Hot Desking: Another Trend?
by Heinrich Hamann
If you’ve worked in a city or any compact environment, you would have heard about the term ”hot desking” before. Basically, hot desking is the process of removing permanent assigned desks and giving employees free roam to sit where they want.
For those looking for a hot desk in London, you will be glad to find many companies now offer this. From fintech startups to industry leading multinational organisations, hot desking is certainly the office trend of 2020. But why is it so popular now? Let’s explain hot desk meaning…
What makes hot desks possible
Hot desking is not a new concept. Mobile working has been an option in certain workplaces for some time now, however it was mostly reserved for the wanderlust travellers, writers and musicians.
Thanks to modern technology, working mobile is now easier and more accessible. Before the advances in wireless technology, computers were restricted to the length of its cable. Today, you can stream a conference call from Berlin to Bali while sharing a live Microsoft Excel Sheet with a colleague sitting in Los Angeles.
Mobile work gives people the chance to connect faster, easier and share work from wherever they are. And it offers certain other benefits too.
“It is a more efficient use of space, with desks and meeting rooms available for all, rather than reserved for one regardless of whether they will be in the office or working from another location such as a client office.”
Benefits of hot desking for business
Ernest & Young (EY) is a leading multinational accounting firm with over 250 000 employees. They rent offices in over 100 countries which most likely results in a massive office space rental bill.
In 2012, EY introduced their internal remote working policy, giving staff the chance to work from home or wherever they like during certain hours. This pilot proved so successful that EY adopted the strategy into its office rental space.
Following an internal study in 2017, EY discovered that at any given point over 25% of their staff are out of office. Sick leave, maternity leave or simply out on business meetings, they were stuck with a quarter of their office space not being utilised.
They opted to introduce hot desking. With the right technology, their staff could work from anywhere and connect to the office anytime. Since then, EY reduced office space by 25% while increasing staff by 50%.
‘’The growing amount of data being collected in office buildings is allowing operators to extend their services to the daily needs of each individual user, not just the anchor tenant that signed the lease,’’ said Selina Short of EY Oceania managing partner for real estate and construction.
Decreasing the global renting fee by 25% would have earned them thousands (if not millions) in return.
“Data and analytics give us greater insight and ability to increase space utilisation by identifying ‘dead zones’ – why have meeting rooms that are used only 60 per cent of the time,’’ said Selina Short.
Negatives of hot desking
While there are many positives backing why you should consider hot desking, there are certainly a fair amount of critiques too. The general concern is that hot desking removes the comfort and security some employees need to operate. By not having an assigned place to work at, they feel their work routine is thrown off course.
This is a real concern for many, and a headache for HR managers across the world who look to balance the change in workforces. The incoming millennial workforce are advocates for mobile working, and they are willing to lose a lot to gain it.
EY conducted further research to uncover what the millennial workforce wants, and this is what they discovered:
- 82% say office tech would influence their decision to accept a new job
- Over (62%) of companies use flexible staff (freelancers and temps)
- 75% of millennials want work flexibly while still being part of the company
- By 2025, nearly 75% of the world’s workforce are going to be millennials
- Millennials are the most likely to leave a job due to substandard tech
The fact is, millennials want a flexible and free roaming work environment. This falls in line with the need to live closer to work, have less and travel more, and living a ‘’free’’ lifestyle.
How to introduce hot desking
You might be dealing with the same scenario. Half of your staff want assigned desks and the other half want to work remotely. Whatever your business’s situation may be, there is a solution.
Hot desking is something we offer as a bundle package deal. You can rent the entire setup per person and rent a bundle deal for those want to work remotely or office bound. We offer solutions for both.
From your laptop and office phone, to work mobiles and Office 365. We have the right bundle deal that syncs with your entire office. And the best of all is it includes IT support and Care packages!
Connect with us today on 0330 118 5000 or contact@overline.com today to get a quote, or see our various services for small, medium and enterprise size bundle examples.