Hybrid Policy vs Reality Playbook that helps workplace leaders close the gap between policy and reality

The guide is designed to provide a framework for creating hybrid policies that work for everyone in an organisation.

With many organisations still struggling to understand whether their hybrid policy is working, or even being followed, workplace leaders are increasingly being asked to make decisions about space, cost and culture using fragmented, outdated attendance data – often stitched together manually from multiple systems and trusted by no one. The result is a growing gap between policy and reality – where expectations are unclear, decisions are delayed, and opportunities to improve performance are missed.

To address this challenge, HubStar, a global leader in dynamic workplace management technology, is publishing The Hybrid Policy vs Reality Playbook—a practical guide designed to help workplace leaders and HR, facilities and IT managers understand how work is really happening and evolve their strategy accordingly.

HubStar says its decision to publish the Playbook follows the huge response to its recent online seminar on this increasingly important issue. HubStar’s discussions with workplace leaders identified that many hybrid policies fail because they are built on assumptions instead of accurate data.

The Playbook highlights the data that workplace leaders need to create effective hybrid policies that are grounded in reality. This includes gathering accurate data to measure, iterate and improve the hybrid policies themselves.

Jane Young, HubStar’s Vice President of Growth, said: “If you can’t measure how teams are actually using flexibility and space, you have no visibility into the gap between your policy and reality. And without that, it’s incredibly difficult to make confident decisions – whether that’s about your workplace strategy, your employee experience, or your real estate footprint.”

She added: “The other thing many leaders are struggling with is how to align stakeholders – such as HR, workplace experience, corporate real estate, facilities management, and IT – in order to drive change, while giving employees the flexibility and autonomy they need to do their best work. That’s why you don’t just have one hybrid policy, you have a policy stack – and we need to align on that, make it explicit, and measure against it.”

The Hybrid Policy vs Reality Playbook highlights the vital importance of creating a successful hybrid policy stack that may include multiple layers within hybrid work policies – each tailored to meet the needs of a diverse workforce that encompasses many different roles, teams and working styles.

The comprehensive Playbook also includes a four-step Policy-to-Practice plan designed to align an organisation’s hybrid policy with its business objectives, employees’ real behaviour, and teams’ workplace habits and preferences.

Workplace leaders and FM, HR and IT managers can obtain a free copy of The Hybrid Policy vs Reality Playbook directly from the HubStar website here.