Rolling out a hybrid workspace solution company-wide without testing it first is, at best, expensive guesswork. Budget commitments, policy decisions, and culture shifts all hinge on assumptions about what your team needs. Will people use it? Which teams benefit most? What types of spaces matter? These questions are hard to answer without real data.
The case for piloting is simple. A well-designed pilot answers your questions, builds internal champions, and creates a roadmap for scale. You learn what works for your specific culture and workflows before committing—and you do it with real data instead of hopeful projections.
What a pilot actually tests
A pilot isn't just asking "do people use it?" It's asking how, when, and why. The best pilots answer specific questions that remove guesswork from your rollout decision:
Which teams and roles benefit most from flexible workspace access?
What types of spaces do people choose—focus rooms, collaboration spaces, or hot desks?
How does usage correlate with productivity, satisfaction, and engagement?
What friction points emerge around booking, access, IT, or compliance?
When you frame a pilot around these questions, you generate data that turns a big bet into an informed decision.
6 Steps to run an effective pilot
Most pilots fail because they're too vague or too short to matter. The ones that work follow a clear structure and ask specific questions. Here's the framework for a successful pilot program:
Step 1: Set clear pilot objectives upfront
Define what success looks like before you start, not after the data comes in. Examples might include 70% adoption among your pilot group, improved engagement scores, or a measurable reduction in HQ space utilization. Identify what you're trying to learn versus what you're trying to prove—those are different things. Don’t forget to share these objectives with pilot participants so they understand they're part of something intentional, not just getting early access to a perk.
Step 2: Choose your pilot team strategically
Don't just pick the "easy" teams or the ones already asking for flexibility. Choose representative ones that reflect your broader workforce. Mix roles: individual contributors, managers, client- facing employees, and internal teams. Include different work patterns—fully remote employees, hybrid workers, and occasional travelers—and add geographic diversity if it's relevant to your business. A pilot group of 20-50 people is often the sweet spot—it's large enough to generate meaningful data but small enough to manage feedback effectively.
Step 3: Identify champions and build feedback loops
Champions aren't just cheerleaders; they're translators between the pilot group and leadership. Establish regular check-ins through weekly pulse surveys, bi-weekly office hours, and an end-of-pilot debrief. Make feedback easy to give, too. Create a dedicated Slack channel, use simple forms, or host open Q&A sessions. Track both qualitative feedback (stories, friction points, surprises) and quantitative data (usage rates, satisfaction scores). Remember: the goal is to create a feedback loop that actually influences decisions, not just collects input.
Step 4: Test across workspace types
Don't limit your pilot to one kind of space or you'll only learn one thing. Give participants access to coworking hot desks, private offices, meeting rooms, and focus pods. Let people experiment—some will gravitate toward cafe-style collaborative spaces while others need quiet rooms for deep work. Platforms like Deskpass make this easy by providing access to diverse space types across hundreds of locations without requiring individual venue relationships or contracts. Document which spaces get used for what kind of work, and watch for patterns.
Step 5: Measure and analyze the data
Track usage metrics like frequency, duration, space types, peak times, and location patterns. Monitor engagement metrics including satisfaction scores, referral likelihood, and voluntary adoption beyond the pilot group. Pay attention to business metrics such as productivity indicators, meeting effectiveness, and team collaboration quality. Look for patterns, not just averages—identify who's thriving, who's struggling, and most importantly, why.
Step 6: Gather insights and build your rollout plan
Synthesize what you learned into actionable recommendations. What worked? What needs adjustment? What surprised you? Work with your Deskpass Account Manager to design a scalable rollout plan based on actual pilot data, not assumptions. Create clear rollout phases that specify which teams come next, what the timeline looks like, and how you'll communicate changes. And, of course, build in flexibility—your rollout plan should evolve as you continue learning.
A few common pilot mistakes to avoid
A promising hybrid work pilot program can quickly go awry if it’s not thoughtfully managed. Even small mistakes can impact the data, insights, attitudes, and expectations of participants—and the larger company culture. A few mistakes show up often enough to call out:
Running a pilot that's too short is the most common. Anything less than 60 days won't capture real behavior patterns as the novelty of hybrid environments wears off.
Picking only enthusiastic volunteers skews your data; you need skeptics in the mix too.
Try to factor in participant bias when putting together a pilot cohort.
Failing to communicate objectives clearly to participants leaves them guessing what you’re measuring. Be clear about the “what” and the “why.”
Treating the pilot as a formality when you've already decided to roll out company-wide defeats the purpose entirely.
From pilot to scale: What comes next?
A strong pilot removes risk from your rollout decision. You'll have data that shows what's working, champions who can speak to the experience, and a proven playbook for expansion. The result is confident investment in hybrid infrastructure that your team will actually use—not another well-intentioned initiative that lands flat.
If you're ready to pilot a hybrid workspace solution and want support designing a program that generates real insights, connect with Deskpass to get started.
