The seismic impacts of the pandemic may still be playing out, but one thing is already clear: the world has gone hybrid. This new normal poses a logic test: how can employers support employees working from home and provide an all-access pass to an appealing, socially magnetic central workplace—without over-investing in underutilized space or, equally problematic, under-investing in experience?

According to a recent JLL survey of more than 1,000 corporate real estate (CRE) leaders across 13 countries, offering hybrid working options will be critical to attracting and retaining talent. And while more than half of organizations now plan to make remote working a permanent option for all employees by 2025, a full 70% of CRE leaders agree that the office will continue to be a crucial hub in the long term.

Yet for many corporate real estate leaders, going hybrid is easier said than done.

For starters, when employees only come in on whatever days they choose, it can be much harder to predict corporate office occupancy throughout any given week. That volatility can lead to wasted space and unnecessary operating expenses. It can also tempt employers to offload more space than is needed.

So the great challenge now for CRE leaders is to operationalize hybrid work in a way that supports employees’ health and wellbeing, while balancing organizational performance, agility and budget.

One way to address the conundrum: Turn to dynamic facility management (FM) for ground control in navigating the hybrid era.