9 Expert Hybrid Work Tips For Managers [#3 Is Crucial]

Among US employees whose jobs can be done from home, hybrid work is now the default. Gallup’s workforce data shows 52% of remote-capable US employees work hybrid, 26% work fully remote, and 22% are fully on-site. Compared with 2019, when about a third of remote-capable workers had any hybrid arrangement, the shift has been fast and it has held.

Hybrid work is a model where employees split their week between a workplace and a remote location, usually home, instead of coming into the office five days a week.

This article covers nine practical hybrid work tips for managers, based on our work with thousands of organizations that went hybrid over the past few years. These are the same tips we follow in our own company to make hybrid work.

Quick summary: Here are the nine tips that leaders should follow to manage a hybrid workplace successfully:

1. Create opportunities for employee engagement
2. Set clear objectives
3. Select the right hybrid work software
4. Offer regular feedback
5. Test drive useful technology
6. Be strategic about your hybrid work policy
7. Use employee check-ins
8. Build intentional collaboration
9. Avoid bias

Most companies now offer some form of flexible work, and managers have to adapt. It comes down to creating boundaries between home and work, working with people across locations, and communicating well.

Managers need to support team members in this environment. Systems, practices, and processes have to fit the way people work in a hybrid workplace.

Here’s what you need to know as a manager to make that work.

9 hybrid work tips for managers applicable in every organization

#1 Create opportunities for employee engagement

One of the most repeated stories about employee engagement is when President Kennedy asked a janitor at NASA what he was doing, and the janitor replied, “I’m helping to put a man on the Moon“.

Keeping the workforce enthusiastic and absorbed in the work they’re doing matters just as much in a hybrid workplace as in a traditional one. It can also reduce absenteeism.

Employees don’t need to be in the same building, city, or state to engage with each other and build their emotional commitment to the company and its goals.

As a manager, make sure employees:

• Have all the necessary resources and tools available
• Receive recognition when they do a good job
• Know exactly what you expect of them
• Have opportunities to grow and learn
• Feel their opinions matter to you

This isn’t the easiest thing to implement, but that doesn’t make it any less important. Put in the work and the results last. Also, learn how to work with generational differences in your workplace.

#2 Set clear objectives

For employees to do a good job, they need to know what you expect. For a manager, that means setting clear objectives and key results.

It also helps when workers understand how their work fits into the organization’s goals as a whole. This is about more than setting goals once a year.

Aim for continuous performance management with regular reviews. Businesses change quickly, so employee targets need to stay flexible. Managers have to spot priority changes and know when to move in a different direction.

It helps to learn how to set smart goals. Here are some good examples of smart goals for work.

#3 Select the right hybrid work software

The right hybrid work software is essential, and picking it can be hard when so many solutions exist.

First, the most important feature is the ability to book desks and meeting rooms from anywhere. You can’t run desk hoteling or hot desking properly without it.

Second, as a manager, you need accurate data to run your hybrid workplace well. A clear view of your team’s office visits and space usage lets you shape your workplace strategy with evidence instead of guesswork.

That’s why your solution should include workplace analytics that track metrics like the monthly, weekly, and daily usage of your desks and spaces. Attendance clusters midweek, so peak-day desk demand, not average headcount, is what you plan around.

Third, most of us are already drowning in apps, and being told to learn one more is frustrating.

Instead of an app people have to learn from scratch, pick software that works inside the tools you already use, like Microsoft Teams and Outlook or Slack. A free desk reservation tool such as OfficeRnD Workplace does exactly that.

That way employees book desks and meeting rooms without leaving their favorite applications. OfficeRnD Workplace is desk and room booking software that runs inside Teams, Outlook, and Slack and gives managers the office usage data to plan around. See how it combines these features at OfficeRnD Workplace.

Check out the short video below to see the tool in action.

#4 Offer regular feedback

Another tip is to give feedback often. Whether things are going great or a little off-kilter, feedback tells employees how they’re doing. Scheduling it regularly keeps it from slipping when something else comes up.

Instead of a single annual review, check in throughout the year.

Regular reviews can motivate employees to do even better and improve team engagement. Managers have to be able to change direction when needed to hit the mark.

Continuous performance management is a big part of this. It makes both employees and managers accountable for what’s happening. HR watches the major trends while managers keep things on track day to day.

Gallup’s research is blunt about why this matters in hybrid teams: managers tend to communicate less often as people spend more time remote, yet hybrid engagement can beat on-site engagement when managers check in multiple times a week. The communication has to be deliberate.

#5 Test drive useful technology

Get in there and use the technology yourself.

Some useful tools for hybrid workplaces are:

• Desk and meeting room booking software
• Microsoft Teams and Outlook
• Trello
• Zoom

A new work environment means new processes and systems, so understand them well enough to offer support and training. That’s part of driving innovation in the workplace.

As a manager, you should be able to run an online review or set up a video conference without fumbling.

Train your team on the right tools for hybrid work, and revisit processes that changed when you went hybrid.

Help everyone get comfortable with new technology, and learn the best ways to manage from a distance. That’s what makes a good manager now: being effective in any environment.

#6 Be strategic about your hybrid work policy

A full return to the office five days a week isn’t the direction most companies are heading. Structured hybrid has become the standard, so bring people into the office with a clear plan and keep rethinking your policies.

There are two approaches, mandate and magnet, and mixing them often works best.

With a mandate approach, workers are required to come into the office a set number of days per week. The most common structured pattern now is three days in the office, two remote.

The magnet approach moves away from forced days and instead makes the office a place people want to come to for collaboration and socializing. And collaboration helps businesses grow.

Think about what people actually want to come together for, then make sure the office offers that.

Use what you already know, or ask your workers directly. Make the office somewhere people want to meet up and work together.

#7 Use employee check-ins

Managers often assume remote work is going fine. Check-ins tell you whether that’s true.

But what are employee check-ins exactly?

Check-ins are regular one-on-one meetings where managers discuss goals, objectives, and results without turning it into a formal performance review or micromanagement.

They build two-way communication and keep you aware of what’s happening with your team. Weekly check-ins are a good way to get project updates and surface challenges. They only help if you listen and then act on what you hear.

As a manager, resolve issues and make sure your hybrid team members feel ready to move forward. Help with career progression and find opportunities for people to develop. That’s what makes workers feel valued and connected, and it contributes to a better work ethic. Regular communication is a big part of it.

#8 Build intentional collaboration

Every successful executive knows collaboration matters.

Good collaboration happens when team members connect, learn about each other, and work toward shared goals. That’s harder when some people are remote, but it’s still possible.

It can start with something as simple as having people use their cameras in online meetings.

When workers can see each other, it builds connection and lowers the barriers between people in different locations. Even non-work calls can get people excited about working together.

Planning time to collaborate in person is worth it for engagement, productivity, and team culture. Many tasks work fine at home, but some go better with other people in the room.

Let people plan to come in for the work that benefits from a group, and collaboration follows.

How do you get your team to visit the office more often? Attract them rather than force them.

Work on turning your office from a space into a place people want to come to. Refresh parts of the workspace and add amenities like green spaces, cafés, or quiet areas.

To go further, survey your workers about the amenities and dedicated areas they’d want, then act on the answers. Here’s a useful list of hybrid work questions to ask.

#9 Avoid bias

The last of the nine tips is bias. No manager wants to treat office workers and remote workers differently, but it happens.

Proximity bias is the one to watch. Many leaders unconsciously favor the people physically closest to them over those at a distance.

SHRM’s survey of 817 supervisors shows the scale of the problem. Two out of three supervisors admitted they see remote workers as more replaceable than on-site workers, and 42% said they sometimes forget about remote workers when assigning tasks.

Don’t be that manager. Be aware of proximity bias and push against it. Pay attention to everyone, not just the people in the same building.

Redirect your focus to people contributing from other locations. Do it consistently and it changes the tone of the workplace. When it’s clear you value all work equally, people feel comfortable working from wherever suits them.

Show that everyone is working toward the same goals, whatever their location.

FAQ

What makes a good manager in a hybrid workplace?

Good hybrid managers are proactive, inclusive, and flexible, with high emotional intelligence. The best ones help employees solve new problems and avoid common mistakes as the workplace changes.

How can managers successfully manage a hybrid workplace?

Start with clear expectations, inclusive experiences, intentional collaboration, and the right tools and support. Accept that old habits need to change, and build a setup where in-person and remote workers both do well.

How do you manage performance in a hybrid workplace?

Focus more on outcomes than on hours logged, and encourage transparent communication between workers and managers. Track KPIs like employee well-being, collaboration, and office utilization. For a full list, see this article on hybrid work KPIs.

How many days a week should a hybrid team come into the office?

There’s no single right answer, but the “3-2” pattern (three days in, two remote) has become the near-standard structured setup, and midweek days draw the highest attendance. Base your cadence on how interdependently your team works: teams that hand off work in real time need more shared office time than teams doing mostly independent work.

How can I make my hybrid work model better?

Build social experiences into the workday, make sure the right tools and systems are in place, and support focused remote work. Use the office for the meetings and collaboration that need it, and let people choose the environment that suits the rest of their work.

What are the most common challenges of hybrid working?

The usual ones are disrupted work processes, weaker relationships and collaboration, a looser connection to culture, and missing tools. Spot them early and solve them as part of the leadership team.