas. The solution? Use Officely to boost attendance by incentivizing employees to come to the office, thanks to the bandwagon effect. 

Through the app, they can see who’s in each day, find out what’s going on in the office (drinks with the team? An office dog?), book their desk, and use all the amenities they need. 

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And the best part? Officely is so easy to use and adopt because it lives in Slack or MS Teams, i.e. where your workers already are. Yep, no need to install yet another app!

To find out more about the future of hybrid work and how you can use the right tools to build a resilient flexible business, check out our eBook, “Our Flexible Future”. 

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2. Google Calendar

Sorry Outlook and iCal, we’re going with Google Calendar as the best calendar tool for hybrid offices. 

Not only can you book your meeting rooms, easily view other calendars to schedule meetings and use it in conjunction with Gmail, but it also integrates with other project management tools – yes, Google Calendar is yet another in-Slack app – and also with Officely. 

If you're looking to book last-minute meetings alongside your standard weekly and monthly ones, you can also integrate Google Calendar with Officely's Find a Room feature. Find a Room enables Officely users to find and book meeting rooms with two clicks. 

We find Google Calendar the most intuitive calendar app, and with its seamless integration it can be used to optimize processes across businesses, departments and projects with minimal hassle.

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Communication tools for hybrid workspaces

Keeping everyone in the loop can be tricky when your team is split between the office and home. Luckily, with the right communication tools, staying connected and in sync is now easy – so there’s no reason to rely only on emails anymore (although they do remain the most popular way to communicate with coworkers for 31% of employees surveyed by Project.co). 

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3. Slack

As a communication tool, there’s very little that Slack can’t do. Not only do you have a channel for your whole workplace, but you can create separate channels for departments or projects, send 1-1 messages, and host video and audio calls (a.k.a. Huddles).

Another huge feature of Slack is the in-Slack apps. It seems there is a Slack app for every occasion, enabling you to send alerts, manage workspaces, celebrate birthdays, and even book desks, all without leaving Slack itself.

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4. Zoom

Sometimes an email or a Slack message isn’t enough, but an in-person meeting is not convenient. That’s where virtual meetings come in. And, we all know that at the top of all the virtual meeting tools is Zoom. 

Undoubtedly, Zoom is one of the most well known video calling tools on the market. And there’s a reason for its position in top place; with screen sharing, white boards, in-call messaging and a webinar capacity, Zoom makes collaboration as easy as it would be in person.

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5. Google Meet

For those who are already using the Google Workspace, Google Meet is a natural extension of where you’re already working.‍

The main pull of Google Meet is how easily accessible it is to those who already have a Gmail account. Much like Docs or Calendar, all you need to do to set up a meeting is simply open Google Meet in your browser. 

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While it doesn’t have the same breadth of functionality as Zoom, it’s super simple to use and syncs perfectly with Google Calendar.

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Hybrid project management tools

When your team is spread out, keeping track of different projects can get messy pretty quickly – so, having the right project management tools for hybrid teams is a must. 

They’ll enable you to keep everything organized and make sure everyone knows what needs to get done and by when, no matter where they’re working from. 

Here are our favorites: 

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6. Notion

Notion is an all-in-one tool for project and knowledge management. It can act as a database, metrics tracker, calendar, and note-taking app, to name a few of its many capabilities.

Its flexibility and range of features means many small businesses can rely on it without using other tools, particularly in early stages. Users can collaborate on pages and have their own private home, which others in your business don’t have access to. 

It’s no surprise that it’s one of the most popular tools for startups and hybrid businesses, particularly given its very competitive pricing.‍

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7. Asana‍

Asana’s pièce de résistance is its simplicity. Rather than be a bit of everything, it is incredibly good at simply being a project management tool. That’s why it outperforms its competitors when it comes to user experience and process optimization – however,it works best in collaboration with other tools to carry out projects or create content on.

Its free plan offers lots of features, allowing businesses with any (or zero) budget to use it effectively, and it has multiple viewing options depending on how you best take in information. With tasks divided into sub-tasks, it’s easy to collaborate, manage projects, and hand over tasks upon completion – which are all ideal for hybrid workplaces.

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8. ClickUp ‍

One of the challenges of remote work is passing tasks over and providing enough context to your coworkers. Often, employees don’t want to bother each other with an instant message, but they also want to make sure information doesn’t get lost. 

For communication around projects, ClickUp has it all. Emails, editing documents, hand overs, it’s a tool built for streamlining the collaboration process. It even has an AI feature that enables you to quickly sort tasks and identify any roadblocks your team might be facing: 

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ClickUp is particularly popular with agencies that need to send over information and projects to clients – and to their teams. Clients can join Clickup to collaborate on projects without using it in their own business, and updates are sent over via email when changes are made or tasks are signed off. 

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Visual collaboration tools‍

Visual collaboration tools make it easy for hybrid teams to brainstorm, design, and create together, even when people are working from different locations. Here are our favorites: 

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9. Miro

Anyone who’s been on an ideation video call is likely to be familiar with Miro. It’s best known as a virtual whiteboard, but its functionality extends into task management and real-time note taking.

Unlike many of the other tools in the list, it can’t be described as a competitive all-in-one. However, it is a go-to for those virtual brainstorming and ideation. If your workplace is already using tools such as Notion, Miro would be an excellent addition to improve collaboration.

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10. LucidSpark

LucidSpark also uses a virtual whiteboard model. The goal is to visually capture your team’s thoughts and ideas with GIFs, sticky notes, emojis and shapes to make learning and creating more interesting.

Its breakout feature is modeled on Zoom’s feature of the same name, enabling teams to split off into smaller groups to discuss and share feedback before returning to the team board. It also offers a range of templates to get you started, if you need a little inspiration before jumping in. 

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Document sharing platforms

In a hybrid work environment, sharing documents needs to be easy, secure, and accessible from anywhere – and, clearly, endless email threads with attachments are not the best way to move forward. 

Document sharing platforms make it easy for your team to collaborate in real time and ensure everyone is working on the latest version of each document. 

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11. Google Docs (and Google Drive)

Google Drive and Google Docs are staples in many hybrid and remote workplaces, and for good reason. They allow for real-time collaboration, where a few people can edit the same document at the same time, and each person sees what everyone else is doing. 

You can leave comments and suggestions directly in each document and track changes automatically, which is key, if you need to revert to an earlier version or track the history of a document. Plus, you can also easily link documents, spreadsheets, and presentations together.

On the downside, copying and pasting files into Google Drive is not as intuitive as we feel it should be by now; you cannot simply select files and copy them in a different folder, as you can in a Windows or iOS environment. 

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12. Document360

Document360 is a comprehensive knowledge management platform that’s perfect for creating and sharing internal documents, FAQs, and manuals, making it easier for everyone to access critical information, no matter where they are – which is pretty fundamental for hybrid teams.

It’s particularly useful for creating a central repository of knowledge that can be updated and accessed from anywhere.

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13. Dropbox Paper

Dropbox Paper, Dropbox’s document editor, is a collaborative workspace where your team can brainstorm, share ideas, and draft content together in real time, similarly to Google Docs. The interface is very simple and free of distractions, and you can embed media, assign tasks, and even hold discussions within each document. 

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Time and productivity tracking

Time tracking tools help you monitor progress, manage workloads, and ensure everyone stays on track, regardless of their location. 

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14. Toggl Track

Toggl is a super handy, super simple time-tracking tool that won’t clutter your employees workspaces. Your team can use it to: 

• Track billable hours
• Manage project timelines
• Keep an eye on how they spend their workday and how long each task takes to complete

Whatever the specific use case(s) of your team, you can use Toggl’s detailed reports and insights to optimize your workflows and make sure everyone’s intentional about their time. It also integrates with other popular project management tools like Asana and Trello, making it easy to add to your existing processes. 

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15. Insightful

Insightful is a suite of productivity analytics tools for all the productivity geeks out there, offering time tracking and insights on whether the time spent on each task was used efficiently. 

It offers activity monitoring, screenshots, and detailed reports to give managers a deep understanding of their team’s productivity patterns. 

Keep in mind, however, that some team members might actively dislike the idea of activity monitoring, so if you implement a tool such as Insightful, make sure you respect their privacy and explain how it can be helpful to them (and not just to you), by helping them spot bottlenecks and inefficiencies. 

Otherwise, it might look like you’re trying to police your team, which is not a good way to establish trust in a hybrid environment. 

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Meeting enhancement software

Meetings can be tricky when your team is spread across different locations, so you need to always make them remote-first to be inclusive. 

Beyond that, meeting enhancement tools help you make the most of your meeting time, be it with follow-ups, note taking, or scheduling software.

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16. Doodle

Doodle helps your team find the best meeting time that works for everyone. Instead of endless back-and-forth emails trying to coordinate schedules, you can use this tool to propose multiple time slots and let participants vote on what works best for them. 

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Once everyone agrees on a given time, Doodle can automatically schedule the meeting, ensuring that everyone gets the meeting details.

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17. Fireflies.ai

Fireflies.ai automates the process of recording, transcribing, and organizing meeting notes. And turning teams’ conversations into searchable, shareable notes that everyone can refer back to is pretty handy, especially if not everyone can join a meeting. 

It integrates with popular platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, making it easy to add to your team’s workflows, and helps everyone get more out of each meeting. 

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18. Fathom

Fathom is another tool that automatically records and transcribes your team’s Zoom, MS Teams, or Google Meet calls, so that everyone can focus on the conversation instead of trying to note everything. 

It even marks key moments, like action items or important decisions, so everyone can review them later. 

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How do you introduce new tools to your team? 

It’s impossible to know how a new tool will best serve a business or department until it’s been rolled out, so it’s important to let everyone try it out before you make any radical changes.

Below, you’ll find the steps you need to take to implement a new tool. To find out more, head on to our dedicated guide on how to introduce new software to your team.

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1. Explain why you’ve decided on this tool‍

Unless the tool is a solution to a widespread issue, your team will likely want to know why they’re being asked to do things differently now. Make these conversations easier by having a decisive answer to ‘Why do we need this?’

Maybe it’s an improvement on a tool they already use, or maybe you’re looking to optimize a process that hasn’t been working. Whatever the reason, making it clear will minimize pushback and help get everyone on board. 

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2. Give your team room to learn

Even the most intuitive hybrid work tool can take time to get the hang of, so you need to give your team room to experiment with it.

Sometimes, it may be worthwhile to put a couple of options on the table and ask your team which one they prefer. Whether you do this or have chosen a tool, make sure you have a realistic timeline for people to get to grips with it. 

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3. ‍Set your expectations

‍What do you expect to see and hear when it comes to this tool? Do you want stronger collaboration? Do you want more active communication? Do you want better project management?

 Setting clear expectations will help both you and your team to understand if the new tool is working – and what to change if it isn’t.

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4. Ask for feedback

Give your team time to experiment and then ask them for feedback. It could be a week or two, or a little longer for more complex software. 

The main thing is that your team has had a chance to actively use the tool in their day-to-day work life. Only then will you know whether it’s worth investing in it over the long term.

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Make hybrid and remote work with the right tools

We’ve covered a lot in this article, from scheduling tools that keep your office running smoothly to communication platforms that make sure everyone’s in the loop, no matter where they’re working. 

But before teams can exchange documents, take meeting notes, and track the time they spend working on specific tasks, you need to make sure they have the right conditions to work – and for this, a desk booking app like Officely is key.

Officely makes managing a hybrid office simple by letting your team easily book desks, see who’s in the office, and find out if there are any social activities planned for that day – and, most importantly, it lives where your team members are, i.e. in their communication app, be it Slack or MS Teams. 

Want to learn more about the future of hybrid work? Check out our eBook, “Our Flexible Future” and start building a hybrid work environment that works for everyone.

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