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. 

What is hot desking?

Instead of assigning everyone a desk in an office, hot desking means that team members can pick an available spot when they come to work – and, potentially, change desks every day, if they wish to do so. 

It’s a flexible way of working that’s particularly suited for hybrid work environments where employees work from home a part of the time – although you could also use it if you don’t offer the option for remote work to employees. It enables you to optimize office space and gives team members the freedom to move around and, potentially, build better relationships with more people, and especially those from other departments or teams.

This can be very beneficial in companies with flat hierarchies, where creativity is key for the performance of your team, as it enables the free flow of ideas and a more relaxed and collaborative way of working. 

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What about hoteling?

Hoteling, which is another way to manage a flexible workspace, is a pretty similar setup but offers more structure and predictability. 

In it, employees don’t have assigned desks either, but instead of just grabbing any available spot when they show up, they actually reserve a desk or workspace ahead of time, almost like booking a hotel room (hence the name).

Find out more about the differences between hot desking and hoteling.

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How can you make hot desking work for a hybrid team? 

To make hot desking work smoothly for your team, it's important to have the right tools and strategies in place. Here’s how to get started:

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1. Put in place a process

First, you need to define the ground rules and processes of how office space will be organized and how each person can make the most of it. 

Include all guidelines in your hybrid working policy, which can then be a part of your onboarding process.

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2. Find the right hot desk booking software

Next, you’ll need a booking system or app to enable team members to see which desks are available on any given day and book them easily. 

The best hot desk booking tool is the one your team will actually use. It should be easy to implement, simple to learn, and effortless to use – otherwise, nobody will want to use yet another app. 

Officely does exactly that: It enables your team to book a desk and see who’s coming to the office directly from Slack or MS Teams, without interrupting their work. Plus, it’s very intuitive and easy to use.

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3. Train your team 

Introducing new software to your team isn’t just about paying the subscription fee and installing it. 

You need to explain to your team what’s in it for them and show them how to use it. The better your team understands how the tool will simplify their lives, the more likely they are to adopt it.

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4. Encourage people to come to the office

If your team is working remotely a part of the time, you need to incentivize coming to the office and make it a productive experience for them – otherwise, everyone will prefer to stay at home. 

After all, nobody wants to come to the office only to find that no-one else is here, or that everyone left for the day. Seeing their coworkers is a major motivator for many and is one of the advantages of office work, so make sure everyone can quickly see when others are coming. 

Using an app like Officely enables everyone on your team to know when is the best time to come in, and you can also use it to organize lunches, afterwork drinks, team-building events, and more.

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5. Make office days seamless 

When a team member arrives at the office, they need to have a seamless experience where they can just head to their booked desk and get to work. How do you guarantee that? By using a hot desk booking app that helps them make sure they won’t have to worry about finding a spot or being left without a place to sit.

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6. Create a thoughtful floor plan 

Design your office layout with different work styles in mind and provide different types of spaces for different working needs. 

For example, if a team needs to meet to make progress on a project, make sure they have a suitable meeting area where they can chat freely without disturbing others. 

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Similarly, if someone needs quiet space, two monitors, or a standing desk, make it instantly obvious which desks are the best for them.

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7. Provide space for personal belongings

Since employees won’t be using the same desk every day, it’s important to offer storage space where they can keep personal items. This makes hot desking more convenient and comfortable – and also helps you ensure people leave their desks tidy at the end of each day. 

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8. Enable workers to make adjustments

If plans change – say, a person ends up working from home instead – they should be able to easily cancel the reservation to free up the desk for someone else. Flexibility and real-time updates are key here, as they let everyone adapt their own schedules and see what’s best for them on any given day.

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9. Analyze usage and make changes as needed

Implementing hot desking isn’t a one-and-done task. Instead, you need to: 

• Use your desk booking software to analyze how space is used 
• Regularly review your setup to ensure your team has everything you need
• Use employee surveys to see if your team is actually happy with the office space you’re providing them – and see what they’d like to change

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The advantages of hot desking for you and your team

Hot desking can make a big impact on your office environment and overall team dynamics, especially if your team has adopted hybrid work. 

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Make full use of your space and resources

Office space doesn’t come cheap, so making the most of it is crucial. 

With easy hot desk scheduling, you can encourage employees to visit the office more often, maximizing your investment in the space – and also analyze office attendance to make sure you’re not paying for space you aren’t using. 

Using your resources efficiently is key to scaling your business and also to providing your team with the tools and conditions they need to do their best work. Find out more about how resource utilization is tied to office space.

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Improved collaboration

Bringing people together, especially from different teams and departments, is a great way to boost their creativity and find new and unexpected solutions to problems they’re struggling with. 

Hot desking naturally encourages this by mixing up seating arrangements, leading to spontaneous chats and a free flow of ideas.

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Better employee satisfaction

Flexibility and autonomy are top priorities for hybrid workers, and hot desking delivers both. It allows employees to choose where they work based on their tasks or preferences, giving them more control over their workday. Happier workers not only tend to stick around for longer, but are also more productive – 13% more, to be precise. 

Download Officely’s eBook “Our Flexible Future” to find out how to win in the era of flexible work.

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Boost team morale

Team morale is key to productivity and participation, and hot desking can help build those important team connections. 

Studies show that only half of those working remotely say they have a strong relationship with their direct team, and even fewer, 42%, have good relationships with colleagues outside their team. 

By bringing people into the office and encouraging interaction, hot desking can strengthen these bonds and create a more connected, motivated team.

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The downsides of hot desking

Hot desking offers a lot of flexibility and can make office spaces more efficient, but it's not a panacea for disorganized workspaces.

Here are some of its downsides you need to consider: 

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Not ideal for folks who crave predictability

If many of your team members like the comfort of having the same spot every day or knowing exactly who they’ll be sitting next to, hot desking might feel too unpredictable for them.

The constant change can be stressful for those who thrive on routine.

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You need software to pull it off

Managing hot desking effectively usually requires dedicated software. 

This means additional costs, plus the time and effort needed to implement and maintain it. Without the right software, hot desking can quickly become chaotic and inefficient.

Thankfully, today you have apps like Officely that are very affordable – and even free for teams of up to 10 people:  

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Software adoption is a must

Even the best software is useless if your team doesn’t actually use it. High adoption is crucial; otherwise, you’re left paying for a tool that no one benefits from, and the frustrations with hot desking remain. 

Thankfully, there’s a simple solution for that – Officely works seamlessly inside the communication platforms your team is already using, Slack or Microsoft Teams, so there’s no need to use yet another separate app. 

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How do you hot desk?

We've covered a lot about hot desking, from its pros and cons to tips on how to make it work for flexible teams. To dig deeper into the challenges of flexible work and how to make it work for you and your team, check out our eBook, “Our Flexible Future”.

In all this, the right hot desk booking software can make all the difference in enabling you to create a flexible workplace that everyone likes. 

Officely is designed with this in mind and will fit seamlessly into your team's workflows, thanks to our integrations with Slack, MS Teams, Google Calendar, and the most popular talent management and HR software tools. 

Ready to transform your office and explore all the benefits of hot desking? Book a demo with us to see how easy it is to manage your office space if you have the right tool at hand. 

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