Hot desking is a familiar term used in offices and businesses across the globe. No longer a trend but a way of working for many, the traditional office has evolved to now introduce cold desking too. But what is the difference between hot desking vs cold desking and what does it mean for hybrid working strategies? Let’s find out.
What is Hot Desking?
Hot desking refers to the practice of using any available desk in an office rather than having your own desk. Traditionally, there would be permanent desks designated to each office worker but, nowadays, with the flexible approach of hybrid working, there are hot desks instead.
An increase in hybrid and completely remote working has resulted in businesses reflecting this flexibility within their workspace. Desks are now shared workspaces that can be used when they are required by those coming into the office for a few days or hours a week, rather than only when a specific employee is working.
Benefits of Hot Desking
Now you know what hot desking is, let’s take a look at its benefits for both employers and employees.
Better Utilization of Office Space
With a hybrid working strategy, having permanent desks can waste space when they aren’t used every day. Hot desking can maximize your workspace and result in better utilization which can lead to a number of other benefits mentioned below.
Generate Significant Cost Savings
As mentioned above, by maximizing your workspace, hot desking means you can have a smaller office with the right amounts of desks and workspaces. Not only will this reduce your costs when it comes to furniture and technology but also rent and utilities.
Increase Collaboration & Socialising
Dedicated seating means sitting next to the same colleague’s day in and day out, leaving little room to socialize with the rest of the team and departments. Hot desking encourages new interactions with other team members which, in turn, improves the company culture and boosts collaboration.
Reduce Clutter on Desks
A practical advantage of hot desking is that it reduces the potential for employees to store their items at work. When you’re assigned a desk, you make it your own and leave personal items in the area. Without this, there is less clutter and creates a cleaner look in the office.
What is Cold Desking?
Cold desking refers to a workstation that has an allocated user but no one sitting at it. There are many reasons why the employee may not be sitting here, whether its annual leave, meetings, working remotely or even coffee and lunch breaks.
Again, this has a strong link to hybrid working as it reflects the impact that flexible working patterns has on the return to office trend. Where some organizations have put strict office working days in place, whether that’s 3, 4 or 5 times a week, this will influence how much cold desking takes place and how the office space is utilized.
Benefits of Cold Desking
You might be wondering if there are any benefits to cold desking as it is an absent workspace, but there are a couple of advantages.
Flexible Teamwork
Although the desk is assigned, this doesn’t mean that no one else can sit in this space when it is not being used. With the right technology, employees can book and release their workspaces in advance or on the day, enabling different team members to utilize the spaces when available, even if not pre-booked them.
Workplace indicators, like PAL, can help visualize desk availability making it easy for employees with no pre-booked desks to identify available spaces to work in. With the Freespace Employee Experience App, employees can book multiple space types including desks, meeting rooms, or amenities in advance or in the day. Enabling employees to connect with each other and seamlessly find and reserve spaces.
Better Utilization of Office Space
Cold desking can help you maximize your office space. By using technology like Freespace Workplace Occupancy Sensors and Analytics, you can monitor the occupancy of every desk in the building and trends can be predicted for the future so space can be managed effectively and efficiently.
As you can see, both hot desking and cold desking have their own benefits but similarly, utilizing the office space is a shared one. If you’re looking to maximize your office space next year and want to make the switch from cold desking to hot desking, our tools can help you.
DNAi can streamline your space allocation process and help you introduce hot and / or cold desking into your office whilst reducing unused or overutilized workspaces. This, in turn, can help reduce your real estate costs while aligning with your work-from-home policies.
Discover how Freespace can help you redefine your hybrid working strategy, get in touch with us today.
