Whenever an organization decides to shake things up and implement a new office process, it’s not unusual for a number of employees to have some reservations about the new system. Perhaps they have been at the company for a long time and are comfortable in the way the office has always operated, or perhaps having to adapt to new software and technologies makes the idea of change feel daunting. This is a common concern when companies decide to adopt a hot desking strategy, as moving away from having assigned desks inevitably requires the implementation of new technologies.
However, what some employees don’t realize is that many of their organization’s existing systems work hand-in-hand with hot desking. Communication tools that are common in many offices integrate seamlessly with advanced desk booking software, while many common systems used to facilitate remote work are incredibly useful for ensuring a smooth hot desking transition. These existing technologies will make the adoption of a desk booking strategy easier for both employees and facility managers, so it’s worth identifying which relevant tools your organization already uses.
Slack is a convenient and easy-to-use communication tool that’s invaluable for any office adopting a hot desking strategy. Advanced hot desking software will integrate directly with Slack, providing employees with the opportunity to view an office floor plan to see who is available and where they are seated. In this way, Slack can ensure more efficient communication between team members, regardless of where they are seated on a day-to-day basis.
If an organization has a number of remote employees or an existing working-from-home policy, it’s likely they already use UberConference. This cloud-based conferencing system can help your hot desking strategy by providing an easy way for team members to conduct a meeting, whether they are working from the office, from home, or anywhere else. By eliminating the need for teams to be in the office for meetings, UberConference ensures that a hot desking strategy will not disrupt an employee’s ability to successfully collaborate with colleagues.
When employees have the ability to work from any desk in an office, they need a way to access every important document and file from any computer. This is where a file-sharing service like Google Drive becomes an absolute necessity. If employees only save their work on the computer they’re sitting at for that day, they won’t be able to access those documents again unless they work on the same computer the next time they’re in the office. By saving all files to the cloud, employees can access these documents from any computer, anywhere in the world. Additionally, other employees who need access to these documents won’t need to determine which computer another employee worked on last time to find the latest version of a file—they will have the most up-to-date document available at their fingertips, whether they’re in the office or not.
Many companies already use survey tools like 15Five as a way to elicit employee feedback. In order to determine how well your new hot desking strategy is being adopted, regular surveys need to be scheduled to help you manage employee satisfaction and see areas where you can improve. This is especially relevant in the beginning of the transition, but a consistent checkup will help you in creating a working environment that succeeds in the long term. Although 88% of highly engaged employees report flexibility and the ability to choose where they work as a crucial factor in their satisfaction, there are always ways to improve and work out any kinks that are keeping your team from performing at the optimum level.
Utilizing many of your existing business tools to streamline the implementation of a new hot desking strategy is key to setting your team up for success. Change can be daunting, but when you select desk booking software that offers integrations with existing office systems, the transition becomes much more manageable. Communication and connectivity are essential to the successful adoption of hot desking, so review your existing systems today to see which ones will complement a new desk booking policy.
OfficeSpace is an integrations rich software that can work with many of the systems your office already uses. Contact us for a free demo today.
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