Understanding hybrid working and implementing it with your team

Hybrid working sounds like more freedom, but it also brings new challenges for teams, leadership, and organization. This article reveals what the concept really entails, what rules and software you need, and how companies are successfully implementing hybrid working.

By Isolde Van der Knaap
0 min reading
July 16, 2025
June 12, 2026
Understanding hybrid working and implementing it with your team

On This Page

Craft Solutions That Resonate With UsersInnovate to Stay Ahead of the CurveFoster a Community Around Your BrandInnovate to Elevate User EngagementTransform Ideas into Tangible OutcomesEmpower Your Brand with Unique Storytelling

Understanding hybrid working and implementing it with your team

The mix of remote and in-person work is now a reality for many teams, but it also raises new questions: Who is in the office and when? Who is working from home? And how do you ensure that collaboration, communication and culture don't fall by the wayside? In this article, you'll learn what hybrid working is, what it entails and what new structures it requires.

Meaning: What is hybrid working? (Definition)

Hybrid working, often referred to as hybrid work or hybrid working model, is a combination of on-site and remote work. Colleagues work partly in the office and partly in other locations such as their home office, a co-working space or on the road. How exactly this is organised varies greatly:

  • The most suitable option depends largely on the type of work, the coordination required within the team and the company structure. Creative project work, for example, often benefits from regular presence, while focused individual work is often better done remotely.
  • Fixed office days (e.g. Monday & Wednesday in the office)
  • Free choice depending on position, project phase or personal agreement
  • Central control or team-based agreements
  • The office as a place of work or a meeting place with a focus on meetings and collaboration

Hybrid working is not a rigid state, but a framework for organisation. The model can vary greatly depending on the industry, company size and team structure. One thing is clear: without binding rules and the right equipment, friction can quickly arise.

{{hint-box}}

Hybrid working from different perspectives

For employees

More freedom also means more self-organisation. If you are free to choose where you work, you need your own routines: How do you remain available to colleagues? How do you separate work and private life? How do you get information when you are not in the office? Many appreciate the newfound autonomy, but also report problems with setting boundaries or feeling like they ‘don't belong’.

For managers

Leadership in a hybrid context is no longer about physical presence, but about trust, communication and clear goal orientation. Visibility does not come from sitting at your desk, but from commitment and feedback. At the same time, the challenge remains: how do you get everyone on board without constantly checking up on them or breathing down their necks?

For HR and organisation

Recruiting, onboarding, personnel development: you have to rethink all of this. Processes that used to run automatically in the office now have to be planned and designed more consciously. Onboarding requires new formats in hybrid teams: digital welcome sessions, accompanying induction plans with on-site and remote contact persons, and hybrid feedback meetings in the initial phase.

The corporate culture is also being put to the test: How do you create a sense of belonging and cohesion when teams see each other less often in person? And how do you organise the flow of information when not everyone is working in the same place at the same time?

For IT and office management

The demands on IT security, network technology and devices are increasing significantly. Added to this is the question: Who is in the office and when? Are there enough workstations? How can the use of meeting rooms be coordinated?

Typical problems with hybrid working

Hybrid working brings noticeable advantages, but also specific pitfalls. Some of the typical problem areas are:

  • Communication gaps: If you are not in the office, you may not receive certain information. Without clear tools and structures, different levels of knowledge arise.
  • Team imbalance: Those who are on site more often are heard more quickly. Remote employees run the risk of being less involved.
  • Spontaneity vs. space: Without planning, rooms or spaces may not be available – or the team may be in the office for a meeting, but no one else is there.
  • Too many tools: When everyone uses a different system, collaboration becomes tedious. Integration is crucial.
  • Lack of rules: It is often unclear who is working where and when. This causes frustration and organisational effort.

Problems from the employee's perspective

  • Blurred boundaries between work and leisure time: Some employees find it difficult to switch off after work when they have already spent the entire day at home working. The flexibility of working from home often leads to a blurring of the boundaries between work and private life, which can result in stress and exhaustion.
  • Feelings of guilt when not working to capacity: Some feel guilty when they are less busy in their home office, even though they are fulfilling their tasks. These feelings of guilt can lead to excessive work and ultimately to burnout.
  • Social isolation and lack of team dynamics: The lack of personal interaction in the office can lead to a feeling of isolation. Spontaneous conversations and informal interactions that contribute to team dynamics are missing in the home office.
  • Inadequate working environment at home: Not everyone has a suitable place to work at home. Noise, a lack of ergonomic furniture or inadequate technology can impair productivity and affect your mood.

To address these issues, hybrid work requires a functioning organisation. Just as constant attendance can be oppressive, the perceived freedom of working from home can also have a negative effect. A well-structured, hybrid way of working can offer your team the right amount of variety.

What do you need for hybrid working?

A hybrid model only works if certain conditions are met:

  • Trust-based leadership: No micromanagement of individual activities, but clearly stated expectations and regular coordination. This also includes trust and role modelling.
  • Rules for collaboration: Who works when and where? How do you stay in touch? What software do you use?
  • Clear planning: Who is on site and when? What spaces and rooms do you need? Are there enough workstations available when attendance is high?
  • Technical equipment: Laptops, VPN, secure connection, functioning video technology, cloud-based software for collaboration (e.g. for project management or documentation), central cloud storage for location-independent access, professional video conferencing software with a stable connection and functions for group work, software for desk booking and attendance overview, both in the office and remotely.
  • Cultural maintenance: Regular anchor points, feedback rounds, established team formats to prevent a sense of belonging from being lost.

Examples of hybrid working

Example 1: Medium-sized company with fixed office days

A software company has introduced two fixed office days per week, with each team deciding for itself how to organise the rest of the week. Workstations are booked via software, as are meeting rooms. Permanently assigned desks are replaced by workstations that are used on a rotating basis. This frees up space for quiet areas and break rooms, which make working on site more attractive.

Example 2: Remote-first with optional office

A start-up relies on voluntary office days. Those who come book themselves in digitally. Access, workspaces and meeting rooms are booked and allocated as required. The reception is not permanently staffed, but is digitally controlled via a central platform. Employees appreciate the flexibility and see the office as a welcome change of scenery.

Example 3: Administration with a hybrid shift model

A government agency uses hybrid models for administrative staff. Teams share rooms, with weekly planning in advance. A room and access booking system has been introduced to ensure planning reliability. The most important effect: greater predictability with the same level of availability.

{{cta}}

Implementing hybrid working in your company

If you want to establish hybrid working, it's not just about more freedom in choosing where to work or the advantages of working from home. It's about creating structures in which the flexibility gained does not lead to chaos, but to greater satisfaction, productivity and clarity.

To achieve this, colleagues' attendance and absence should be transparent for everyone. You also need to be able to plan the use of workstations and meeting rooms and have a technical infrastructure that grows with you instead of slowing you down.

Implemented correctly, hybrid working can improve many things: you relieve the strain on your office, reduce vacancy rates and create spaces that can be used for completely new ideas. You strengthen personal responsibility within the team without losing sight of collaboration.

How PULT makes hybrid working easier for your team:

  • Attendance overview: You can see at a glance who is in the office today, across teams, per location, in real time.
  • Workplace booking: Employees can reserve their own space in the office, including capacity overview and according to individual preferences.
  • Room planning and booking: Meeting rooms can be booked and thus reserved. Specify who has access to which rooms.
  • Cross-location control: Everything can be managed centrally – regardless of how many offices or user groups are involved.

The better hybrid working is organised, the better it will be accepted by the team. The respective disadvantages of on-site and remote working are also partly eliminated or significantly mitigated.

PULT Use Cases

PULT is especially useful if you want to enable desk booking policies for the first time. It's simple, easy to use, and flexible to integrate! Try it out for free.

Trusted by 1000+ innovative workplaces
Book a free demo
FAQ

Have questions?

What is the difference between remote, mobile, and hybrid work?

Remote work means working permanently or on a daily basis from outside the office. Mobile work is location-independent and linked to appropriately mobile activities. Hybrid work is a combination of office and remote working hours.

How can I organize hybrid work in a team without losing track of everything?

It is important to have fixed rules, a shared calendar, and transparency regarding attendance. Planning and overview software helps to enable coordination without control.

What kind of rules does a hybrid model need?

Rules should specify when and how often attendance is expected, how communication will take place, and which tools will be used. Implementation is usually the responsibility of HR or team leaders, ideally in consultation with employees.

How can I recognize overload in a hybrid work environment?

Warning signs include unavailability, withdrawal from meetings, or declining participation. Managers should consciously ask questions and support clear boundaries, for example through pre-agreed offline times and corresponding times of presence.

How can hybrid work be reconciled with corporate culture and leadership?

Hybrid models require conscious cultivation of culture: regular meetings, clear communication, and leadership on an equal footing. Culture does not arise from tools, but it can be strengthened through good organization.

About author

Isolde Van der Knaap

Hybrid Work Enthusiast and Account Executive

LinkedIn

At PULT we're designing the future of the hybrid workplace for companies and their employees. Focused on SME and mid market customers in Eruope, I'm working on everything from Customer Discovery to Onboarding. I'm very passionate about new work and moved to Hamburg in 2024 even though I'm originally from France.

Resources

Learn how to run better workplace operations

Office Insights

Open-Concept Office: Pros and cons, design, and modern concepts

An open-concept office is an open workspace where many employees work together without partition walls. Noise, a lack of private spaces, and constant interruptions are considered the biggest drawbacks of open-concept offices. However, you can solve these very problems through zoning, well-designed soundproofing, and skillful space planning.

Learn More

Open-concept Office: The Most Important Points at a Glance

✓

An open-concept office refers to an open workspace for multiple teams without fixed partitions and is one of the most common office concepts in companies that adopt a hybrid work model.

✓

The biggest drawback of open-concept offices is the noise level: noise and acoustic distractions are among the most commonly cited causes of loss of concentration and declining productivity in open-concept offices.

✓

Zoning, acoustic partitions, and sound-absorbing materials solve the core problems in open-concept offices because they physically separate areas for concentration, communication, and relaxation.

✓

PULT makes it possible to plan open-concept offices: Through Desk Booking and Office Insights, the software shows which zones are actually being used and provides occupancy data for space planning tailored to actual needs.

What is an open-concept office?

An open-concept office (or open-plan office) is a contiguous office area in which more than ten employees work in an open space without floor-to-ceiling walls. It differs from a cubicle office in its open structure and from purely open-space areas in that it has clearly defined functional zones.

How does an open-concept office differ from a traditional office?

Office types can be classified based on how the space is divided. From cubicle offices with individual rooms to combination offices and open-concept offices, the openness of the space increases gradually.

A modern open-concept office combines open workspaces with activity zones—areas each designed for a specific task. It is precisely this zoning that distinguishes this well-thought-out concept from a simple desk arrangement.

For hybrid teams, an open floor plan makes particular sense. When part of your workforce is working from home, shared workspaces allow for much more efficient use of space than permanently assigned individual offices.

What are the pros and cons of open-concept offices?

Open-concept offices offer short lines of communication and high space efficiency, but their main drawbacks are noise and a lack of private spaces. The balance between these two factors determines whether the space is productive or stressful.

What are the advantages of an open-concept office?

The advantages of an open-concept office lie in collaboration and cost savings. Teams can easily coordinate with one another; these discussions take place without the need to schedule appointments, and new employees are able to integrate more quickly.

Added to this is the financial benefit. An open-concept office with shared workstations significantly reduces per-capita office costs, especially in companies where a high percentage of employees work from home.

✓

Short lines of communication: Teams coordinate with one another without organizational hurdles.

✓

Greater space efficiency: Shared workstations reduce costs per employee.

✓

Greater transparency and visibility: You can immediately see who is present and what people are working on.

✓

Faster onboarding: New colleagues learn the processes by working closely with the team.

What are the disadvantages of an open-concept office?

The biggest drawback of open-concept offices is the noise level. Conversations, phone calls, and keyboard clicks all blend together, and it is precisely this acoustic distraction that is one of the most common reasons why concentration suffers in an open-concept office.

In a controlled laboratory experiment, a research team at Bond University demonstrated that typical open-concept office noise increases negative mood by 25% and the physical stress response by 34%—as measured by heart rate and skin conductance—after just eight minutes of noise exposure. In real-world office settings, where employees are exposed to these noise levels for hours on end, these effects are correspondingly more pronounced. (Sander et al., Journal of Management & Organization, 2021)

Open-concept office layouts also significantly reduce face-to-face communication. In two field studies conducted with Fortune 500 companies, the volume of face-to-face interaction dropped by about 70% after the transition to an open-concept layout, while email and instant messaging traffic increased sharply. People who are constantly visible to everyone tend to withdraw inwardly and turn to digital channels. (Bernstein & Turban, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, Harvard Business School, 2018). The availability of private spaces is therefore an important factor in well-being.

How do I design a modern open-concept office?

A productive and employee-friendly open-concept office is created through spatial zoning based on activity, effective soundproofing, and space planning based on actual usage data. However, furniture and rules alone are not enough if the basic layout of the space does not suit the way people work.

How does zoning work in an open-concept office?

Zoning divides the open space into areas for different activities. This principle stems from the activity-based working concept, in which each type of work is assigned its own appropriate space:

✓

Quiet areas for concentration and quiet, independent work.

✓

Opportunities for collaboration.

✓

Customizable project areas for teamwork and time-bound projects.

✓

Quiet, secluded areas for breaks and relaxation.

This allows employees to choose a workspace that suits their current task and ensures they have the best possible conditions there.

What type of soundproofing is suitable for an open-concept office?

Effective soundproofing in an open-concept office is achieved through sound-absorbing materials and physical barriers. The combination of elements on the ceiling, on the floor, as well as room dividers and large plants reduces the noise level.

✓

Acoustic partitions between workstations block sound directly at the source.

✓

Large plants with lush foliage also act as natural sound barriers.

✓

Upholstered furniture and upholstered room dividers absorb sound.

✓

Floor-to-ceiling partitions in an open-concept office separate zones from one another both acoustically and visually.

Acoustic panels on the ceiling and walls, sound-absorbing carpeting and rugs, and enclosed phone booths for video calls significantly reduce noise levels.

In cases where noise levels remain high despite these measures, the cause usually lies in the use of the space itself.

How does Desk Booking help optimize space in an open-concept office?

Desk Booking provides the data needed to plan an open-concept office according to actual needs. Rather than relying on assumptions, booking and occupancy data show which areas are regularly in use and which, by contrast, remain empty.

This leads to specific ways to adapt the space that allow for the redistribution and management of its use. For example, if the area designated for quiet work is consistently overbooked while spaces for collaboration remain empty, this is a measurable indicator that the layout needs to be redesigned.

PULT provides the necessary occupancy data: This allows you to analyze the use of your office space, and employees can reserve their seats in the appropriate zone.

How to Turn Your Open-Concept Office Into a Productive Workplace

An open-concept office becomes productive through zoning based on activity, effective soundproofing, and space planning based on actual usage data. The open space is preserved, and its weaknesses are eliminated through the right structure.

✓

With PULT Office Insights, you can see which areas of your space are actually being used and plan renovations based on real data.

✓

Your employees can reserve a workspace in the appropriate zone and see where their colleagues are already seated.

✓

You manage capacity and attendance all in one place.

{{onpage-cta}}

Office Insights

Workplace Automation: What does it really mean for your office?

Workplace automation refers to the automation of daily, recurring office tasks, from desk reservations to visitor registration. For companies with a hybrid work model, the question arises as to which processes can be automated and how this can be done in compliance with the GDPR.

Learn More

Workplace Automation: The Basics

✓

Workplace Automation automates recurring office processes—such as room and desk reservations, attendance tracking, and visitor management—based on rules, without requiring employees to manually initiate each step.

✓

You can identify office processes that are ready for automation by three characteristics: clearly definable rules, a high frequency of repetition, and a measurable susceptibility to errors when processed manually.

✓

SMEs must ensure compliance with three requirements before launching: GDPR-compliant data storage, involvement of the works council (Section 87 of the Works Constitution Act), and adherence to EU hosting standards to avoid issues related to the Cloud Act.

✓

PULT is an all-in-one office management platform that automates desk booking, room reservations, office analytics, and visitor management, and integrates fully with MS Teams, Personio, and Slack so your office runs without any manual intervention.

What is workplace automation

Workplace automation encompasses all software-driven office processes in which a defined rule or algorithm determines the next step.

This ranges from automatic booking confirmations to rescheduling meeting rooms when the number of participants does not match the room size. In this way, workplace automation goes beyond mere digitization measures. Digitization converts paper forms into machine-readable data. Automation handles the resulting tasks on its own.

Which office processes can be automated?

Processes that occur daily and always follow the same or a similar pattern are ready for automation.

Area Manual Process Automated version
Space & Workplace Booking meeting rooms, spaces, and workstations by arrangement, via a list, or by email. Self-booking with automatic confirmation
Space & Workplace Identifying and Resolving Duplicate Bookings Automatic detection and rebooking in the event of capacity conflicts
Space & Workplace Send a reminder for your own desk reservation Automatic push notification to the user
Space & Workplace Coordinate Parking Assignments Using a Spreadsheet Automatic assignment of parking spaces based on predefined booking rules
Visitor Management Visitor Registration at the Front Desk Paperless Self-Registration with GDPR-Compliant Data Collection
Visitor Management Notify the host by phone when visitors are arriving Automatic notifications via MS Teams or Slack
Office Evaluation Track Office Utilization Using Handouts Real-Time Analysis of Office Usage
Office Evaluation Compile capacity utilization reports yourself Automatically generated reports based on occupancy data
Human Resources Management Manage Leave Requests via Email Automated approval process with status notifications
Human Resources Management Create and Send Onboarding Checklists Automated task assignment and access granting upon admission
Attendance & Planning Who is in the office and when? Check with them to find out. Real-Time Automatic Attendance Overview
Attendance & Planning Coordinate office days with the team via chat Rule-Based Scheduling with Attendance Thresholds
IT & Access Manually Set Up Access for New Employees Automatic Assignment of Permissions via SSO and HR Integration
IT & Access Access Control by Reception Staff Automated access control via app or badge
Buildings & Facilities Cleaning schedules based on a fixed weekly plan Cleaning Based on Actual Room Usage
Compliance & Security Manually Maintain Attendance Lists for Fire Safety Real-time occupancy data as the basis for evacuation plans

How does automated room and desk booking work?

For example, an automated meeting room management system detects when two people book a conference room that is actually designed to accommodate 20 people. The system identifies the discrepancy and automatically rebooks the reservation into a smaller, suitable room.

This reduces the number of conflicts over available spaces and frees up time for office managers that was previously spent on manual adjustments. Workplace automation via Wi-Fi check-in takes this a step further: As soon as you log in to the office with your device, the system automatically reserves your desk without a single click.

What compliance considerations must a company keep in mind when implementing workplace automation?

Automating office processes always involves processing data. Therefore, three points must be clarified:

✓

GDPR Compliance: What data does the tool collect, how long is it stored, and who has access to it? Booking data and attendance records are considered personal data.

✓

Employee Participation: As soon as a tool tracks attendance or workload, Section 87(1)(6) of the Works Constitution Act (BetrVG) applies. You must consult with the works council before implementing it.

✓

Hosting: EU hosting with a German or European data center circumvents the Cloud Act issues that arise with U.S. providers without an EU branch.

How do I get started with Workplace Automation?

To automate your workplace, start by identifying all the processes that, although they follow a very consistent pattern, are repeatedly carried out manually by employees. Review these processes and provide your team with software to automate them. The more processes a single software solution can handle, the fewer new tools you'll need to burden your team with.

1

Identify processes: Which processes take more than 30 minutes each day or regularly produce errors? These are the first candidates.

2

Examine the process: Is the current process already the best option? Or could it be streamlined?

3

Select a tool based on its integration capabilities: EU hosting and integration with existing systems are important selection criteria.

4

Roll out the changes gradually: Start with one feature—such as automatic room booking—and then expand to other areas after receiving positive feedback.

5

Review KPIs after 4 weeks: How many booking conflicts remained? How much administrative time was saved? How has office utilization changed?

Here's how PULT puts your office management on autopilot

Your workplace automations work best when they're bundled into a single software solution rather than spread across multiple tools. You can bundle workstation and room reservations, presence detection, occupancy analysis, visitor management, and parking management into PULT:

✓

Desk booking, room booking, and office analytics are all handled in a single tool, without any integration issues between individual systems.

✓

Automatic presence detection via your existing Wi-Fi system.

✓

Office Insights provide data and analyses on office utilization.

✓

Full integration with MS Teams, Slack, Personio, and HiBob.

{{onpage-cta}}

Office Insights

Huddle Meetings: How to make daily team check-ins truly productive

A huddle meeting is a daily or regular team check-in that takes no more than 15 minutes to align priorities and identify roadblocks. The difference from a traditional status meeting lies in its structure and in what you consistently leave out afterward.

Learn More

Huddle Meeting: The Basics

✓

A huddle meeting is a regular team check-in limited to 10 to 15 minutes, with three set questions: What was completed yesterday? What's on the agenda for today? What's currently holding the team back?

✓

The Daily Huddle meeting format works whether held in person or virtually, without an agenda document and with a rotating spokesperson. Anything that goes beyond the three core questions should be addressed in follow-up discussions afterward.

✓

For hybrid teams, team huddle meetings require some ground rules: cameras on, a fixed time zone, a breakout channel for follow-up discussions, and GDPR-compliant policies for recording.

✓

PULT, the all-in-one software for hybrid office management, shows moderators in real time every day who is in the office and who is working remotely. This provides a reliable information basis for every huddle meeting before it begins.

What is a huddle meeting?

A huddle meeting is a short, structured team discussion of a fixed duration (10 to 15 minutes) that takes place daily. The goal is to coordinate efforts. Discussions should be held in separate follow-up meetings. Each team member answers the same three questions:

1

What did I finish yesterday?

2

What do I have to do today?

3

What's holding me back right now?

The concept originates from Scrum, where the daily huddle is known as the daily standup. It is now also used by HR, operations, and sales teams, as well as cross-functional teams that coordinate across locations.

What is the proper format for a huddle meeting?

The huddle meeting format requires three key conditions to be effective: strict adherence to the schedule, the assignment of a facilitator, and a fixed list of participants.

1

Duration and Timing. The Daily Huddle Meeting takes place at the same time every day. Exceptions weaken the routine. The maximum duration is 15 minutes. If you regularly go over that time, you should consider whether parts of the content belong in a separate format.

2

Participants. Only individuals who are directly dependent on one another. Larger departments are divided into smaller subgroups.

3

Facilitator's Role. A facilitator keeps track of time and consistently directs discussions toward follow-up conversations. Rotating facilitation fosters a sense of personal responsibility within the team.

Element Standard Remote/Hybrid
Duration 10 to 15 min. 10 to 15 min.
Format While standing Camera on
Moderation Rotating Specified
Follow-up meetings Right after that Breakout Channel
Minutes Optional Note Short Chat Log

What changes in the team huddle meeting in a hybrid office?

In teams where some members are in the office and others are working remotely, three issues arise that could undermine the format: remote participants become passive listeners, discussions in the plenary session get out of hand, or technical problems delay or prolong the meeting.

Checklist for Hybrid Team Huddle Meetings:

✓

Cameras are required for all participants, including office groups sharing a screen.

✓

Real-time chat in the team chat during the meeting.

✓

Breakout session or a fixed time slot on the calendar for follow-up meetings immediately afterward.

✓

A fixed meeting link and time zone in everyone's calendar.

✓

Facilitating from a remote setting to ensure that remote participants are on an equal footing in terms of structure.

Clear hybrid work policies are essential for this model to work for everyone involved.

What legal considerations must companies keep in mind during their daily huddle meetings?

Daily huddle meetings count as work time and must be documented as part of time tracking. This also applies to brief 10-minute check-ins.

If you record video huddles, you need a GDPR-compliant legal basis and must inform participants in advance. If the huddle format is used for regular performance monitoring, a company agreement may also be required.

How to Make Huddle Meetings a Permanent Part of Your Hybrid Team

A huddle meeting is only effective when time management, structure, and the facilitator's role work together seamlessly. In a hybrid work environment, a fourth factor comes into play: transparency about who is working, when, and from where. Daily check-ins help to improve the employee experience because coordination routines become reliable and transparent for everyone.

Use PULT to see where your colleagues are working

PULT shows you at any time who is in the office and who is working remotely. You can also see your colleagues' scheduled attendance and receive reports on your teams' attendance. Desk booking, room booking, visitor management, and office insights are all integrated into a single platform.

{{onpage-cta}}

Browse all resources