subject: Saving it up on Office Space by Daniel Smith [print this page] Hot desk emerged as a concept and meant the sharing of office space on a temporary basis. The term is believed to have been borrowed from the naval field where the term hot rack is used to describe the practice of sharing bunks as per one's shift.
The term was first introduced during the 1980s and implied sharing a desk between different people at different hours of the day. The chief reason behind the introduction of hot desking was the need to save space and thereby cut down on costs. The work station could just be a proper desk or be a terminal link. In plain and simple terms, hot desk refers to a section of the office space which can be used by different employees at different points of time. There is no specific space meant for each of the workers and the facilities are provided as and when a requirement for the same arises.
The concept of a hot desk is often used in office spaces where the working hours of the employees differ. This holds true for a digital depot that remains in operation round the clock but the employees work in shifts. Each of the work stations are provided with all the necessary equipments and communication devices.
A group of such hot desk workstations is also known as a mobility centre. Such a service also calls for the implementation of messaging services and the routing of voice services to a convenient location where the user can log in to the network from a different location as well.
Hot desking methods are also employed for the sake of disaster recovery planning. This particular space can be utilized for emergency accommodation. One other benefit of using such an office space is the fact that it does not take much time to set it up.
There are two basic style of hot desking used. These include informal and traditional styles. These can be used independently or by clubbing both the styles together. The informal style of hot desking implies that the office space does not have any formal desks and regular office furniture. However, the space is well equipped with communication devices, computers, network ports and Internet connectivity. Fax/copier service/printers are also within easy reach of the user. Traditional hot desking is the use of the office space in compliance to the standard norms along with areas meant for storage.
The facilities that are integral to a hot desk work station are:
Telecommunications
Meeting Area
Storage and Filing areas
Computer services
Booking system
Office supplies such as a printer, scanner and copier
As a business owner, you often wonder the kind of space that you would require for comfortably placing your employees. This question becomes all the more consequential when you have to rent a space and the amount depends on the area covered. In fact a majority of the office spaces are rented out on the basis of the number of desks required. You can cut down on the amount of space required by the use of hot desk.
