Are you reconsidering how your office space is arranged as we adjust to the realities of a pandemic-affected work environment? Do you want to offer flexibility to your staff so that they can work from home and have an office to come into as well?
What is hot desking then? It is a way of sharing the same physical space, like a table, during different times of the day or a week. This enables the space to be smaller and more efficient. Integrating this approach to your office can have significant other benefits for your company. You’ll attract and retain talented staff, and you’ll have motivated team members, too.
There are many benefits of hot desking, so we looked at seven different reasons it could help your business. Read on to learn how this office-space solution can help your company.
1. Hot desking lowers your costs
The only thing companies spend more on than office space is their staff. So, reducing the cost of space can bring tangible benefits to your bottom line. Hot desking is a great way to reduce your overall space needs.
When you shift into a more flexible solution you don’t need to have as much available office space for all your employees. A recent study shows that up to 40 percent of traditional office space is unused at any given time. With hot desking, because there are no assigned spaces with personal effects, your overall square footage can be reduced or repurposed.
Additionally, if you are in a growth phase and you’re adding staff, you don’t have to invest in a new, larger building.
2. Increased staff performance
With hot desking, you don’t need every employee to come into the office every day. This means some of your staff can work from home.
When employees don’t have to travel to work, they are more likely to start their day earlier because they don’t have to commute. They feel empowered to start and finish work when it best suits them. As surveys have shown, that feeling of personal determination can go a long way to improving the performance of many staff.
When your team does come into the office to use their hot desk, their performance also increases because they are able to have face-to-face conversations they may have put off while out of the office. These human interactions add to the feeling of individual autonomy that leads to better performance rates.
In contrast, some staff may feel able to work more effectively when hot desking in the office because they have fewer distractions than when they are at home. The flexibility offered by hot desking will increase performance because each staff member gets to work in a way that suits them best.
3. Empowering Staff With Flexible Arrangements
Flexible arrangements offered through hot desking help management. A Forbes survey showed that employees feel better about their work situations. They require less direct input from their supervisor.
They are empowered and want to prove to their manager and co-workers that the flexibility they are offered produces better results.
Many employees place importance on the trust that comes with a flexible work arrangement like hot desking. Because they value that flexibility, they are more likely to work better to justify it.
Flexible work arrangements are also great when staff are visiting from other locations. For example, if staff come to your New York office from your London office, with hot desking, they will have a place to work.
4. Using Software to Create Happier Staff
Hot desking creates happier staff. Happy staff means fewer HR issues to deal with. The well-being of your staff should be a high priority, and our Empathic Building can help.
An empathic building is a smart building solution designed to create a space that lets staff feel happier, more inspired, and perform better. If your staff feel trusted to hot desk, it will improve their morale as well as their mental and physical health. They will be more inclined to do their best for the company.
Read more: Improve your employee experience with Empathic Building
The combination of working from home and then coming into the office provides the best of both worlds for staff. They get a break from the office routine when they work from home, and can attend to family and home needs as well. When they are in the office, they can catch up with co-workers and dive completely into their tasks.
According to research, more than half of all employees surveyed are interested in the concept of hot desking. The overall happiness of workers who are trusted to hot desk will increase, and your company will benefit as a result.
5. Retain Your Best Staff With the Flexibility of Hot Desking
The trust that you offer your staff when you provide hot desking opportunities makes them feel respected and valued. They will appreciate the flexibility you are offering them. This will make them enjoy their work experiences more and thus be more likely to remain with your company for longer.
Many employees enjoy flexibility in work arrangements because it allows them to have a healthier work-life balance. Staff that have family needs or other out-of-work responsibilities want to work for companies that appreciate those needs. By using hot desking, your company can signal to existing and new staff that they are appreciated.
Keeping good staff can be tricky, especially if they don’t feel that their individual needs are taken into account. A hot desking system shows them that management understands that there are more things in their lives than work.
6. Attract new staff
Companies that offer hot desking are able to attract new staff because of the flexible arrangements. Nowadays, it’s even more important for people looking for a new job that they can work out a work-from-home situation with the opportunity to come into the office as well.
Attracting more talented staff who need flexibility is easier with hot desking as an option. Potential talent will be interested in how the hot desking will work. They will also want to know about the spaces they can work in and how management views the opportunities they are presenting.
Companies should be transparent about their hot desking policies. Be clear that hot desking is part of the activity-based working environment you provide. This will indicate to potential staff that hot desking is taken seriously by your company. They will appreciate the openness and be more inclined to take the position you are offering.
7. Improved Teamwork and Driving Creativity
Because the opportunities offered by hot desking and its flexible work arrangements make staff feel better, they are more likely to work harder and be more creative. Hot desking can optimise office space, and it provides collaborative opportunities when staff are in the office. That collaboration creates a great team ethic and puts people in a position to engage in creative practices.
When staff come into the office, they will sit with different people because of hot desking. This means they will come into contact with people with different viewpoints and ideas. The traditional idea of teams is changed as a result, leading to creative sparks that might not otherwise materialise.
Hot desking also creates more collaborative spaces. Your employees aren’t confined within offices that limit the amount of time they spend with each other. Shared spaces bring different people into proximity and encourage new collaborative partnerships and groups.
Invest in Hot Desking for Your Business
As you can see, with a hot desking approach, your company is more likely to have happier employees. You’ll attract and retain better staff who appreciate the flexibility, trust, and teamwork opportunities you offer them.
From well-being to creativity to performance, your team members will feel valued and will enjoy their working experience.
We believe in the power of empathic workspaces. To find out more about our approach to hot desking and offices, get in touch with us today.
