Are you looking to give your team control of how and where they work? Hot desking could provide the perfect solution.
Offering flexibility and convenience, over recent years, hot-desking has become increasingly popular in response to a stark increase in start-up businesses, shared office spaces, and remote and hybrid working.
So, what is hot desking?
Hot desking is a workspace system where desks are made available to employees on an ad hoc basis. It is based on the idea that not every worker needs a desk every day and, if employees move around, they’ll engage more with colleagues while minimising the amount of clutter on their desks.
This flexible workplace strategy allows businesses to optimise space in the workplace and reduce outgoings while giving workers an increased sense of flexibility.
How does hot desking work?
In a hot desking environment, seats are chosen each day, on a first come first serve basis, rather than being permanently allocated within teams. Workers simply find a desk, plug in their equipment or use the equipment already provided, and get to work.
Hot desking is available in both private and shared office environments. Some private offices opt to have dedicated hot desk areas for certain employees, while teams that need to sit together each day use a more traditional seat allocation system.
Quick Look: Pros and cons of hot desking
As with any type of working environment, hot desking offers both pros and cons. To understand if hot desking is right for your business, it’s important to consider both.
The pros of hot desking
The benefits of hot desking include:
Flexibility
Hot desking offers an incredible amount of flexibility. This can be particularly useful for new businesses looking for a professional but cost-effective workspace, or for businesses with staff who only wish to work in the office on set days a week.
Collaboration
Hot desking encourages workers to collaborate, share new ideas, and explore new ways of working. As workers move to a new spot each day, they will have potentially valuable conversations with different colleagues from different areas of the business. This doesn’t naturally happen when teams all sit together in the same seats each day.
Affordable
As well as improving productivity, hot desking also helps to save space, ultimately reducing overheads at the same time. As a result, this work system is considered to be extremely cost-effective. Why pay for a desk that no one is using?
Accommodate the needs of all workers
One of the main advantages of hot desking is that you can accommodate the needs of all different types of workers including part-time workers, consultants, remote workers, as well as interns.
Tidy desk, tidy mind
When employees are working at a desk that isn’t permanently theirs, they won’t be tempted to fill it with clutter. Working on a hot desk system encourages employees to be tidier and more organised which, in turn, increases focus and productivity. It also makes cleaning far easier and more effective.
What are the cons of hot desking?
Hot desking does, however, also have a number of downsides, including:
Lack of communication and consistency
One of the main disadvantages of hot desking is that workers can lose a sense of consistency in their working day. Communication between employees and their managers can also break down if the system is not managed correctly.
Low Morale
A hot desking system makes it easy for workers to avoid each other, which can lead to the emergence of clicks and barriers to team building.
Technology issues
Hot desking can quickly cause issues with IT, especially with so many people using different equipment, devices and network drives.
Lack of space
One of the biggest complaints by employees about hot desking is that they struggle to find available space each day, meaning they are often forced to start work later.
Alternatives to hot desking
If hot desking won’t suit your business needs, there are some alternatives to consider.
Agile working
Agile working gives employees maximum control over the way they work, allowing them to choose from a traditional desk, standing desk, break out area, etc, or even from home. This approach is all about flexibility.
Activity-based working
Activity-based working involves using different settings for different tasks. So, for example, workers can choose from a range of spaces, such as collaboration rooms, meeting spaces, and quiet rooms, to suit the task they are working on.
Flexible working
Flexible working gives employees the flexibility to work in a way that differs from the business’ standard practice. So, for example, they may request to work from home or to work different hours.
Every business is different and, as a result, different approaches to working will work better for different organisations. By exploring different options for your workforce, you’re sure to find a way of working that will optimise both productivity and morale. You can then design your office space around
How can Titan Storage help?
Here at Titan Storage, we have a variety of flexible storage solutions that can help free up space if you’re in the process of rearranging your office for hot desking, or if trying to save space without having to introduce a hot desking policy.
Whether you want immediate short-term storage or long-term storage for those items that don’t have a place in your office at the moment, get in touch to see how we can help!
