Our experience: renting and going hybrid go hand in hand
What Alvero has been observing among its clients for years is now also confirmed by research: hybrid work is not a trend, but is here to stay. Employees expect to work from home just as much a year from now as they do today. Your work environment must be able to adapt to that—on an individual employee basis. For example, you’ll need more furniture at home and less at the office. Of course, we’re happy to help with that. How? We’ll explain that based on the four most important developments. Here’s a sneak peek: hybrid work also fits well within a circular business model.
TIP 1 | Your office becomes a meeting place
In the future, too, employees will need the right furniture both at home and in the office. This involves more than simply installing desks in employees’ homes. Instead, we prefer to take a holistic view of the work environment, in which the office and the various home workspaces each fulfill a different function. Research shows that the role of the office is shifting from a workspace to a meeting place. Based on our experience with hybrid projects, we can confirm this trend: employees are increasingly choosing to get work done at home and come to the office for meetings, brainstorming sessions, or teamwork.
Source: Facility Management Benchmark 2022–2023"Adapting the office environment is seen as a challenge. 62% of facilities professionals expect the number of square meters to remain the same, and 31% expect to downsize by an average of 25%."
Alvero has everything you need
Your various workspaces and furniture must be able to adapt to these changing needs, while home offices must also be designed to be both stylish and ergonomically sound. Together with the client, we create the hybrid environment that aligns with the work culture and the needs of individual employees. We handle all the equipment, logistics, and dashboarding in-house. Plus, we have extensive experience with transitions to hybrid work environments.
Curious about a real-world example of the complete setup of a hybrid work environment?
Check out the Ksyos case study
TIP 2 | Involve Your Employees in Hybrid Concepts
Organizational changes often meet with resistance from facility management. After all, people are creatures of habit. Implementing a new workplace concept—no matter how well thought out it may be—can be a significant adjustment for employees. Alvero has experience with hybrid projects in which we devise, experiment with, and adapt concepts.
Keep experimenting with Alvero
A new work environment is never set in stone. Take the time to experiment. Based on employee feedback, Alvero can adjust the layout or features of the furniture—as often as needed—until it’s just right for your team. This way, you give users a say in creating a suitable new workspace and prevent resistance during the process.
A testing ground for blended and hybrid learning—here’s how we’re making it happen for Curio.
TIP 3 | Make hybrid work part of good employment practices
Hybrid work is gaining popularity as an employee benefit. From the research report: “Organizations can set themselves apart through the facilities they offer. For example, most organizations distinguish themselves in the area of hybrid meetings.” Alvero also observes that both current and future employees are increasingly drawn to the freedom to work partly from home. It contributes to a better work-life balance and also reduces costly commuting distances. In this specific area, Alvero can help your organization become a better employer.
Source: Facility Management Benchmark 2022–2023"The need for flexibility is growing in all kinds of areas, including facility services. Whereas in the past many employees could be found in the office almost every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., office visits have become less routine. Many facility service providers are still figuring out their approach."
Alvero lets your employees choose their own furniture
Facilities management is a broad range of responsibilities that often falls under HR’s purview. Alvero can take the burden off your shoulders as your partner in the workplace. Together, we can determine a selection of home office furniture that employees can choose from via a customized ordering portal. Alvero then ensures that it is delivered and, if necessary, picked up and re-deployed. You only pay for the furniture as long as you use it. At the same time, we can also design offices to be more inspiring meeting places. We have all the necessary furniture and expertise in-house. We know from experience that you’ll continue to work with employees to refine the perfect and most productive work environment. Rental furniture makes that possible.
Curious about how PwC employees work from home ergonomically with the help of Alvero?
TIP 4 | Put your policy into practice (and keep doing so)
The report shows that one in three organizations does not yet have a policy on hybrid work. More than half of the organizations do have a policy, but it hasn’t been formally documented. Clear (work) agreements determine the success of hybrid work, and their implementation is also crucial. Survey participants overwhelmingly expressed a desire to be able to scale up or down their use of flexible workspaces, project rooms, meeting rooms, and brainstorming rooms.
Alvero puts your policy into action
Alvero can translate the agreements reached into a flexible system for home offices and office spaces. Employees choose their own furniture, and we deliver and pick it up as needed. We also adapt your office environment to meet current needs. This ensures that your entire work environment continues to evolve in line with the needs of your market and your organization. Our solution continues to work while keeping costs transparent. After all, you only pay for what you use.
See how Dematic is collaborating more effectively, both at home and in its new facility.
Hybrid work fits into a circular business model
The circular work environment and hybrid work may seem like two different worlds. Yet they can complement and reinforce each other. A circular work environment focuses on maximizing the (re)use of materials and raw materials and minimizing waste and the use of new raw materials. Alvero rents out furniture that is easy to repair and recycle. Furthermore, rented furniture is always reused, so there is never any waste. Hybrid work can reduce the need for physical offices and workspaces, thereby also reducing the energy- and resource-intensive activities required to build and maintain these facilities. This can result in a lower environmental impact and cost savings for companies.
What Makes Renting Circular?
It starts with the basics: you use furniture for as long as you need it, and in many cases, this furniture has (already) gone through multiple life cycles. Alvero remains the owner of the furniture and ensures that it is repurposed at the end of each rental period. In some cases, it even gets a new lease on life. This is how we work together to create a circular work environment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is hybrid work?
Hybrid work means that employees alternate between working from home, at the office, or at another location. The breakdown varies by organization and role.
How do you set up a hybrid office?
A hybrid office combines different types of workspaces, such as desks, meeting rooms, quiet zones, and social areas. The layout is tailored to the activities employees perform at the office,
How many workspaces do you need?
That depends on the occupancy rate and how employees use the office. Many organizations nowadays opt for a flexible number of workspaces instead of a fixed desk for every employee.
Why do organizations choose flexible furniture?
Because organizations are changing faster than they used to. Flexible furniture makes it easier to reconfigure spaces or scale up temporarily without having to make new investments right away.
Which spaces are important in a hybrid office?
In addition to workstations, meeting rooms, quiet zones, phone booths, project rooms, and informal gathering spaces are also important. This allows employees to choose the environment that best suits their work,
Want to discuss a hybrid work environment?
Feel free to ask for more information and ask any questions you may have. Robin Paul will be happy to tell you all the ins and outs of hybrid work environments.
