In 2019, 91% of the contingent IT experts Baer placed with our enterprise and systems integrator clients were on site. The other 9% were remote. There were no true hybrid placements—this approach was still uncommon. The pandemic upended that, and overnight virtually everyone was remote. In 2023, return to office mandates gained traction, and we saw on-site placements rise to 12%. Our year-to-date 2024 Baer proprietary data tells a very different story. This year, only 6% of placements are on site, remote roles have fallen to 62%, and hybrid roles have grown to 32%. This is a massive increase over 2023, when hybrid roles were only 13% of total placements.
It appears the return to office (RTO) bubble has popped.
To better understand the trend, have a look at our Baer data.
| Year | On-site | Remote | Hybrid |
| 2024* | 6% | 62% | 32% |
| 2023 | 12% | 74% | 13% |
| 2022 | 7% | 91% | 0% |
| 2021 | 7% | 91% | 0% |
| 2020 | 56% | 44% | 0% |
| 2019 | 91% | 9% | 0% |
The pandemic years were some of the most tumultuous the technology industry has seen—and by extension, the IT recruiting industry. At the outset of the pandemic, the big question was whether an SAP S/4HANA or other major digital transformation could be successfully completed through a remote-only effort. The definitive answer was yes—these projects could successfully be completed in this fashion.
So why is a hybrid approach a growing trend? And what does that mean for your SAP S/4HANA or other digital transformation?
Here’s what you need to know.
Although the pandemic years proved that a digital transformation staffed by a fully remote workforce was possible, for many enterprises, it wasn’t ideal. In an undertaking of such scale and complexity, managing a 100% remote workforce requires exceptional project management skills, and many lessons were learned. Face-to-face interaction is critical at the outset of the program, both for making personal connections and to ensure that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities. Periodic on-site check-ins ensure that milestones are met and are helpful for working through thorny challenges. Still other activities, coding and data transformation, for example, can be done remotely.
For many enterprises and systems integrators, a hybrid model offers the best of both worlds: some time in the office where managers can more easily check in and support collaboration, and some time outside the office for focused work.
Interestingly, hybrid in this context does not typically mean the contingent staff must be in the office a certain number of days per week. Instead, we are seeing a wide variety of models emerge. These include being in the office at project kickoff and as certain milestones are met; during critical phases like design and testing; three or four days, once or twice a month; or a percentage of time overall. Clearly, hybrid is not a one size fits all approach.
A hybrid model can have financial upsides. It’s less expensive than having people in the office full time, particularly if you are paying for contingent workers to travel to on-site locations. Mid-pandemic, when companies made sweeping pronouncements that fully remote was the way forward, CFOs were all in. But they weren’t the ones managing transformations.
The big challenge we’re seeing with this is that contingent IT staff hired during the pandemic with long-standing, multi-year contracts that stipulate remote work, are now being asked to be on-site for a portion of the engagement. Even if their travel is being sponsored, it’s not what they signed up for. In some cases, they are asking for more than just travel expenses—some are looking for a rate increase to compensate for the change, potentially balancing out any perceived financial gains.
It's an interesting dynamic. Enterprises don’t just want the best talent; they need it to keep their programs on track and ensure a successful outcome. But in many cases, especially when specialized or emerging expertise is required, the skills are simply not available locally. The enterprise may believe it has the leverage to mandate a hybrid model that requires travel, but the segment of the contingent IT workforce with existing 100% remote contract arrangements—or with highly specialized expertise—has footing to push back.
But our latest Baer data trend clearly indicates that hybrid is on the rise, and enterprises that prefer this model can and should spell this out in any new RFPs and the employment contracts.
For now, I anticipate that in the remainder of 2024 and into 2025, hybrid approaches will continue to gain traction. It will be interesting to see how much of the increase draws from the current 6% of on-site vs. 62% of fully remote contingent IT experts. Will we see the on-site model continue to recede?
As I have previously cautioned, flexibility is the way forward for both enterprises and the contingent IT workforce. Enterprises need exceptional talent to ensure they achieve the outcomes they desire, and they need to determine what hybrid or other model best serves their initiative. But to ensure an engaged contingent workforce, respecting their needs wherever and whenever possible serves the program in the long run.
Unlike typical technology staffing companies, Baer is a true enterprise performance partner. We have a deep understanding of the scope of enterprise digital transformation and the highly specialized skillsets you will need at different stages of the process.
To learn more about how Baer can make a positive impact on your enterprise transformation, please reach out to Brian Trout, Executive Vice President, Sales, at btrout@baergroup.com, or John Wilson, Vice President of Strategic Accounts, at jwilson@baergroup.com.