OFFICE COSTS - 29.03.2011

Time to re-consider hot desking?

What is hot desking?

Hot desking refers to the use of a set of desks for workers who come to the office at different times. It enables businesses with employees who do not have overlapping shifts or staff who are frequently out of the office to make better use of the available resources. But will it work for you? Ask yourself the following questions: (1) does the type of work take people in and out of the office?; (2) does your culture allow your staff to work from home?; (3) does your technology enable your staff to work effectively and efficiently from anywhere, any time? If you answer “yes” to one or more of those questions, then there’s significant potential for cost saving.

Plan with care

Whilst hot desking can help a business save money by reducing the number of desks and therefore the cost of leasing office space, the “show up and hope for the best” scenario is not the most productive and simply isn’t applicable to most businesses. Poor implementation led some businesses to abandon the idea as staff resented turning up at the office not knowing if they were going to be assigned to the first floor or the fifth, or who they would be sitting next to each day.

Admittedly, introducing hot desking is not a quick fix and it has to be done well for it to work. But the long-term positives far outweigh the negatives.

Tip 1. Involve staff in making the decisions about what stays and what goes. Let them understand the potential cost savings against the possible pitfalls.

Tip 2. An important part of hot desking is to get the space issue sorted out. An office full of desks that people can plug into and use is not a hot desking solution. Having a mixture of desks with plugs and desks with computers, areas where people can sit and meet informally, and areas where people can meet formally is the real solution.

How does it save money?

While it can be tricky to pinpoint exactly what’s being used and when, on average it’s generally believed that most companies have about twice the space they need for the workers they have. In businesses with a high percentage of the workforce engaged in sales or consulting, as little as 5% of the desks may be in use. There are benefits too for the growing company which may not be ready to take the plunge and have its own office space.

Tip. To find out how much your company could save in terms of lease costs, just multiply the square footage of the empty office space by the price per square foot. If your office has 50 desks, chances are you can eliminate 20 of them.

What you’ll save

The table below gives you an idea how much can be saved when you reduce your space to match, rather than greatly exceed, your requirements.