7 Hybrid Office Tools and Software for Workspaces

03 Mar 2025

The hybrid workplace model offers the best of both worlds. Flexibility and collaboration for employees, and lower operational costs and the potential for higher productivity for employers.

But the road to success can be tricky if the right tools aren’t in place to help hybrid teams succeed.

The Hybrid Workplace Model Reigns Supreme

With both in-office and remote teams, a hybrid workplace model can be adopted in a variety of ways. Employees may come in to the office a certain number of days a week, split work weeks, or even be assigned specific in-office vs remote days. The flexibility, autonomy, and greater work-life balance this model offers is part of why it’s become so popular.

A recent Gallup survey found that 80 percent of U.S. employees work hybrid or fully remote. A white paper from Zoom emphasized the supremacy of the hybrid work model, finding that 75% of business leaders noted “that their organizations will likely change their models in the next two years” and that in North America, 60 percent of leaders said their company operates a hybrid model.

However, the logistics of launching and managing a hybrid work model can be tricky.

Challenges of Hybrid Work

Martine Haas, Lauder Chair Professor of Management at the Wharton School and Director of the Lauder Institute for Management & International Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, recently outlined the five key challenges of hybrid work: communication, coordination, connection, creativity, and culture.

Haas highlights that companies need to find ways to address each of these challenges in order to succeed with hybrid work. We agree and wanted to share a list of seven technologies and software options that can help do this.

Use These Tools to Succeed with a Hybrid Workplace Model

Workspace Booking Software
Smart Office Sensors
Project Management Software
Team Communication Software
Visitor Management Software
Digital Signage
Cloud Document Management

1. Workspace Booking Software

The most important tool to have in place for a hybrid work model is a meeting and workspace scheduling solution that can simplify booking and management. Running a successful hybrid operation requires a commitment to agility, and your staff can’t be agile if they can’t rely on the resources they need being available at the right times and in the right places.

Add-On Products’ workspace and meeting scheduling solutions can help:

Let employees choose any available workspace that best fits their needs for the day.
Book workspaces near colleagues for enhanced collaboration.
Integrated with existing Microsoft solutions for seamless communications.
Support positive workplace culture by providing experiences that make access to resources such as catering, projectors, AV equipment and IT or cleaning support easy to book alongside workspaces.

2. Smart Office Sensors

Because hybrid work models require rotating days for in-office and remote, logistically managing workspaces can be tricky when days are busy. Sensors can help to streamline the coordination of workspaces and resources. For example, sensors on desks or in meeting rooms can automate workspace check-ins, cancellations and no-shows, as well as expedite meeting room turnover.

As an added bonus, sensors can provide clear, detailed pictures of workspace usage and behaviors that could reveal trends a company could use to adapt workspace layouts and design to meet evolving needs.

3. Project Management Software

Asana is a popular project management tool, and it’s well-known for simplifying workflows. Designed to help teams organize projects, assign responsibilities, automate specific tasks, and coordinate teams in one place, this tool can help save time and free up employees to focus on the actual project.

The reason Asana is on our list for hybrid teams is for its ability to bring hybrid teams together in one place for unified project views and timelines and seamless communication via integration with other communication tools like Microsoft Teams.

4. Team Communication Software

Work communication tools, like Microsoft Teams or Slack make it easy to send messages, files, and communicate during meetings and remote brainstorm sessions, and both tools can facilitate an ongoing sense of connectivity.

We also like the ability to create separated channels (or groups), to organize conversation topics, departments, and teams. They’re also a fun way to bring a bit of personality to the workplace culture. For example, some companies may have a share your weekend channel or “employee pets” group for animal lovers.

Slack and Teams both offer accessible communications that drive efficiency and eliminate remote vs in-office challenges around alignment, collaboration, and messaging. Moreover, they are known for having product options that meet strict regulatory requirements such as HIPAA compliance some industries may need – making them a trustworthy choice.

5. Visitor Management Software

Employees aren’t the only consideration for hybrid workplaces. Visitors are important as well. Automating visitor management can help the in-office staff more effectively and securely manage the visitor process and improve security at the office. For an office where visitor attendance is even more ad-hoc, a visitor management solution like this one could help streamline visitor workflows, while self-registration kiosks could support high-traffic reception areas or unsupervised lobbies.

6. Digital Signage

With mandated in-office days, digital signage on hot desks and outside meeting rooms can serve two key purposes. One, support an engaging workplace culture, educating employees on recent brand and event updates, important announcements, or fun events. Two, to make it easier to coordinate workspaces in realtime.

Digital signage technologies can help businesses improve visual interactivity within their workplace, and expedite self-service functionalities, such as wayfinding, meeting room bookings, and access to company resources.

View our recommendations here for 2025 digital signage considerations.

7. Cloud Document Management

Sustainable, secure, and cost-effective. Cloud solutions are key for hybrid models where it’s important to access files and tools remotely. Hybrid operations are heavily reliant on the cloud, so a cloud-based document management solution is key. This allows teams to access, edit, and share documents wherever they are in the world. The result is that there are fewer disruptions to productivity and collaborations.

There are a variety of cloud document management systems for hybrid workforces. Team members can contribute to shared documents, store files without bogging down hard drive space, and these tools are renowned for strong security protocols. Moreover, many are usable and accessible via any web browser, offer multiple document formats, integrate with other tools such as email, calendar, and chat solutions, and offer the ability to assign or restrict access based on security protocols in place.

Consider Which Tools Are Right for Your Hybrid Workplace

Running a hybrid office offers a range of benefits to businesses. It allows you to be more agile and can even reduce certain operational overheads. It also tends to provide staff with a valued sense of flexibility.

However, hybrid operations aren’t automatically successful. You need to have appropriate resources to ensure your workspace runs productively. With many tools now available to businesses, it can be difficult to know which can make the most positive impact.

Connect with our team today to consult on which may be the right fit for your workplace.