Experience
Hybrid 3.0: We’re better together
At trivago, we’ve always had an in-person first philosophy. After working fully remote during the pandemic, we moved to a hybrid work model to bring our talents back together. Over the last two years, we’ve adjusted our work model in line with our goals, values, and based on the feedback we received from our talents.
Our aim is to develop a hybrid work model that suits the unique requirements of trivago, as we strive to establish a shared culture that offers stability, promotes connection, and fosters a sense of belonging to all talents — regardless of whether they work remotely or on campus. We place great importance on personal interactions and authentic personal connection, which is why we decided to increase the frequency of campus days. Beginning April 1st, we launched our new hybrid work model, which includes three days in the office per week, and lets our talents work flexibly the other two days! We’re excited to have all our talents under one roof again so that we can continue to learn and grow together.
Why did we decide to make the change?
We’ve always prioritized in-person collaboration. Our previous hybrid model required a minimum of four days per month in the office, and we hoped this would help teams find their ideal work setup and maintain important face-to-face interactions amidst the flexibility. However, it didn’t quite work out as planned. With a workforce of over 80 different nationalities, including many new hires in recent years, we knew we needed to change our approach to be able to leverage our global workforce with different perspectives. When we experimented with our first hybrid model of two days per week on campus, we received very positive feedback and realized that more frequent in-person collaboration would benefit us. That’s why we have now decided on a three-day per week policy, which we believe will increase productivity, improve our interactions, and leverage our workforce in the best possible way for everyone.
What is the value of in-person collaboration?
trivago has always been a hub for ambitious individuals who strive to grow and advance in their careers. Our culture of #alwaysdeveloping has been a great asset to us, but over time we realized that with the increased remote work, this mindset was gradually declining. Our workforce is relatively young, with an average age of 33 years old, and we believe that there is still a lot of untapped potential within our teams. We’re excited about the prospect of learning from one another, developing ourselves, and building powerful networks. We recognize that these goals are best achieved in person, where collaboration and growth happen more naturally.
What does our model look like now?
Through our new model, we can get the benefits of regular in-person collaboration, but we know that flexibility is important too. That’s why talents get two days of mobile working per week. In addition to that, talents can work up to 20 days abroad or from another location in Germany per year. We also offer extra flexibility for parents at trivago, giving full working flexibility for the first year of their children’s lives, and some additional benefits. That means that all parents — primary caretaker or not — can work from home as often as they need during the first 12 months following the birth of their child.
Having a friendly and innovative work environment that supports our employees in achieving their goals is key to us. Since the start of our new work model, we’ve also been optimizing our spaces on campus for a hybrid work setup, and we’ve done a lot to accommodate different ways of working together in a safe and inviting environment. Carefully selected furniture, creatively themed conference rooms, and think tanks all aim to maximize our talents’ creativity and productivity on campus. Our different desk setups and lounge areas throughout the office encourage employees to sit, stand, or move throughout the day, while supporting the various kinds of work they do and the multiple technologies they use. If you’re in need of relaxation or meditation, we have our prayer room, and sports addicts have access to fitness facilities like a gym and various classes. We have some amazing tools at our disposal, that enable us to collaborate seamlessly in a hybrid setting, no matter where we are located.
What’s next?
We understand that the success of our hybrid work model depends on the collective effort of our talents and us as a company. As a large organization, we have established a framework with basic guidelines to regulate our work model. However, our hybrid model is based on trust rather than strict rules or principles. In line with our test-and-learn mindset, we will continue to evaluate our setup and procedures, learn from our experiences, and improve based on our learnings.
