What is a hot desking system? A comprehensive guide covering its advantages, disadvantages, and examples of office implementations.

hot desking system is  a seating system in which employees can freely choose a seat in the office to work in, rather than having a dedicated seat for each employee. In traditional offices, each employee was assigned a fixed seat, but with a hot desking system, employees can choose their seat based on the work they do that day and their preferences.

There are two major factors behind the spread of hot desking working: the promotion of work style reform and technological advances.

In recent years, flexible work styles that are not bound by time or place, such as teleworking, have become more common due to work style reforms promoted by the government. As a result, offices are changing from simply being places to carry out work, as they have done in the past, to places that promote communication and collaboration.

In addition, the widespread use of internet lines, laptops, smartphones, etc. has created an environment in which people can work outside the office. As paperless and cloud-based systems advance, the need for assigned seats with landlines, desktop computers, and paper documents as in the past is fading.

In addition to these factors, hot desking systems are becoming increasingly popular because they offer Advantage to both companies and employees.

The transition from assigned seats to hot desking is a big decision for companies. You may be wondering what Advantage the introduction of hot desking will bring to your company, and whether it will fail. Here, we have summarized Advantage and disadvantage of introducing hot desking in an easy-to-understand way.

In traditional offices with assigned seats, seating is often divided by department, which tends to limit communication to specific people.

However, with hot desking, you work next to different people every day, which naturally leads to conversations with employees from other departments and promotes interaction. These chance encounters may also increase the chances of new business ideas being born.

With the introduction of teleworking, many offices are finding that there are many vacant assigned seats. With hot desking, instead of assigning a fixed seat to each person, you can think of the number of seats in the entire office as taking into account the attendance rate, allowing you to use space more efficiently.

As a result, if you reduce your office space, you can reduce not only your rent but also running costs such as utility bills.

With hot desking, employees can freely choose where to work depending on the nature of their work and their mood that day. This allows them to approach work every day with a fresh feeling, which will likely lead to increased motivation.

In addition, you can choose where to work depending on your purpose, such as a quiet space when you want to concentrate or an open space when you want to communicate, which can also help improve work efficiency.

In hot desking, department members sit in different locations, which can make it difficult to report, contact, or consult with others. Measures are needed to address issues such as a lack of communication and a sense of unity within a team, and the difficulty of managing and guiding subordinates.

In a hot desking office where employees do not have their own desks, it is more difficult to manage personal documents and equipment than in assigned seats office. Measures such as providing storage space and enforcing rules for sharing are necessary.

When working in an open space, it is easy to be distracted by the voices and movements of those around you. Depending on the nature of your work, some employees may find it difficult to concentrate. It may be necessary to devise ways to separate areas, such as separating collaboration spaces from office desks.

Whether or not you should introduce hot desking and whether an office layout with free seating is suitable for you depends on the content and nature of your work. Here, we will look at the cases where hot desking is suitable and those where it is not, and the characteristics of each.

Companies, departments, and divisions with the following characteristics are likely to be suitable for hot desking.

[Characteristics of companies suitable for hot desking]

When viewed by department or division, the following cases are thought to be well suited to hot desking.

[Characteristics of departments and divisions that are suitable for hot desking]

On the other hand, hot desking may not be suitable for companies, departments, or divisions with the following characteristics from the standpoint of information security and business efficiency.

• Companies and departments that handle a lot of confidential information
• Departments where desktop computers are essential for many tasks
• Companies with a lot of paper documents
• Departments that handle important documents, such as accounting and general affairs departments
• Departments that handle confidential information, such as server maintenance

As such, even if it is difficult to introduce hot desking, there is the option of a "group desking" system that effectively combines hot desking and assigned seats seating style.

group desking is a seating style that is limited to a specific department or team, and employees can freely choose their seats within that range. It is now attracting attention as a new office layout because it offers the Advantage of both hot desking and assigned seats and balances security and flexibility.

To get the most out of hot desking, the timing of its implementation is also important. For example, you should consider implementing it at the following times:

This opportunity to design a new office layout from scratch is a great chance to introduce a hot desking system. Because you can design a new office layout from scratch, you can efficiently create an environment suitable for hot desking.

Since seats and people are not fixed in hot desking, it can flexibly respond to organizational changes, projects, and increases or decreases in the number of members without having to carry out large-scale layout changes.

This characteristic of hot desking makes it an especially beneficial option for industries with rapidly changing market environments and companies that undergo frequent reorganization.

There are many hidden hints for the successful implementation of hot desking in actual office cases. Here, we will introduce three implementation cases from companies that ITOKI has supported so far.

Hot desking systems have many benefits, such as stimulating communication and enabling flexible working styles. However, careful planning and preparation are required to correctly understand the company's business content and situation and to operate smoothly after implementation.

At ITOKI, we provide full support, from creating an office suited to hot desking operations to support with implementation. With a track record of supporting many hot desking implementations to date, we can propose the best implementation for your company.

If you are considering introducing hot desking, please feel free to consult ITOKI.

We have prepared a" hot desking Diagnostic Guidebook" that will be useful for introducing hot desking. This guidebook contains a lot of practical know-how, such as hot desking aptitude test, conditions for introduction, and common issues.

Let us help you create the ideal office environment for your company.