Commentary: Making hot-desking hot again to attract workers back to office

After dusting off the two-year-old cobwebs in the office, the excitement of business owners and leaders in welcoming their workers back was met with lukewarm response.

Remote working had taken off during the pandemic, and organisations celebrated their ability to adapt to the ever-changing situations. But there is no return to the old ways.

Hybrid work is set to become a more common practice. A recent survey by Logitech of 1,000 white-collar workers in Singapore found that more than six in 10 prefer hybrid working arrangements.

There are numerous reasons why employees are not keen to return to the office full-time — those who return have reported a deteriorating ability to focus, increased stress levels, and lower level of satisfaction at work.

But the office is not going anywhere. Hybrid working has redefined the purpose of the office, from "a place to work" into "a hub of collaboration".

It is transforming into a place where employees have the flexibility to come and go, to collaborate on important projects, conduct in-person meetings, brainstorm, and network.

As the office receives a new lease of life, the changes in office spaces are also seeing a re-emergence of the hot-desking trend.

The business case for hot-desking is clear. Organisations can free up unused spaces which helps meet safety requirements, create new areas for collaboration, and enjoy cost savings from the lower operating costs.

Experts suggest that companies adopting hot-desking arrangements can reduce between 20 and 40 per cent of its real estate portfolio.

The dynamic nature of hot-desking can also facilitate a more agile working environment by encouraging cross-departmental communication and collaboration — which is especially advantageous in today’s evolving work environment.

However, despite the many benefits, hot-desking often gets a bad reputation. Detractors cite a number of challenges such as a loss of privacy and personal space, seating challenges, and difficult IT accessibility.

How then can companies tap into the many benefits of hot-desking while avoiding the potential downsides?

Here are the top three tips that companies can implement to get started.

ACCESS TO THE RIGHT TOOLS

As hot-deskers do not have a set space for personal items, setting up workstations each day can take a longer time, and they may also face the inconvenience of having to carry their items around.

Equipping offices with the proper solutions will be key to successful hot-desking transitions. One such example is through the use of docking stations.

Docking stations today have increased capabilities, and multiple functions such as one-touch meeting controls, charging functions and USB peripherals.

This not only replaces unnecessarily bulky chargers and power cords — reducing the need for employees to carry their own around — but also makes desktop clutter disappear.

With the added functionalities of docking stations, work desks are significantly streamlined, which means hot-deskers won’t have to spend additional minutes setting up in the morning.

Such personal collaboration devices also serve as an easy and effective way to expand the connectivity options available with laptops and are well-suited for flexible environments.

CREATE A VARIETY OF SPACES

As the physical office becomes a hub for collaboration, companies can redesign their spaces to serve different purposes — from single-person phone booths for meetings with remote staff, to small huddle spaces for informal catch-ups, and larger meeting rooms for bigger team meetings.

Integrating these spaces with artificial intelligence (AI) technology can also help IT administrators understand how meeting spaces are utilised over time, generating insights to help monitor the usage of rooms and tweak office floorplans accordingly.

Having a variety of spaces can also provide a change of environment that stimulates creativity and collaboration, provided that they are outfitted with the right gear.

In today’s increasingly hybrid work landscape where workers can collaborate from any location, remote workers may feel less involved or engaged as compared to their in-person peers.

Organisations need to prioritise meeting equity — creating an equal playing field where all participants can feel that they are heard, no matter their workspace or location.

Fortunately, video conferencing technology has advanced significantly, where all-in-one video bars can instantaneously transform any room into a conducive collaboration workspace.

With AI technology that enhances conversational clarity, adjust framing and zoom functions for better views, and configure lighting according to external conditions, such video conferencing solutions even the playing field for remote participants.

Some may even argue that attending a meeting virtually gives one the best view in the house.

IMPLEMENT A BOOKING SYSTEM

To ensure that anyone who wants to come to the office has a place to work, companies can take inspiration from the mechanics applied in the hoteling system, which requires a person to reserve a desk for a specific period of time.

Instead of booking a specific desk, employees can reserve slots to come into the office. This will give employees greater control and freedom to move around.

Companies will then be able to match the demands of their team members with office resources and minimise overcrowding.

The same approach can be applied to reserving meeting rooms, which eliminates the need for employees to scramble around the office looking for an empty meeting room or being stuck at an area unconducive for meetings.

Implementing new workplace initiatives can often come with some growing pains.

However, having a proper hot-desking strategy — and the right equipment — in place will help mitigate these challenges, allowing companies to offer greater flexibility to employees while operating more efficiently.

And who knows, perhaps the newly upgraded modern office with purpose-built, tech-enabled spaces could be the right incentive to attract employees back to the office?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bryan Lee is Head of B2B at Logitech Southeast Asia.