One benefit of working in executive search is seeing changes in workplace norms from both sides. From clients, we hear about the challenges of setting effective policies. From candidates, we learn how different organizations put policies into practice. And for the past several years, one topic has been part of nearly every conversation: hybrid work.
Candidates want to know, “How many days in the office?” while many organizations are still debating the number that is right for them. But what if there’s a better place to start? Should we first be asking, “What’s the purpose of the office and how does it serve our teams?”
That’s the essential question behind intentional hybrid work.
We’ve heard hybrid work described in many ways, but this framing—intentional hybrid—caught our attention. Is it just another headline trend, or a way to address this challenge more thoughtfully? When we looked into it, we found some solid thinking behind the approach.
Intentional Hybrid in Action: Map the Work to the Location
So, what is an intentional hybrid work model? Here’s a simple definition: intentional hybrid is about matching the type of work to the setting where it’s done. This goes beyond logistics. It requires thinking about the context of the work itself.
Burak Bakkaloglu, a global HR executive and author, warns that broad rules like “three days a week in the office” can be counterproductive. Instead, he suggests mapping the type of work to the location and providing clear guidelines for what that looks like day to day.
As he put it, “Lacking intentionality, employees often end up being in the office but having video calls from a room.” Bakkaloglu referenced a 2×2 matrix Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella presented in a conversation with Adam Grant as one structure for doing this. Here’s his example:
| In the Office | Remote | |
| Synchronous | Tuesdays and Thursdays. Meetings, brainstorming, co-creation, and informal team connection. | Fridays and Mondays during core meeting hours. Teams/Zoom and phone calls for information sharing and decision making. |
| Asynchronous | Whenever needed. For people who prefer the office for focused work. | Mondays and Fridays. Outside of core meeting hours, working independently from home. |
Without mapping the type of work to the location, employees can end up spending in-office time working alone or on video calls, which defeats the purpose of being together.
Align Hybrid Policies With Team Realities: There is No One Size Fits All
Intentional hybrid also means recognizing that different people and teams have different needs.
As HR strategist, author, and speaker, Nirit Cohen points out, most work models fail to account for this. “It’s high time we shift our perspective from a simplistic ‘more time at home or the office?’ to a more nuanced question: ‘Which work environment today best aligns with the needs of our employees, their work, and their teams?’”
IT and accounting may need more uninterrupted focus. Development staff may need more collaboration. A single rule without an intentional framework can’t meet both needs. This requires looking closely at the work different teams and individuals do and evaluating which types of settings and interactions will best support them.
Make In-Person Time Count With Moments That Matter
Another way to think about intentional hybrid is to focus less on “how often” and more on “when it matters.” Brian Elliott, CEO of Work Forward, describes hybrid policies as most effective when they are built on “moments that matter,” activities where gathering in person provides specific value, like during team building, onboarding, or major project kickoffs.
He suggests four scenarios to consider:
- Team development: Mix business and social time a few times a year.
- Onboarding and training: Use in-person time to build cross-functional ties.
- New team formation or project launches: Align on goals and norms in person, together.
- Function-specific activities: Let teams set the in-person rhythm that works best.
Elliot points to real data that backs this up, “Three years of data from Future Forum shows that the vast majority of people want to gather together, anywhere from a few days a week to once a month—but they want that in-office time to be purpose-driven.”
Build Hybrid From the Team Level Up—Resources To Get Started
Developing a fully intentional hybrid model may be complex and take time, but you can incorporate elements of this approach incrementally as you shape policies going forward.
New research from Gallup suggests that “Many employers—now familiar with the pros and cons of the hybrid work model—are letting managers, teams and individuals work out the details.” This points to the value of starting at the team level. Here are several resources to get started.
- Hybrid Work: How Leaders Build In-Person Moments That Matter, published by MIT Sloan, Brian Eilliot shares several practical steps to begin implementing these ideas.
- 4 Modes of Collaboration Are Key to Success in Hybrid Work, an article from Gartner (referenced by Nirit Cohen) with links to downloadable action plans.
- In the Changing Role of the Office, It’s All about Moments That Matter, published by Microsoft’s Work Lab, provides data to support this approach.
- What are team-level agreements? How to set flexibility—within a framework—for your organization, a quick start guide from Future Forum.
- Working Agreements, a step-by-step playbook from Atlassian that could be adapted for different team structures.
Use Hybrid Work To Help Staff Deliver Results
An intentional hybrid work model helps you create the conditions where staff can do their best work. And it provides both transparency and a touchstone for decision-making when communicating with your board, leadership, and current or future employees.
With this approach, you move beyond a typical hybrid model that can feel like little more than a compromise between the old and the new and ground your choices in what best supports the work and your mission.
Key Takeaways on Intentional Hybrid Work
- Intentional hybrid work means matching the type of work to the right setting, not just setting quotas for in-office time.
- Satya Nadella’s 2×2 matrix highlights four modes of hybrid work: in-person synchronous, in-person asynchronous, remote synchronous, and remote asynchronous.
- Nirit Cohen emphasizes that hybrid policies must align with the varied needs of employees, their tasks, and their teams.
- Brian Elliott’s “moments that matter” approach shows that in-person time is most effective for team development, onboarding, project launches, and role-specific needs.
- Gallup research suggests hybrid success often comes from team-level agreements rather than top-down mandates.
- For nonprofits and mission-driven organizations, intentional hybrid offers a framework for making strategic choices that best support the work and mission.
Keep Reading
- Could clearly describing your hybrid work model make a difference in a candidate choosing your position over another? It might. Think of your job posting as a marketing pitch to the highest-qualified candidates. You want to leverage every piece of that message effectively. Read How To Talk About Hybrid Work in Your Job Descriptions.
- Employees who feel a sense of value and purpose are more likely to be productive and stay long-term. Including employees in decision-making—giving them a choice in an intentional and actionable way—demonstrates that you see them as people, not just workers. Read Creating Environments Where Top Candidates Want to Work.