A professional recruiter woman in a gray blazer and white blouse engages in a virtual interview, smiling and gesturing towards her laptop screen. She is wearing wireless earbuds and sitting in a modern office space with large windows and blurred colleagues in the background.

Some months ago, my team was competing to hire a standout project management candidate. As part of our screening process, we asked him one of our standard questions: “What would make you choose this employer over another one?” His answer: “The company’s hybrid work policy.”

He understood there is value that comes from in-person interactions, especially for the collaborative work the role entailed, he said. But after experiencing fully remote work during the pandemic, he didn’t want to go back to the rigidity of being in an office every day of the week. If he were offered a job that gave him the flexibility to work from home when needed, it would seal the deal. 

In addition to landing us an easy ‘yes’ when our client made the candidate an offer, this moment solidified for me that hybrid work isn’t merely a response to changing times or the preferences of demanding candidates. It’s a bona fide recruiting advantage. 

With hybrid roles rising in popularity among employees and employers, successfully recruiting for these positions is a modern necessity. We’ll explain the unique challenges that come with hybrid recruiting and offer best practices to help you better hire for partially remote jobs. 

Overview of Hybrid Work Trends

Before we dive into the obstacles and opportunities associated with hybrid hiring, let’s first explore some of the trends that are driving hybrid work adoption. 

Employee preferences

It’s been half a decade since the widespread adoption of remote work allowed millions of people to test the waters with workplace flexibility for the first time. The majority of them liked what they experienced. 

In a comprehensive study on hybrid work trends, video conferencing platform Zoom asked people which workplace models they would consider in a new employer. The greatest share of them, 36%, said they would prefer to work from anywhere (AKA being fully remote). After complete location flexibility, though, workers were evenly split, ranking hybrid and in-office work as equally appealing. 

This demonstrates that although 100% remote work is highly desirable, employees have a spectrum of preferences for where they work and will seek out roles that align with their expectations. 

Employer adoption

Among workplaces, hybrid is king. In North America, 60% of business leaders said their company uses a hybrid model. That’s compared to 27% that are fully in-office and 13% that are fully remote. 

The popularity of hybrid work is driven by a number of factors, including adapting to employee preferences, achieving greater productivity, and, most notably, for our purposes, making recruiting easier. Sixty-two percent of leaders say the ability to recruit talent more broadly is a key factor that contributed to their adoption of flexible work arrangements.

A great example comes to mind from a recent placement. We received an application for a senior marketing role from a candidate whose resume indicated she lived about 100 miles away. Five years ago, this would have been a deal breaker. Now, we were able to negotiate an arrangement where she would work from home the majority of the time, coming into the office a handful of days per quarter for key meetings and other events. 

Hybrid work helped us achieve a win-win; the candidate secured the flexibility she wanted, while we landed a great addition to the team. 

Hybrid work variations

There is no across-the-board definition of hybrid work. Companies and the individual teams within those organizations create definitions that suit their needs. 

Here are a few of the most prevalent types of hybrid work arrangements. 

  • Scheduled hybrid: employees have set days and times for working remotely or being in the office. This is the most popular model, accounting for 25% of employers with hybrid policies. 
  • Flexible hybrid: employees can choose their work hours but must come into the office for required meetings or projects.
  • Results-based hybrid: employees’ ability to work remotely is tied to meeting specific performance criteria.
  • Role-based hybrid: some employees, but not all, have the option to work remotely based on the requirements of their job.
  • Location-based hybrid: employees who live in specific areas can work remotely. 

Challenges of Recruiting for Hybrid Work Roles

Now, let’s explore some of the challenges of recruiting for hybrid work roles. 

Defining expectations

As the previous section demonstrates, the term ‘hybrid’ can mean many different things. Without a clear idea of things like how many days you want hybrid workers in the office and the hours you need them to be available, it’s impossible to set accurate expectations and provide a transparent experience for candidates. 

Candidate alignment

By necessity, defining your expectations means drawing a box that some candidates won’t fit into. Last month, my team had to make the difficult decision of passing on a strong candidate because she was firm in only wanting to come into the office one day per week. The employer had a strict three-day-a-week policy. It can be a tough pill to swallow when an otherwise great candidate isn’t in alignment with your work model. 

Skill gaps

In order to be effective when working remotely, candidates will require another set of skills on top of the role-specific technical qualifications. Recruiters must assess for additional criteria like prior remote work experience or proficiency with digital collaboration tools. 

Related: Skills Gap Analysis: What It Is & How to Conduct One

Hiring bias

Hiring for hybrid roles requires employers to provide a fair, equitable experience for all candidates regardless of their location. Much of this can be addressed with proper planning, but it’s likely you’ll also need to make some decisions on the fly. 

For example, what if a local candidate asks to stop by to see your office–an opportunity that isn’t readily available to candidates who are located farther away. How will you handle it? Strategies to actively manage and prevent hiring bias are paramount.

Balancing flexibility and engagement

At its core, hybrid work is about flexibility. Employers must consider how they’ll balance flexibility and engagement, which can be more challenging to achieve when workers aren’t in the same place. This is an important consideration not only for recruitment but for strong retention.

Find the perfect fit for your team.

Speak to one of our recruiting experts today.

Best Practices for Recruiting Hybrid Workers

Lead with transparency

Throughout every step of the hiring process, be clear about the requirements for work location and frequency. The job description is a major factor in this because it will help prevent ill-fitting candidates from applying. We’ll share tips for writing an effective hybrid work job description in the next section. 

Assess necessary soft skills

Outline the specific skills that are necessary for hybrid employees. These may or may not be the same skills required for workers who are strictly onsite. Consider including top remote work soft skills like communication, flexibility, and organization. 

Related: Traits That Separate Great Remote Candidates from the Rest

Leverage technology 

Similarly to how you would hire for a fully remote role we utilize both Zoom and Microsoft Teams heavily during our initial interview process. The flexibility afforded by these tools helps us be efficient with both our and the candidate’s time. There are many other automation tools out there that can help you streamline your recruiting for both remote and hybrid roles so make sure to do your homework before you begin the process of screening candidates.

Related: 10 Video Interview Tools to Enhance Your Remote Hiring Efforts

Emphasize culture fit

Don’t make the mistake of letting culture fit take a backseat just because an employee won’t be in the office every day. If anything, it’s even more important to ensure cohesive team dynamics. 

During the interview process, share details about your company culture and how you maintain it across remote and in-office settings. Evaluate candidates’ preferences and alignment with your values by asking questions like ‘what does your ideal hybrid work setup look like?’ and ‘how do you prefer to communicate with team members who aren’t in the same place?’

Related: How to Describe Company Culture in an Interview

Use remote-friendly job boards

We always recommend tailoring your recruiting efforts to the candidates you’re looking to attract, and hybrid roles are no different. Advertise your openings on platforms where hybrid-first candidates are more likely to be searching, like We Work Remotely, Remote.co and FlexJobs. 

How to Write a Hybrid Job Description

Next, let’s focus on one of the most important parts of recruiting for hybrid roles: the job description. Writing an effective job description has an outsized impact on the quality and suitability of the candidates you bring in as well as your new hire’s ability to meet expectations, so it pays to invest the time and effort in doing a good job. 

Before you begin, get a refresher on the basics of a strong job description here. Then, follow these hybrid job description steps. 

1. Determine the work structure

How frequently will the candidate be required to be in the office? Most companies specify a set number of days per week. If your policy is for less frequent in-office work, give a concrete example, like ‘two to three times per quarter for mandatory meetings.’ It’s extremely important to be as up front as possible.

What hours will the candidate be expected to work? Will you require set daily hours, or can workers flex their time? What about work duration? For example, some of our clients’ roles require employees to be on the clock for eight hours per day, while others allow employees to use their best judgement depending on how long it takes to get their work done. 

Outline any other policies around where or when the candidate can work. Some companies require hybrid employees to live within a certain radius of the office so they can make it into work on short notice if necessary. Others require workers to be in a common time zone to simplify collaboration. 

2. Specify the required skills

As we’ve discussed, hybrid roles often call for a mix of hard and soft skills that enable employees to thrive when they’re splitting their time between the office and home. Consider the following skill areas when listing the requirements:

  • Role-specific skills. Outline the key qualifications and experience necessary to be successful in the role. For a software developer, this might include knowledge of specific programming languages. For a bartender, this might include a certain number of years of food and beverage experience, and so on.
  • Soft skills. Highlight the soft skills that are important, considering both the role and the requirements of hybrid work. Time management, flexibility, emotional intelligence, problem solving, and independence are among the qualities you might want to look for. 
  • Technical knowledge. Include proficiency with your preferred remote collaboration tools like Slack, Zoom or Microsoft Teams, as well as any software you use to manage projects, like Asana. 

3. Showcase your company culture

The hybrid job seekers we’ve worked with are looking for more than just a paycheck. I remember something a candidate recently said about why she was interested in a position: “the job description made it seem like this company really trusts its employees.” Including details about your company culture in a hybrid job description not only helps recruiters get clear about the type of candidate they’re looking for, it also helps sell great candidates on why they’d want to work for the organization. 

Highlight the elements of your company culture that are in alignment with hybrid work and the things hybrid candidates value. Some examples are a commitment to flexibility, a culture of accountability, a collaborative work style, or a forward-thinking mindset. 

4. Use the right keywords

When your description is used in the job posting, using the right keywords will help it get noticed, especially among selective candidates who are only considering hybrid roles. Include phrases like ‘hybrid friendly,’ ‘flexible work,’ and ‘work from home’ to gain attention from search engines and ensure accurate filtering on job boards.

Related: How to Use SEO for Job Postings to Increase Visibility

Hybrid Job Description Examples

Example #1: Marketing and Data Analyst

We are seeking a marketing and data analyst to bridge the gap between our creative and analytical teams. This is a hybrid role that requires a detail-oriented professional with expertise in campaign execution and a proven ability to analyze performance metrics to guide strategic decisions. 

Responsibilities

  • Analyze digital marketing campaigns across email, social media, and paid channels
  • Assess campaign performance, create reports, and deliver actionable insights to company leaders
  • Conduct research to identify market trends and competitor strategies
  • Collaborate with product and sales teams to align marketing goals with business objectives
  • Work in office Tuesday-Thursday for strategy meetings and team collaboration with the flexibility to work remotely Mondays and Fridays

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree in marketing, data analytics or a related field
  • At least 3 years of experience in digital marketing
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Proficiency with tools like Google Analytics, Excel, and marketing automation platforms like Hubspot
  • Experience with remote collaboration tools like Slack and Google Workspace

Example #2: HR Generalist

We are hiring an experienced HR generalist to manage and streamline core human resources functions while fostering a positive and inclusive workplace culture. This position is eligible to work from home with a flexible 3/2 work schedule subject to periodic review.

Responsibilities

  • Manage employee lifecycle processes including onboarding, benefits administration, performance reviews, and offboarding
  • Maintain and update HR policies to ensure compliance with labor laws and best practices
  • Act as a trusted point of contact for employees, providing assistance to resolve conflicts and other workplace issues
  • Work in our Chicago or Los Angeles office twice per week for team collaboration and employee interactions, with remote flexibility for administrative and strategic tasks

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, or a related field
  • 5 or more years of experience in an HR generalist or similar role
  • Deep knowledge of employment laws and HR best practices
  • Proficiency in HRIS systems and Microsoft Office Suite
  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills
  • Ability to handle sensitive information with discretion and confidentiality

Example #3: UX Designer

We’re looking for a talented designer with a flair for user experience to create functional, user-friendly applications that appeal to our target audience. This is a hybrid position working 80% remote, 20% in-office in the Greenwich, CT area. 

Responsibilities

  • Collaborate with colleagues to identify target user groups and understand their needs
  • Design and deploy intuitive user interfaces for web and mobile applications
  • Conduct usability testing on elements like landing pages and CTAs and and implement feedback to refine designs
  • Participate in monthly in-office sprints while working remotely on development tasks

Requirements

  • Must be an independent thinker who can manage multiple deadlines and adapt to changing priorities
  • 2+ years experience in software development and/or UX design 
  • Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite, FIGMA, and Microsoft 365
  • Knowledge of Agile development processes

Recruiting for hybrid roles is an exciting opportunity to bring adaptable, driven people into your organization. By tailoring your recruiting to match the preferences of modern candidates, you can overcome the challenges and enjoy the many benefits that hybrid employees can offer. 

Pete Newsome

About

Pete Newsome is the President of 4 Corner Resources, the staffing and recruiting firm he founded in 2005. 4 Corner is a member of the American Staffing Association and TechServe Alliance and has been Clearly Rated's top-rated staffing company in Central Florida for the past five years. Recent awards and recognition include being named to Forbes’ Best Recruiting Firms in America, The Seminole 100, and The Golden 100. Pete also founded zengig, to offer comprehensive career advice, tools, and resources for students and professionals. He hosts two podcasts, Hire Calling and Finding Career Zen, and is blazing new trails in recruitment marketing with the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Connect with Pete on LinkedIn