What is Hot Desking?
Hot desking is derived from the term “hot racking,” a practice used by sailors in different shifts who shared the same bunk beds at different times. Hot desking is a hybrid workplace organisational system where employees can use different desks at different times. Companies are now turning to hot desking to increase space utilisation, reduce real estate costs and improve team collaboration.
Hot desking has become increasingly popular in the past few years, with more companies adopting hybrid working models. Companies turn to this practice for practical reasons, especially today, with fewer people travelling to the office daily, making it impractical to have a large office layout where every person has a dedicated desk. Instead, providing fewer desks and implementing hot desking as a space-saving policy where the same desk is shared is an excellent option.
This workplace-sharing model can boost efficiency and decrease property costs if appropriately managed. It also helps to improve collaboration and creativity among team members, and departments become naturally entwined and connected. The practicality of the hot desking model makes it a standard model for a hybrid workplace, and it’s worth considering among companies worldwide.
The Rise of Flexible Workplace
Hot desking offers a dynamic workplace environment that provides a lot of flexibility for employees. With this flexible office arrangement, employees don’t have dedicated spaces or a desk; they have the freedom to choose any desk available on a first-come, first-served basis. This approach promotes a more agile work style, making hybrid work much easier.
By providing unassigned seating and flexible office solutions, employees can show up to work and get their jobs done without the trouble of finding bookable meeting rooms or following strict usage schedules. Hot desking allows employees to navigate challenges in the work environment, but it also helps prevent burnout and increase employee satisfaction. Having a personal desk or assigned desk may hinder collaboration and reduce employee engagement.
Benefits of Hot Desking
Hot desking offers plenty of benefits for both employers and employees. However, the success of this strategy will depend largely on how companies structure it and how well they are organised in implementing it. When executed correctly, there are many benefits of hot desking.
Cost Savings
Reducing costs is the main advantage of hot desking. Companies can maximise their space within the office and limit the number of assigned desks for employees by reducing the overall real estate portfolio. Additionally, companies can expand if they genuinely need to.
The most significant benefit of hot desking is the ability to provide one general creative workspace without the costs of setting up a traditional office. It is an ideal solution for many companies worldwide as they offer a mix of remote and on-site work arrangements. There were even examples in the pre-COVID period where companies experienced inefficiencies with empty office seats and unused meeting rooms, so now the demand for smaller offices is rising.
Flexibility
Hot desking strategies provide considerable flexibility to employers and employees and allow them to find a free desk in multiple locations. This is especially useful for digital nomads, employees travelling across cities for work, freelancers and companies hiring global talent. Hot desking enables easy access to a coworking community and workplaces.
Collaboration
Hot desking improves collaboration among teams. It avoids worker isolation and allows freelancers and startups a more significant networking advantage. Hot desking provides the much-needed social interaction for hybrid-remote workers but also offers an opportunity to collaborate within teams and share ideas with different people from different teams.
Efficient Space Utilisation
Hot desking can also help in utilising an office space more efficiently. It prevents desks and meeting rooms from constantly emptying and ensures more efficient office space utilisation by providing shared workspaces.
Hot Desking and Employee Well-being
By providing the flexibility to choose the preferred workspace based on people’s preferences and task nature, hot desking empowers employees to take control of their work environment and get a sense of ownership while contributing to higher job satisfaction. It also enhances comfort and understands the diverse needs of employees.
Finding a free desk every day allows employees to get to know other colleagues that they may usually not talk to. It promotes teamwork, builds connections and improves cross-department collaboration. Workers can also sit next to their managers, break down barriers, and make the workplace feel more equal.
Is Hot Desking for Your Company?
Hot desks provide flexibility and improved space utilisation for professionals to work as needed in shared and private office spaces. This means that the elements of a hot desking strategy may vary depending on the environment, but there are some primary factors to consider.
Hot desking benefits depend on your work style and the company’s services. Employees, for example, appreciate having a place to work and meet colleagues, and business owners like more considerable flexibility. At the same time, for self-employed workers, juggling projects in multiple locations can be challenging, and hot desking allows them to stay connected between cities.
However, when considering hot desking, there are a few factors that need to be taken into account to determine if it is the right fit for you.
Hot Desking if Your Company Practices Hybrid Working
Agility is essential when scaling your business and growing your team, and hot desking can give you the flexibility and advantage to do so without any significant upfront investment. In a hybrid working environment, hot desking allows for scale and growth, and the cost savings that come with a flexible schedule and outsourcing office staff bring many benefits for companies. A recent survey shows that about 550 commercial property executives use a flexible, hybrid working system with occupancy cost savings of more than 5%. Finally, employee productivity and engagement levels are known to increase within a coworking space, and hot desking is one of the most effective ways to tap into that.
Hot Desking if Your Company Practices Office Work
When office space is limited, hot desking can help maximise that space. Having a dedicated desk for each employee may be a wasted space, primarily if some employees work from the office for only a few days. Working from a different desk allows employees to collaborate with other colleagues and promote teamwork. This can be hugely beneficial when teams change frequently, or employees collaborate with other departments.
Employees often limit their interaction with other teams, and hot desking can help employees meet new people or learn about their colleagues that they talk to infrequently. This can improve the company culture and contribute to developing new friendships. However, if you think hot desking is a good idea for your office, always take time to plan the implementation and the strategic approach.
Hot Desking if Your Company Practices Remote Work
Hot desking is similar to a coworking space. Remote workers and digital nomads can quickly sign up for access to a particular space and find a desk, plug in and start working. Coworking spaces are now popping up worldwide, especially as hot desking work is making advancements. Its benefits are encouraging creativity, higher efficiency and better organisation of duties.
Why Hot Desking is Future of Work
In today’s dynamic realm of modern workspaces, hot desking is a flexible office solution that offers many benefits. This strategic approach ensures collaboration and flexibility, and our team at Olive Recruit collaborates with companies that provide this type of model so that employees can thrive. We can also assist companies in effectively utilising their workplace through strategic hot desking approaches.
If you are interested in exploring various solutions for your career journey, contact us today to see how we can help you succeed.
