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Guide to Hot Desking in the Workplace

Hot-desking first  gained popularity in the 80s and 90s. More recently, the work practice has made  a come back, with the recruitment firm Kelly Executive reporting an increase in  the number of hot-desking organisations across Australia. Some of the most  common industries utilising hot-desking are management consultancy, sales, and  customer service departments. In this quick guide, we look at how to implement  hot-desking and its advantages and potential limitation of hot-desking.

What’s  Hot-Desking?

Hot-Desking

Hot-desking (also  known as activity-based working or location independent working) is where  workers don’t have their own desks or work areas. Instead, staff members are  allocated workstations on a temporary basis. Minimalist desks are often used to  support hot desking. For hot-desking office  furniture, Sydney has a range of providers who can assist with  choosing suitable workstations.

Staff choose their  own desk upon arrival at work in the morning. While staff don’t have a fixed  desk, they’re usually allocated private storage spaces such as lockers, and  teams will often have their own congregating areas. Hot-desking has been used  by businesses such as Vodafone, Macquarie Bank, and Google.

Benefits

One of the key  advantages of hot-desking is its cost-effectiveness. In workplaces where a  majority of the staff work offsite most of the time, hot-desking can help cut  expenses by cutting the amount of office space required. Studies have shown  that space savings can total as much as 30 per cent.

Hot-desking can make  sense for organisations in which desks are being left vacant for most of the  week. Hot-desking can also boost employee autonomy and work flexibility. The  elimination of fixed workstations may encourage teamwork by facilitating teams  to form and regroup on an ad hoc basis.

Potential  Limitations

A potential  limitation of hot-desking work arrangements is staff experiencing a lack of  privacy. Not being able to personalise their own office space can be an  additional source of dissatisfaction. Some studies suggest that employees can  find it more difficult to adjust to having different colleagues in close  proximity every day.

However, these  factors may be mitigated by providing personal storage zones such as lockers or  fixed team zones.

Modified  Hot-Desking Practices

Firms that want to  take advantage of hot-desking but are looking for a full commitment can still  make use of modified hot-desking. Hotelling is a very common alternative to  hot-desking that allows employees to reserve desks for use in advance.  Companies can use hotelling or hot-desking in deparments where the staff are  predominately mobile.

How to  Implement a Hot-Desking Policy

Decide  Whether it’s Right For Your Business

While hot-desking is  probably not for every workplace, it can provide significant cost savings to  certain companies. Those with workforces constantly on the road can reduce  rental costs and overheads by assigning empty desks to staff who are working  from the office.

Involve Staff

Organisations transitioning  to a hot-desking workplace will benefit from involving affected staff members  in the process. It’s important to demonstrate and explain the benefits to staff  members and to support them with private spaces, such as lockers or storage  spaces, where appropriate.

Setting  Up Hot Desks

Hot desks tend to be  minimalist in design. Along with a comfortable chair and desk, most  organisations provide telephones and wire or wireless internet and intranet  access. Chairs should be ergonomic in design and able to be adjusted to suit  different physical attributes. Suppliers for office chairs in Sydney and elsewhere are often  able to provide specific advice for choosing chairs that are suitable hot  desks.