The modern workplace is nothing like the offices of previous decades. The world is changing and now more and more often, employees are encouraged to work remotely from a café or co-working space. It is said that companies that grow rapidly run out of office space but, ironically, they face empty desks more and more recent days. It’s because of business travels, sick leaves, vacations, and other unpredictable situations. Why pay for more space if it won’t be used then? The process in which office workers don’t have any assigned desks and they just check in to an open seat is called ‘hot-desking’. It’s one of these elements of working in the 21st century that many companies check out to reap its benefits. So what are these benefits? How to do hot-desking right?
What is hot-desking?
The idea of hot-desking replaces the tradition of sitting at one’s personal desk every day. It’s the practice of providing a pool of desks and allowing people to choose where they sit. There are many methods of execution – employees can claim a desk outright or make a reservation through the system. The motivation behind hot-desking is better space utilization and lower cost for the business. Make sure you differentiate two concepts that are often used interchangeably – hot-desking and hoteling. Hot-desking refers to seating that’s available on a first-come, first-save basis, whereas hoteling requires staff to reserve a space.
What are the benefits of switching to hot-desking?
First of all, real estate is costly. And at the same time in many companies, an employee’s physical presence is no longer required thanks to technology and Internet connectivity.
- Hot-desking is a great way to save space and lower space utilization costs. It makes it easy to manage flexible work schedules – an option for mobile work arises. The concept definitely helps cutting down wasted space in the office – the one that has been left unused if the worker’s out of the office, working from home, sick or on vacation.
- Hot-desking increases productivity. People are changing their work environment, move around the office and talk with people they wouldn’t normally interact with. Performance is highly improved and knowledge is circulating.
- Hot-desking (or hoteling) improves communications as it leads to more face-to-face interactions. Sitting and working alongside different people every day allows employees to build bonds across the wider business. At the same time, hot-desking enables employees to be more flexible and mobile which means they feel they are given more autonomy. Hot-desking is also beneficial for learning new skills and improves workplace culture and employee wellbeing.
- Last but not least, it’s been proven that hot-desking and hoteling make offices… tidier! Space is more organized and cleaner as employees are unable to leave their personal items at the end of the day.
The simplest way to utilize hot-desking in your company
Hot-desking and hoteling have numerous advantages. They are truly a part of modern work life today. However, to make sure the solution will be successful for your business, choose the system that will be adjusted to your needs. Think about some potential issues – is there someone who requires priority access? Do you have several different workplace configurations? Once you write down the details, it’s time to search for the best technical solution. Choose a desk-booking app with a simple, yet powerful interface. Booking a desk should be nothing but a single click! Get familiar with Deski – a desktop and mobile app with real-time reservations. Set your own reservation rules and separate office space – it’s all up to you! If you have any questions about our hot-desking app, let us know!