Hotdesking;
does it really work?
Well,
it really depends how you use it, who uses it and how
your staff have been trained regarding its use. Often
when an office reaches its capacity the office or facilities
manager declares “we’ll put in hotdesks!”.
Everybody panics, a whole load of fixed worker desks are
removed and the ensuing fight for a Hotdesk each day leads
to staff arriving earlier and earlier to try to bag a
desk for the day. I’ve seen offices where the hotdesks
are largely empty, but crucially each desk has been claimed
for the day by a mysterious jacket on the back of the
chair, and a laptop on the desk. The problem is that staff
like to feel that they have a base and even if they are
going to be in meetings all day, they like to ensure that
they are still a part of the office.
So,
how do you successfully implement a Hotdesking system?
Well, the first stage is to assess exactly who uses your
office and if they are suitable for working this way.
Put simply, if the majority of your staff are based in
the office every day, then Hotdesking won’t work
for you. However, if you have staff that are mobile (such
as a sales team), or staff that job share then they would
suit a desk sharing system. Giving staff several options
so that they don’t have to take a Hotdesk for the
day just to have a base is also crucial to the system
working. A good way of doing this is to introduce breakout
areas (soft seating and informal meeting areas) and touchdown
desking (a counter top with bar stools). If your staff
see that whilst losing their fixed desk they gain more
meeting space, and other areas that help them to do their
job and communicate more effectively with their colleagues,
then they are more likely to help make the system work.
There
are also software systems available to help you to manage
your Hotdesking, utilising a system know as “hotelling”.
The way this works is to have an on-line booking system
that allows staff to view a plan of their office, and
then to book a desk for an hour, a day, or longer as required.
These systems also allow staff to see which desks have
already been booked, and who has booked them, allowing
teams to be grouped together, or to allow you to avoid
that really annoying loud bloke from Sales. We are able
to advise if your office is suitable for a system such
as this and we can also help to implement it for you.
If
your office is stuck in a time warp, give us a call and
we can offer practical advice as to how to improve it.
Jonathan
Hall |
