The ins and outs of hot desking in a flexible hybrid workplace
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Hot desking lets you get the most out of your office space while keeping up with the changing needs of a hybrid team.
But what exactly is hot desking, and how exactly can you implement it?
In this guide, we'll talk about the ins and outs of hot desking, see how it works, look into its pros and cons, and help you design a hot desking strategy that works for you and your employees. We’ll also chat about the tools that make hot desking easier for everyone and enable you to create a hybrid culture that enables everyone to do their best work.
Ready to rethink your office space? Let’s get started.
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Instead of assigning everyone a desk in an office, hot desking means that team members can pick an available spot when they come to work – and, potentially, change desks every day, if they wish to do so.
It’s a flexible way of working that’s particularly suited for hybrid work environments where employees work from home a part of the time – although you could also use it if you don’t offer the option for remote work to employees. It enables you to optimize office space and gives team members the freedom to move around and, potentially, build better relationships with more people, and especially those from other departments or teams.
This can be very beneficial in companies with flat hierarchies, where creativity is key for the performance of your team, as it enables the free flow of ideas and a more relaxed and collaborative way of working.
What about hoteling?
Hoteling, which is another way to manage a flexible workspace, is a pretty similar setup but offers more structure and predictability.
In it, employees don’t have assigned desks either, but instead of just grabbing any available spot when they show up, they actually reserve a desk or workspace ahead of time, almost like booking a hotel room (hence the name).
How can you make hot desking work for a hybrid team?
To make hot desking work smoothly for your team, it's important to have the right tools and strategies in place. Here’s how to get started:
Put in place a process
First, you need to define the ground rules and processes of how office space will be organized and how each person can make the most of it.
Include all guidelines in your hybrid working policy, which can then be a part of your onboarding process.
Find the right hot desk booking software
Next, you’ll need a booking system or app to enable team members to see which desks are available on any given day and book them easily.
The best hot desk booking tool is the one your team will actually use. It should be easy to implement, simple to learn, and effortless to use – otherwise, nobody will want to use yet another app.
Officely does exactly that: It enables your team to book a desk and see who’s coming to the office directly from Slack or MS Teams, without interrupting their work. Plus, it’s very intuitive and easy to use.
Train your team
Introducing new software to your team isn’t just about paying the subscription fee and installing it.
You need to explain to your team what’s in it for them and show them how to use it. The better your team understands how the tool will simplify their lives, the more likely they are to adopt it.
Encourage people to come to the office
If your team is working remotely a part of the time, you need to incentivize coming to the office and make it a productive experience for them – otherwise, everyone will prefer to stay at home.
After all, nobody wants to come to the office only to find that no-one else is here, or that everyone left for the day. Seeing their coworkers is a major motivator for many and is one of the advantages of office work, so make sure everyone can quickly see when others are coming.
Using an app like Officely enables everyone on your team to know when is the best time to come in, and you can also use it to organize lunches, afterwork drinks, team-building events, and more.
Make office days seamless
When a team member arrives at the office, they need to have a seamless experience where they can just head to their booked desk and get to work. How do you guarantee that? By using a hot desk booking app that helps them make sure they won’t have to worry about finding a spot or being left without a place to sit.
Create a thoughtful floor plan
Design your office layout with different work styles in mind and provide different types of spaces for different working needs.
For example, if a team needs to meet to make progress on a project, make sure they have a suitable meeting area where they can chat freely without disturbing others.
Teams need to be able to work together without disturbing others.
Similarly, if someone needs quiet space, two monitors, or a standing desk, make it instantly obvious which desks are the best for them.
Provide space for personal belongings
Since employees won’t be using the same desk every day, it’s important to offer storage space where they can keep personal items. This makes hot desking more convenient and comfortable – and also helps you ensure people leave their desks tidy at the end of each day.
To ensure everyone’s leaving a tidy desk at the end of the day, provide storage space for personal belongings
Enable workers to make adjustments
If plans change – say, a person ends up working from home instead – they should be able to easily cancel the reservation to free up the desk for someone else. Flexibility and real-time updates are key here, as they let everyone adapt their own schedules and see what’s best for them on any given day.
Analyze usage and make changes as needed
Implementing hot desking isn’t a one-and-done task. Instead, you need to:
Use your desk booking software to analyze how space is used
Regularly review your setup to ensure your team has everything you need
Use employee surveys to see if your team is actually happy with the office space you’re providing them – and see what they’d like to change
Officely enables you to see how your office space is actually used – and make sure you’re making the most of it
The advantages of hot desking for you and your team
Hot desking can make a big impact on your office environment and overall team dynamics, especially if your team has adopted hybrid work.
Make full use of your space and resources
Office space doesn’t come cheap, so making the most of it is crucial.
With easy hot desk scheduling, you can encourage employees to visit the office more often, maximizing your investment in the space – and also analyze office attendance to make sure you’re not paying for space you aren’t using.
Using your resources efficiently is key to scaling your business and also to providing your team with the tools and conditions they need to do their best work. Find out more about how resource utilization is tied to office space.
Improved collaboration
Bringing people together, especially from different teams and departments, is a great way to boost their creativity and find new and unexpected solutions to problems they’re struggling with.
Hot desking naturally encourages this by mixing up seating arrangements, leading to spontaneous chats and a free flow of ideas.
Better employee satisfaction
Flexibility and autonomy are top priorities for hybrid workers, and hot desking delivers both. It allows employees to choose where they work based on their tasks or preferences, giving them more control over their workday. Happier workers not only tend to stick around for longer, but are also more productive – 13% more, to be precise.
Download Officely’s eBook “Our Flexible Future” to find out how to win in the era of flexible work.
Boost team morale
Team morale is key to productivity and participation, and hot desking can help build those important team connections.
Studies show that only half of those working remotely say they have a strong relationship with their direct team, and even fewer, 42%, have good relationships with colleagues outside their team.
By bringing people into the office and encouraging interaction, hot desking can strengthen these bonds and create a more connected, motivated team.
The downsides of hot desking
Hot desking offers a lot of flexibility and can make office spaces more efficient, but it's not a panacea for disorganized workspaces.
Here are some of its downsides you need to consider:
Not ideal for folks who crave predictability
If many of your team members like the comfort of having the same spot every day or knowing exactly who they’ll be sitting next to, hot desking might feel too unpredictable for them.
The constant change can be stressful for those who thrive on routine.
You need software to pull it off
Managing hot desking effectively usually requires dedicated software.
This means additional costs, plus the time and effort needed to implement and maintain it. Without the right software, hot desking can quickly become chaotic and inefficient.
Thankfully, today you have apps like Officely that are very affordable – and even free for teams of up to 10 people:
Officely’s pricing is very flexible and adapts to your needs and the size of your team
Software adoption is a must
Even the best software is useless if your team doesn’t actually use it. High adoption is crucial; otherwise, you’re left paying for a tool that no one benefits from, and the frustrations with hot desking remain.
Thankfully, there’s a simple solution for that – Officely works seamlessly inside the communication platforms your team is already using, Slack or Microsoft Teams, so there’s no need to use yet another separate app.
How do you hot desk?
We've covered a lot about hot desking, from its pros and cons to tips on how to make it work for flexible teams. To dig deeper into the challenges of flexible work and how to make it work for you and your team, check out our eBook, “Our Flexible Future”.
In all this, the right hot desk booking software can make all the difference in enabling you to create a flexible workplace that everyone likes.
Officely is designed with this in mind and will fit seamlessly into your team's workflows, thanks to our integrations with Slack, MS Teams, Google Calendar, and the most popular talent management and HR software tools.
Ready to transform your office and explore all the benefits of hot desking? Book a demo with us to see how easy it is to manage your office space if you have the right tool at hand.
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Max is one of the cofounders and CEO of Officely, a flexible work enablement platform. He has helped thousands of businesses not only transition to flexible work but instil it at the core of their culture and brand.
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