The hybrid work model is no longer a temporary solution or a pandemic response. For many organizations, it’s a permanent fixture. ASE’s recently released 2025 Remote Work Pulse Survey found that 48.2% of Michigan organizations report offering formal remote work options for all or part of their workforce.
The ASE survey found that two-day hybrid schedules have become standard practice in many workplaces. While hybrid work offers flexibility and increased employee satisfaction, it also brings unique challenges, especially for HR professionals tasked with shaping a cohesive, high-performing workplace across physical and virtual spaces.
As hybrid arrangements mature, HR teams are focusing on optimizing three core areas: communication, collaboration, and equity. Each is essential to ensuring that all employees, regardless of location, can thrive and contribute equally.
Communication
One of the biggest challenges in a hybrid environment is maintaining clear and consistent communication. Without the ability to spontaneously connect in hallways or over coffee, remote employees may miss out on key information or informal updates that happen in the office.
To address this, HR must help implement communication protocols that prioritize clarity, consistency, and transparency. This includes promoting documentation of decisions, encouraging asynchronous communication tools, and reinforcing the habit of recapping key meeting takeaways for all stakeholders. Video conferencing platforms, chat tools like Slack or Teams, and shared project management systems play a central role, but the tools alone aren't enough. HR can support managers in developing new communication habits that keep everyone in the loop, regardless of where they work.
Collaboration
Collaboration is the engine of innovation, but it can suffer when teams are physically split. In a hybrid model, some employees may have more face time with leadership or quicker access to colleagues, while others feel disconnected or struggle to contribute equally.
To close that gap, HR can help establish collaboration norms that promote inclusivity and balance. This might involve creating “meeting equity” guidelines such as always including a virtual link, ensuring remote employees have speaking opportunities, or appointing a facilitator to manage participation. Team-building efforts should also be intentional and accessible to everyone, not just those in the office.
In addition, HR should advocate for project management platforms and cloud-based tools that make workflows and contributions visible to all. When collaboration happens in shared spaces, both digital and physical, it becomes easier to maintain alignment and accountability.
Ensuring Equity Between Remote and In-Office Employees
Equity is one of the most complex challenges in hybrid work. When employees have different work environments, there’s potential for unequal access to information, visibility, growth opportunities, and even performance evaluations.
To address this, HR must take a critical look at policies and practices to ensure fairness. This could mean rethinking how performance is measured by focusing more on outcomes than presence or offering stipends for home office setups to match in-office resources. HR should also audit promotion, recognition, and development practices to ensure remote employees aren’t overlooked.
Leadership training is another key area. Managers need support in developing awareness of proximity bias and learning how to manage distributed teams effectively. Equity doesn’t happen by accident. It requires deliberate effort across all levels of the organization.
Moving Forward
Hybrid work isn’t just a logistical shift; it’s a cultural one. For HR professionals, the goal is to build systems that foster inclusion, connection, and fairness no matter where employees sit. By addressing the key areas of communication, collaboration, and equity, organizations can ensure their hybrid strategies support both the business and the people who power it.
ASE Connect
Survey Data
ASE members can access the 2025 Remote Work Pulse Survey report in the ASE Survey Library. Non-members can request a copy here.
Remote Work Resources
ASE has many additional resources available to help you manage an effective remote or hybrid work environment. Visit our Remote Work Resources page.