When hot-desking was first muttered at the office water-cooler everything was thrown into disarray. As well as office walls (with the introduction of open offices), office workers now had to ditch their desks, take their personal items home and *gulp*... start to share spaces with their co-workers.
The premise of hot-desking is not as simple as asking co-workers to share desks. It is a delicate process that usually requires a solid strategy and expert guidance. If not approached correctly, the office ethos is at risk.
The benefits of hot-desking
- Frees up space for other perks, like comfortable break-out areas, fitness spaces and games rooms.
- Encourages cross-departmental communication and collaboration.
- Encourages agile working - more movement between environments.
- Less demand for staff to come in to the office, encouraging remote-working.
- Cuts cost of permanent running workstations.
- Stimulates health and productivity as staff are no longer rooted to the same spot every day.
How to do it right
Plan plan plan
As with any business decision, plan every move - the time it'll take, the resources needed and the budget you have. How will you communicate the change to staff? How will you support them and manage their needs? How will you redesign the space? What is your your time limit? What is your desired outcome and how will you measure its success?
Be open about things
We're all human, we're all creatures of habit and change can be unsettling. Hot-desking takes away the comfort and familiarity of an 'owned' workstation. This is why it's important to be transparent with your teams. They need to be in the know or rumors and negativity will spread. Hold a company-wide meeting, print posters, send emails with plans, ask for feedback and ideas. Getting staff involved creates a more inclusive, democratic culture.
Be equipped
As we are trying to introduce an idea that may face some initial resistance, it's important to remove any possible reasons for users to be unhappy. And what do business users love to complain about? Yes you guessed it - IT. Ensure the correct equipment is available at the desks, whether that's a plug-in monitor, power sockets, network sockets or even a nearby printer. Providing your users with everything they need to do their work is key to implementing a successful hot-desk policy.
Create a variety of spaces
If teams aren't sitting together on a daily basis then it's important to provide plenty of places to hold meetings. Break-out areas with a more relaxed lay-out can be effective. Sofas, armchairs - even swing chairs or hammocks can provide a change of environment that stimulates creativity and collaboration.
Make hot-desking part of an agile working strategy
Think about the bigger picture. Hot-desking is just one element of agile working. Have you prepared a home-working policy? Are you going to consider sit-stand desks and other physical activity initiatives? Hot-desking only works if you see it as a deeper, holistic change. It is about freeing your workforce, unshackling them from their desks and allowing them to use best judgement when it comes to the day's work environment.
Planning well, communicating clearly and using space intelligently is the key to effective hot-desking. We would love to hear about your experience with hot-desking.
Do you think it's a good idea? Are you thinking about making the transition? Get in touch with the team for a chat about how we can help you introduce a new way of working.
