Research shows that as much as half of corporate office spaces don’t get used at any point in time. That is a lot of wasted space that you must pay for whether it’s used or not. Fortunately, there are solutions available.
With technology becoming more and more portable and many employees moving to remote working arrangements, that number is only going to go up.
A hot desking system lets you make more efficient use of your office space and save money in the process. Let’s look at how hot desking works and why you should consider it.
With a hot desking system in place, employees are not assigned to their own desks. Instead, desks in the office are available for anyone to use and workers can choose their desks on any given day. The term “hot desking” comes from the term hot racking in which sailors working different shifts share the same bunk. Instead of sharing a bunk, office workers share a desk.
There are several big benefits to a hot desking system, both to the employer and to the employee.
From the company’s perspective, hot desking can reduce overhead by letting you rent less space. Instead of paying for desk space where various desks are empty on a given day, hot desking lets you shrink your footprint to the number of desks actually getting used.
A hot desking system helps employees collaborate better. People who work on the same project can choose desks close to each other. When that project is complete and a new one starts with a different team, they can move around again to be close to those people.
When employees have their own desks, many will create a mess of papers, personal items, and other stuff that accumulates over time. With a hot desking system, they have to remove their stuff when they're done for the day. To manage this you can implement a clean desk policy.
The current COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on how close people are together in most offices. Social distancing guidelines don’t work if people are sitting a couple of feet apart. Hot desking lets people spread out and adjust where they sit from one day to the next, depending on the number of people in the office.
A hot desking system works best when you can count on certain staff not being in the office every day There could be several reasons for that:
If you can plan on a percentage of your employees being out of the office every day, hot desking is a great way to reduce your office footprint.
A hot desking system is ideal when you return to the office after covid-19. Download our free guide to get started!
One of the biggest challenges of a hot desking system is managing the desk bookings. This is particularly true in larger offices where staff might need to go searching for a free desk.
Meetio can help make this process seamless. Meetio Desk is a cloud-based desk booking solution that lets employees book a desk through their smartphone or in person. They can schedule a booking ahead of time or check into a desk on the spot, depending on their needs. If you're curious to know more – take a look at how you install a hot desking system here!
And of course, if you need any help – don't hesitate to contact us!
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