The Association for Talent Development’s latest report finds most organizations offer hybrid work environments to provide more flexibility for their employees.

(Alexandria, VA), November 29, 2023—Ninety percent of organizations indicated that providing employees with more flexibility somewhat or greatly influenced their decision to offer a hybrid work model, according to new research from the Association for Talent Development (ATD).

“Employers used a hybrid work model to not only give employees more flexibility, but to also improve retention and be competitive in recruiting,” noted ATD’s report The Hybrid Work Experience, sponsored by Allego.

Although 73 percent of talent development (TD) professionals agreed that hybrid employees felt like they were part of the team at their organizations, 90 percent said leaders worry about the potential loss of collaboration when employees work a hybrid schedule. They are also concerned that employees won’t be as productive when working away from the office.

“High-performing organizations were significantly more likely than average-performing organizations to provide opportunities for employees to build strong relationships with co-workers and to focus on keeping hybrid employees engaged,” according to the report. The report defines high-performing organizations as companies that perform as well or better than their competitors in financial performance, customer and client satisfaction, employee engagement, and potential growth for the next five years, and ones where their TD functions helped them achieve their business goals.

While 67 percent of TD professionals said their organizations were good or excellent at providing new hybrid employees with training resources during onboarding, only 24 percent of organizations provided mandatory training and 47 percent provided optional training for managers of hybrid employees.

“Common training topics for hybrid employees included how to use specific communication and work technology (75 percent), collaboration and teamwork (73 percent), and information security (63 percent),” the report noted.

This research surveyed 541 TD professionals who worked full- or part-time jobs and focused on the importance of hybrid work policies, hiring and onboarding, and training.

A free webinar on the report will take place Thursday, November 30, at 2 p.m.

About ATD

The Association for Talent Development (ATD) is the world’s largest professional membership organization supporting those who develop the knowledge and skills of employees, improve performance, and help to achieve results for the organizations they serve. Established in 1943, the association was known as the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD).

ATD’s members come from more than 100 countries and work in public and private organizations in every industry sector. ATD supports talent development professionals who gather locally in volunteer-led US chapters, international member networks, and with international strategic partners.

For more information, visit td.org.