What is a Hybrid Office?
We’re entering the era of the hybrid office, where employees will split their work time between home and the office. But what are the benefits of a hybrid office? And how should employers prepare for this change?
What is a hybrid office?
Learn the basics of what makes an office hybrid and how it differs from a traditional workplace.
What are the benefits of a hybrid office?
Learn about common reasons why more and more companies are moving to hybrid offices.
Technologies for a hybrid office
Get familiar with the different technologies that can make work spaces smarter.
Hybrid Office ROIs
A look at different ways the hybrid office can generate a positive return-on-investment.
What is a Hybrid Office?
A “hybrid office” is a flexible working model which allows employees to split their time between home and the office.
Hybrid offices leverage modern technology and are designed to put an emphasis on employee productivity and efficiency. The hybrid office helps employees work smarter and collaborate more efficiently while in the office.
The hybrid office can boost employee satisfaction, wellbeing and productivity, while allowing the company to reduce its operating costs, carbon footprint and have more flexibility in hiring remote talent.
Benefits of a hybrid office
The hybrid office is a paradigm shift when compared to the traditional office. The change to a flexible, more connected, digitally enhanced work space will make life easier for employees when they are in the office.
Here are some of the most common benefits and reasons why companies are shifting to the hybrid office.
Boost productivity & improve collaboration
One of the most popular reasons for implementing a hybrid office model is to improve employee productivity and collaboration. Hybrid office solutions like Senion at Work make it easier for employees to meet up and reduce time searching for meeting rooms. A work space that encourages collaboration can help tap into the creativity and ingenuity of the workforce.
Increase employee satisfaction & well-being
When employees don’t have to “sweat the small stuff,” they have more time to concentrate on the more important things. The hybrid office helps employees work smarter – getting more done with less stress, and less effort. By providing hybrid office solutions, companies can provide an employee experience that helps engage, attract and retain employees.
Utilize your space & contain real estate costs
Between empty desks and unused conference rooms, 72% of CFOs anticipate their corporate real estate footprint will decrease by 15% in the next 2 years. Chances are your office is not operating at full capacity. Hybrid office solutions like Senion at Work can help companies understand space utilization in real time and make decisions to improve the workplace.
Hybrid office technologies
There are many different ways to prepare for the future of work. From smart sensors to indoor location-responsive solutions, take a look at some different technologies that can help you transition to a hybrid office.
Smart sensors
Smart sensors are network connected sensors that detect events or physical changes in the environment. In offices, smart sensors are commonly used to measure CO2, air quality, and occupancy levels.
Room booking application
This refers to the room booking application that often comes with workplace software stack, like Office 365 or G-Suite.
Location-responsive workplace solutions
These are smartphone applications that leverage indoor positioning to automate and simplify the day at the office for employees.
Hybrid office technology comparison
There are several different approaches to hybrid office technologies, ranging from rudimentary entry-level products up to the more advanced solutions.
| Smart sensors | Room booking app | Location-responsive workplace app | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employee app |  |
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| Physical hardware footprint |  |
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| Occupancy detection | |
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| Find available rooms | |
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| Find available rooms near user | |
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| Book room | |
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| Location sharing | |
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| Basic wayfinding | |
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| Blue-dot wayfinding | |
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| Location-based suggestions | |
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| Detect no-shows | |
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| Predict no-shows | |
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| Release unused rooms | |
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| Smart location-based reminders | |
Hybrid office ROI areas
A hybrid office creates value in different areas of the business, ranging from saving energy, better utilization of real estate and employee productivity.
The hybrid office is all about a smarter, more efficient use of resources, meaning less time and money is wasted.
Hybrid office solutions often generate value or savings in three major resource categories; utilities, real estate and payroll. Utilities refer to the resources that are spent on water, heating, cooling, and electricity. The real estate includes the cost of rent or ownership, and payroll is the sum total of all employee salaries. In most companies, payroll is by far the largest expense, followed by rent or real estate costs, and utilities are often lower than the rent.
Rent per square foot differs depending on location – but the ratio provides a way to understand the cost elements in relation to one another. Even a 1% improvement in productivity can outweigh improvements in utilities or rent.
| 1 Energy and utilities | 2 Real estate | 3 Payroll | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Est. cost per sqft per year | $3 | $30 | $300 |
| 10% improvement saves | $0.3 | $3 | $30 |
| 1% improvement saves | $0.03 | $0.3 | $3 |
Naturally, the actual rent per square feet differs from location to location – but the ratio provides a way to understand the cost elements in relation to each other.
Even a very modest improvement, such as a 1% improvement in productivity (payroll), can outweigh improvements in utilities or rent in real dollars.
Workplace Insights
Learn more through our published whitepapers
Workplace utilization report
Curious to understand how and where a smart office solution can create value in your organization? Get your free ROI report and find out!
How to make better use of office space
An in-depth look at the reasons behind inefficient use of real estate, the cost, and what can be done to improve.
Office Workplace Survey 2017
A survey of US office workers and their workplace, with regards to finding places, colleagues and other points-of-interest in their workplace.
Mobile First in the Smart Office
How will we interact with these smart buildings in the near future? What will the touch points be when everything is connected?
The Changing Workplace
The challenges facing modern corporations and how location technologies can alleviate issues in the office.
Indoor Positioning 101 Popular
Indoor positioning is the technology to position smartphones inside buildings. Here you’ll get a solid insight of what IPS is, how it works, and where it is used.
Looking to improve utilization and productivity?
Senion at Work is a location-responsive hybrid office solution that helps companies improve the workplace and save time and energy for employees!