Secrets of a Successful Hybrid Work Model

Gone are the days when every employee reported to a desk five days a week. The hybrid work model has emerged as viable approach, with global corporations such as Nationwide, Citigroup, Ford Motor Co., IBM, and General Motors Co. all opting to blend the best of in-office and remote working.

Many companies are adopting hybrid work models to attract talent, increase flexibility, and improve productivity. For instance, Nationwide officially expanded its flexible work options this year. It’s a move that has already helped the Fortune 100 insurance giant to recruit and retain top talent, Executive Vice President and CHRO Vinita Clements told Toptal Insights. “Our leadership team recognizes our employees’ desire for more flexibility—and that remote work can be successful for many roles, while knowing there is value in spending time in the office,” she says.

Hybrid Work Is Here to Stay. Here’s How to Make It Work for You

A Harvard Business School survey of almost 1,500 professionals who worked from home from March 2020 to March 2021 found that 61% would like to work from home two to three days a week, whereas 27% hope to work remotely all of the time. Just 18% want to go back to the office full time. With so many companies struggling to hire right now, employees have more bargaining power than ever—and smart employers will do what it takes to attract and retain top talent.

While hybrid work is often advantageous for employers and employees, the model also comes with challenges—possible disconnection across teams is a major one. That’s why it’s critical for companies to create an intentional hybrid work strategy, rather than relying on ad hoc approaches that could erode trust over time and leave some employees feeling isolated.

Whether your company is just starting to consider a hybrid model or has already adopted one, these lessons will help your team succeed.

What Is a Hybrid Work Model?

In a hybrid work model, employees may work on-site, remotely, or a mix of both. Hybrid models can include different types of work arrangements across teams. Some employees split their time between office and home, while others may work in-person five days a week or entirely remotely. It became more common to see hybrid work models in 2021 and later as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A core goal of hybrid work is balancing flexibility with collaboration. While a hybrid model has the potential to give workers the flexibility they desire and maximize employee engagement and productivity, it’s crucial for companies to take an intentional approach. “Hybrid is a lot harder to manage than either fully remote or fully face-to-face,” says Anita Williams Woolley, PhD, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Theory at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business. “By allowing a Wild West, do-your-own-thing arrangement, it’s going to turn out to be worse than all-remote was for a lot of companies, if they’re not thoughtful about it.”

If your team doesn’t have a detailed plan for your hybrid work model yet, you are not alone. In a May 2021 McKinsey & Company survey of C-suite executives, 68% admitted that they didn’t yet have a strategy in place or communicated to employees.

There is no one-size-fits-all arrangement for hybrid workplaces. Some companies, such as Google and Ford, are leaving it up to individual teams to design the schedules of in-office and at-home days. GM has dubbed its new hybrid model “work appropriately,” and will allow employees the flexibility to work where they will be most efficient, job permitting. Other companies are designating specific in-office days companywide.

Vanguard Group, one of the world’s largest investment companies, plans to allow most employees to work from home on Mondays and Fridays. At software company Kissflow, based in Chennai, India, employees work from home for three weeks, and then travel to a central work site for one week of in-office collaboration (with accommodations paid for by Kissflow).

Company leaders must do the hard work of figuring out what hybrid structure will serve their businesses best, says John Budd, PhD, Professor and Industrial Relations Land Grant Chair of the Center for Human Resources and Labor Studies at the University of Minnesota. “How will the physical space be managed? The easier it is for employees to set their own schedules, the more space you need and the vision of reduced expenses fades,” he points out. “How will employees work together? Does a team all have to be in person at the same time, which reduces flexibility? Does it become frustrating having some co-workers in person and others Zooming in?”

The 6 Different Types of Hybrid Work Models

Hybrid models work differently from company to company, and each approach has benefits and drawbacks. It’s worth taking the time to identify the right structure for your team. These six frameworks offer various levels of flexibility and accountability:

1. Fixed Model

In a fixed model, the organization designates specific “in-office” days when all employees must be present. For example, employees may be required to work in-person on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, enabling them to work remotely for the remainder of the week. This approach aligns schedules and makes the most of face-to-face time—bringing everybody together on the same days helps facilitate collaboration and coordinate in-person meetings such as a regular all-hands or strategic planning.

A fixed model offers predictability and can help foster connection among teams. However, it affords the least amount of personal flexibility, which can make recruiting talent more challenging if your candidate pool places a premium on autonomy.

2. Flexible Hybrid Model

The flexible hybrid model allows employees to decide where they work each day. Some may prefer to come in four days a week for the social connection, while others may feel more productive at home and only visit the office once a month. They aren’t required to come into the office on particular days or for a specific number of days per week.

This model signals high levels of trust which can help with talent retention. The challenge lies in the logistics: Because daily capacity is unpredictable, a system such as “hot-desking,” rather than assigned seating, may be necessary to prevent wasted space or overcrowding.

3. Remote-first Model

Remote-first organizations prioritize digital operations over physical work environments. The company may maintain an office or co-working memberships as additional resources to their staff, but remote work is the default. With primarily work-from-home hybrid models, many businesses rely on platforms like Slack or Notion to promote seamless communication—from casual chats to strategic planning—and keep team members connected.

In this model, geography is no longer a barrier to hiring, and employers can recruit qualified talent from around the globe. However, without the organic social connection of in-person collaboration, leaders need to be more intentional about building culture. Many host regular off-sites to foster the rapport among teams that may not occur as readily in a digital space.

4. Office-first with Remote Flexibility Model

This is a more traditional approach where the office remains the primary workspace, but employees are permitted to work remotely for a specified number of days or during special circumstances. Many large corporations have pursued this model to foster mentorship and high-touch client service, while giving employees the perk of occasional remote work.

The office-first model preserves a strong corporate identity and facilitates shared institutional knowledge. The risk is that remote days may be viewed as “lesser” workdays, potentially giving those in the office more often a visibility boost that garners promotions or desirable projects.

5. Team-based Scheduling Model

Rather than a blanket mandate across the company, team-based schedules empower department heads to set the cadence for in-person collaboration. A marketing team might decide to meet in the office every Monday for creative brainstorming, while the engineering team might only come in once every two weeks.

This approach makes in-person work requirements more relevant to each team’s needs, reducing the perception of arbitrary decisions. It accounts for the differences in duties performed across teams—for instance, a sales team has fundamentally distinct workflows from an accounting department. If using this model, leaders should make sure that cross-functional collaboration doesn’t suffer if two interdependent teams never have overlapping office days, and help facilitate coordination if it does.

6. Role-based Model

In this model, leaders assign roles as remote, hybrid, or on-site based on the actual requirements of the job. For example, a hardware lab technician or a receptionist would likely be required on-site 100% of the time, while a data analyst may be entirely remote.

Role-based models provide clarity and fairness by linking location to the nature of the work rather than broader executive decisions. It’s critical to clearly document specific requirements for each role during the hiring process to manage candidate expectations from the outset.

The Characteristics of a Successful Hybrid Work Model

Hybrid work comes with its own set of pitfalls, but a thoughtful strategy can mitigate risk, helping companies and employees reap the benefits without the drawbacks.

For example, it’s crucial to intentionally promote equity between remote and in-office employees. If hybrid employees working remotely aren’t provided with the same access to information, professional development, and recognition as those who are on-site more often, it may “inadvertently create status differences and opportunity differences as a function of who is in the office and who isn’t,” says Williams Woolley. One reason this happens is distance bias, a natural tendency to pay more attention to and place more value on things or people that are nearby (and events that are coming up sooner rather than later).

Successful hybrid working models also set clear policies and expectations, offer strong communication systems and tools, and put in place continuous feedback loops.

“Nationwide has enhanced our forums, tools, and resources to maximize the interaction and opportunities for all employees in our hybrid environment,” says Clements. “Additionally, our regular pulse surveys help us understand what’s working well, and also where we need to focus more attention.” Nationwide is also investing in its managers, to ensure they are equipped to lead both locally and virtually, and in its learning, mentoring, and recognition programs, she adds.

The hybrid work landscape will include a wide mix of employees—those who are fully remote, fully on-site, or some combination of the two. In many cases, those employees will also work a variety of schedules in different time zones. So, hybrid workforce leaders must also cultivate trust with their employees and between teams, says Robert Brown, Vice President of the Center for the Future of Work at Cognizant Technology Solutions, a Fortune 500 company. “One of the lessons learned from the pandemic is that companies need to be able to trust their workers to be able to get the work of the day done, instead of having an overweening sense of propriety about whose rump is in a seat at a particular time.”

As the world’s largest fully distributed company, Toptal has been 100% remote since its founding in 2010—long before the COVID-19 pandemic created a “suddenly remote” marketplace. The number one problem Toptal has identified with the newly emerging hybrid models is the potential for disconnect. As evidenced by Nationwide’s thoughtful approach, however, businesses can flourish in a hybrid structure in part by leveraging technology, increasing accountability and alignment, and reinvesting in their people.

“People define a company,” says Toptal Chief People Officer Michelle Labbe. “Being hybrid or fully remote doesn’t change that fundamental philosophy.” If anything, distribution strengthens that reasoning because it challenges leaders to constantly innovate how they motivate, evaluate, and collaborate. A successful hybrid approach requires careful strategy and planning. But with the right leadership and resources, businesses will see a big return on the investment.

5 Steps for Building a Successful Hybrid Work Model

Establishing a successful hybrid model requires more than simply picking days on a calendar—it demands a clear plan for how work actually gets done. To make the transition stick, leaders need to rethink everything from how they measure performance to how they hire new talent. The following five steps offer a practical guide to setting up a system that keeps teams connected and productive, regardless of where they are working.

1. Ask Employees for Their Opinion

Because individual preferences for remote vs. on-site work vary, it’s critical to solicit input from employees early in the process. Leveraging surveys and feedback tools allows leaders to move beyond assumptions and gather quantitative data on how staff actually work. This step is essential for identifying role-specific needs; for instance, while creative teams may prefer periodic on-site brainstorming, data-entry roles may perform at peak efficiency in a fully remote environment.

Gauging these needs early allows you to address friction points before the model is finalized, and, ultimately, including your team in the decision-making process increases buy-in and engagement. When employees feel their specific workflows are understood and respected, they are significantly more likely to support the transition to a new hybrid structure.

2. Design for Inclusion

Hybrid models carry an inherent risk of proximity bias, where leaders unconsciously favor employees who are physically present in the office. To mitigate this, organizations must ensure that all staff have equal access to opportunities and visibility, regardless of their location.

Employers can effectively neutralize this bias by standardizing communication and meeting practices. For example, adopting a “one-remote, all-remote” policy for meetings—where every participant joins via their own camera—prevents in-person clusters from dominating the conversation. Additionally, aligning performance evaluations across work styles is critical. Metrics should focus on results and KPIs rather than perceived engagement. By intentionally designing for inclusion, leaders help create a sense of belonging and enable a distributed workforce to perform at its peak.

3. Think Through Implementation

Creating a detailed operational plan helps set the transition to hybrid work up for success. First, leaders should consider rollout phases and timelines that allow for adjustments. For example, piloting the hybrid model with a single department can help identify issues—such as scheduling bottlenecks—and gather valuable feedback. Addressing any problems before company-wide deployment can prevent frustration and strengthen trust.

Managers of distributed teams need specific toolsets for maintaining team cohesion and identifying signs of burnout in remote staff. That’s why it’s essential to train managers for hybrid leadership, which is often more focused on managing outcomes than monitoring activity.

Advanced planning also enables companies to address technology and infrastructure needs, ensuring all employees have a standardized tech stack (e.g., high-quality webcams, VPN access, and collaborative digital whiteboards) to maintain consistency between home and office. Finally, setting clear guidelines and expectations—such as mandated office days or policies such as “no-meeting Fridays”—eliminates ambiguity and supports a seamless transition.

4. Rethink How Work Gets Done in an Increasingly Project-Based Economy

With the rise of remote work comes a fundamental shift in how we measure productivity—from time-based to outcome-based. Rather than tracking hours logged or employees’ physical presence in the workplace, performance is now often measured by the quality and timeliness of project milestones.

This shift requires collaboration across distributed teams, the effective use of project management tools (e.g., Asana, Jira), and asynchronous workflows that enable employees to get their work done from different time zones. When every stakeholder can see the status of a task, the owner, and the deadline in real-time, the need for status-update meetings decreases, allowing for more focused execution. This flexibility is a competitive advantage in a project-driven market, as it prioritizes high-value work over busywork and endless meetings.

5. Reimagine Your Workforce

Beyond flexibility and cost savings, hybrid work also creates an opportunity to reimagine the workforce entirely. By adding remote roles, businesses can expand their talent pools geographically and access candidates who would otherwise be excluded due to location. Separating work from geography also enables leaders to redefine roles and responsibilities. To support teams through the transition, it’s important to invest in upskilling and reskilling the existing workforce—equipping them with the digital-first skills they need to collaborate from anywhere.

As you customize your hybrid work model, it’s also worth considering whether more roles can be fully remote. A work-from-home model not only reduces the costs of maintaining office space, it can also widen the talent pool, increase diversity, and boost employee output. (Academic studies have shown that people were actually more productive working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.)

However, many organizations are still figuring out the right balance. In the aforementioned McKinsey survey, only 3% of C-suite executives said that employees with roles that aren’t essential to perform on-site would be fully remote—while 80% said these workers would have hybrid schedules, coming into the office one to four days per week. Some companies are pushing further—Nationwide closed several brick-and-mortar offices across the US and made all of the employees in those locations permanently remote.

Embrace Change to Reap the Rewards

Hybrid and remote work models are a long-term investment in organizational resilience. While early adoptions were born of necessity, it is now clear that in the future of work, hybrid models represent a sustainable path forward for balancing operational efficiency with employee satisfaction. When executed correctly, the rewards go beyond simple cost savings on real estate—companies that commit to these models see higher retention rates, reduced burnout, and the ability to recruit top-tier talent from across the globe.

Transitioning to a hybrid work model requires a culture of adaptability and experimentation. There is no “perfect” model that suits every company on the first try. Leaders should remain open to testing different meeting cadences or communication tools and be willing to pivot based on data and feedback. It’s worth noting that this flexibility only works if leadership is fully aligned on the underlying vision and strategy.

Ultimately, hybrid work should be viewed as an evolving, strategic advantage, particularly as technology and employee expectations continue to shift. By staying responsive to change, you can ensure your organization remains competitive and capable of delivering high-quality work in any environment.