As more and more people return to the office following the successful rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, it seems like a good time to take a look at how that office could be set up. The traditional office environment – in which everyone has their own permanent desk – has been falling out of favour for several years now, with more and more companies preferring the flexibility of hot desking
We’re used to dealing with innovative approaches to workplace environments such as The Exchange at Chineham Park, and hot desking fits neatly with the wider agenda of providing a multi-purpose working environment.
What is hot desking?
When hot desking is applied to an office space, it means individual workers no longer have their own permanent desk but instead can work on any desk that is available. Whether it takes place within a private office space or a shared working area, a hot desk office means each employee finding any available desk, plugging in the equipment they use and carrying out their work.
What do you need for hot desking?
Before outlining the main benefits of hot desking, it’s probably worth taking a look at the facilities that need to be in place to make it happen:
Power outlets and phone lines
Each hot desk should have a power outlet and a Wi-Fi connection. In most private offices each hot desk will generally come with a permanent phone installed for different employees to use as and when needed.
Meeting rooms
If the hot desking arrangement is based within a shared working space, then there should be meeting rooms for individual businesses to use away from the bustle of communal areas. At Chineham Park we provide a range of amenities above and beyond hot desks and co-working spaces to create the complete 21st century working environment.
Printing
Hot desking spaces often provide access to a central printer that can be accessed via an app or Wi-Fi from each of the hot desks. The management of the printer will vary depending upon whether the hot desk space is communal or private.
Storage
Without a desk to call their own, employees need storage provision to safely look after coats, bags, and bring-your-own devices like smartphones, laptops and tablets. In the absence of an arrangement that allows employees to use the hot desk itself for the duration of their time working at it, the hot desking space will require dedicated storage in the form of lockers or secure pigeon holes.
The benefits offered by hot desking at Chineham Park
Collaboration
By its very nature, hot desking encourages employees to move around the office, which in turn increases the chances of collaboration with members of the team they might not normally interact with. The mingling of employees from different departments, working on varied projects, can encourage the sharing of ideas and insights.
Workspaces
The simple fact that employees won’t be able to leave their personal devices and possessions on a desk at the end of the working day generally encourages much tidier workspaces.
Freedom
Hot desking offers a large degree of personal freedom to employees by giving them the chance to alter their daily working environment. Autonomy of this kind, and the sense of no longer being tied to a specific desk day in day out, helps boost morale and reduce workplace stress.
Costs
The cost of running an office can be reduced via hot desking, because desks that would traditionally have remained unused when employees were absent, on the road or working from home, are now free to be used at any time.
