The idea comes from London law firms in which high rents per square metre mean that there are fewer desks than employees. Instead of sitting at the same desk every day, one shares a workspace with employees who are not in the office. The aim is to have fewer office workplaces, save resources such as space and costs, improve internal communication, increase flexibility and variety in everyday work and promote creativity and productivity. This solution is intended for young, still growing companies and start-ups; field staff, consultants or IT administrators who spend little time at their desk.
Hot Desking is Desk Sharing 2.0: Here, too, you no longer have your own desk, but work at alternating desk workstations. Internal booking systems regulate the fact that different colleagues sometimes sit opposite each other every day and this is part of the basic principle.
Goal: fewer office workplaces, save resources, flexible working, improved internal communication.
For: fast-growing companies, sales staff, customer service or field staff who spend up to 70 % of their working time away from their desk as well as part-time employees.
In open-space offices, Think Tanks are closed and thus acoustically shielded rest and retreat areas for longer phone calls, meetings or confidential discussions. A room within a room system, in other words.
Goal: Acoustic optimization, concentrated and undisturbed work, privacy.
For: Telephone booths, meeting cubes, retreat and quiet zones.
Touch Downs can take on different forms: from brainstorming rooms to couches or easy chairs: everything is conceivable.
Goal: The principle is to arrive, get up to speed, make phone calls, retrieve and answer emails, do short laptop work or team meetings in a relaxed atmosphere to solve pending tasks.
For: Managers, part-time and field staff, as well as employees who work mainly in the home office or frequently on the road and, therefore, do not have a fixed desk job.
Hotelling is the further development of Hot Desking. Employees can book their office workstation or meeting room in advance via a virtual booking system. Teams can also book areas or zones of workstations.
Goal: saving resources, flexible working, improved communication and more harmony in the team.
For: Flexibly working employees and teams.