Best practices for tracking hybrid work policies

Introduction

This guide gives best practices for tracking hybrid work policies in Robin. A hybrid work policy tells employees how often to come to the office. When you track the policy well, you see who meets it, which teams fall short, and whether the policy fits how people work.

What is a hybrid work policy in Robin?

A hybrid work policy is a set of office visit guidelines that admins set on the Work Policies page. The policy can ask for a minimum number of days each week or month, or for specific days of the week. Robin applies one policy to the whole organization.

What counts as an office visit?

Robin counts a visit from a check-in. To count and track office visits, Robin uses badge swipes, Wi-Fi connection, QR desk sticker scans, and remote desk check-ins (if enabled). A booked desk alone does not count as a visit.

Why is tracking hybrid work policies important?

A policy only works when people know it and you can see the results. Robin shows each employee a banner on the Schedule and Office pages. The banner compares their check-ins for the week with the policy. Admins get the same data in exports and dashboards. With this data you can find teams that need support and decide if the policy needs a change.

Best practices for tracking hybrid work policies

• Set and turn on one clear policy. Go to Manage > Hybrid Work Policies and set the policy status to active. Choose a minimum number of days per week or month, or specific days. See Communicate hybrid work policies.

• Write a custom message. Use the custom message and custom tooltip fields to give employees context. Employees see the message as a banner in the web dashboard and mobile app. See Communicate hybrid work policies.

• Agree who changes the policy. Every admin with access to the Manage tab can turn the policy on or off and edit it. Robin does not keep a history of changes. Keep your own record of each change and its date so your reports make sense later.

• Ask employees to plan their week in Robin. Employees book a desk, set their work status to "In office", or set a default schedule. This shows who is scheduled and helps them track their progress against the policy. See How to plan your week & see who's in the office.

• Turn on desk check-ins. Policy progress comes from check-ins, so turn on the desk check-in setting for the buildings or desk groups that you track.

• Use local check-ins for the most accurate data. A remote check-in does not confirm that a person is in the office. Turn on Local Check-Ins Only and set up at least one local method:

  1. Automated check-ins with your office Wi-Fi.
  2. Badge swipe check-ins with an access control integration. You can also upload badge data as a CSV to fill in past attendance.
  3. QR codes and NFC tags on desks.

• Learn the attendance statuses. Robin shows each person as Confirmed On-Site, Remote, or Scheduled. Robin changes a status from Remote to Confirmed On-Site when it detects a local check-in, such as a badge swipe or office Wi-Fi. See Understanding workplace attendance in Robin.

• Check attendance each day. Use the Daily roster to see who is on-site, remote, or scheduled in each office. The Office attendance card on the Workplace operations dashboard links to the roster.

Measuring policy results

Export the Hybrid Work Policy export each month. On the Hybrid Work Policy page, click Export data, then select the month and year. Robin emails you a download link that expires in 24 hours. The export includes:

• A list of employees and their number of check-ins
• The policy that was active on each day and its configuration
• Employee progress
• Job title, manager, and manager email

Use these dashboards to find trends:

• The Employee Presence dashboard tracks in-office days against your requirements. It shows average weekly visits per employee, check-ins by department and by manager, and the no-show rate for each employee. Department and manager views need synced people data.
• The Workplace Presence dashboard compares planned visits with confirmed visits.

Badge swipes count as desk check-ins in the Hybrid Work Policy export. See Where does badge data show up in analytics?