Hot desking is an organizational strategy used in office spaces to improve team collaboration, space utilization, and shared knowledge. It’s a workplace arrangement that lets users utilize the same desk at different times. Hot desking maximizes space and offers team members flexibility by minimizing redundancies in office spaces. A voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) system allows workers to share the same IP phone with their individual extension numbers and settings.
You can increase employee innovation and cross-disciplinary or department collaboration because of wider interaction between colleagues. This strategy is often used in hybrid companies and coworking spaces that have a mix of on-site and remote workers. In this article, we’ll explore what is hot desking, how it works, its benefits, and the top providers with this collaboration solution.
Hot desking came from the term “hot racking,” the practice of sailors with different shifts sharing the same bunk at different times.
How Does It Work?
Now that we’ve answered the question, “what is hot desking,” here’s how it works. Traditionally, offices share resources and common areas like conference rooms, but each team member has a specific workspace. Meanwhile, with hot desking, each desk is an open workspace that different people can use anytime. You simply find a desk or book a space, plug in your device, and begin working.
Hot desking on a cloud phone system allows employees to use shared desk phones to access their extensions, voicemail, and profile. Users log into their profile using the phone located in the workstations.
For example, to make and receive calls using a shared phone, press the “login” soft key (or *90), then enter your extension and personal identification number (PIN). The phone will access your specific extension setting and is ready for use.
RingCentral has a default session timeout of 12 hours, and administrators can also log out of specific shared phones at any time using their online accounts. It supports a range of desk phones, including ALE, Avaya, Cisco, Mitel, Polycom, Unify, and Yealink.
If you’re interested in RingCentral, refer to our RingCentral review to learn more about this provider and determine if it suits your communication needs.
Advantages of Hot Desking
If you’re wondering what is hot desking and how it benefits your business, this organizational system can help streamline call handling and accelerate customer service delivery. Here are some concrete advantages of how this VoIP phone system solution benefits small businesses:
Disadvantages of Hot Desking
Shared workspaces your business and employees the flexibility to work from any available space, but poor implementation leads to routine disruption and cleanliness concerns. To make this organizational strategy work, business owners and managers need to be aware of these potential pitfalls and have plans to address them.
Hot Desking Best Practices
To implement this strategy in your workplace, evaluating your company culture, business needs, workforce size, and type of work employees carry out is essential. Here are some tips to help you implement hot desking:
Establish Clear Guidelines
When implementing this organizational system, your team must understand what is hot desking and the benefits of this system. Develop clear guidelines that address factors like cleanliness and scheduling that are coordinated effectively. These standards must be updated as the hot desking technology and environment change over time.
Encourage Feedback
Seek regular employee feedback and refine your processes based on concerns raised. No matter how mindful and diligent the planning process was, unforeseen issues are always possible. Providing employees with the opportunity to be agents of change fosters more ownership over the process and enhances morale within the team.
Promote Team Cohesion
Remote work and hybrid office setups have been known to bring out organizational silos, making it important to foster team cohesion and team socialization. When choosing a communications service provider, select one offering comprehensive VoIP business phone features that support collaboration, such as video conferencing and team chat.
Want to know more about VoIP? Read our detailed VoIP guide to learn how this phone system helps small businesses improve internal and external communications.
Provide Headphones
Agents are constantly on the phone; headphones allow employees to carry out phone conversations comfortably. Wearable devices minimize strenuous neck posture and enable users to engage in conversations hands-free. Several phone and headphone models offer noise-canceling features, making customer conversations more efficient and effective. Consider providing headphones with each desk phone to make agents’ days more comfortable.
VoIP Providers With Hot Desking Solutions
RingCentral
RingCentral’s hot desking feature lets users access their own settings, extension, and voicemail on any shared phone. This feature is available to all RingCentral MVP Premium and Ultimate customers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia. RingCentral offers a comprehensive phone system with unlimited domestic calling, interactive voice response (IVR), real-time analytics, and toll-free minutes. Its monthly plans start at $30 per user.
Ooma
Ooma is one of our top call management systems offering affordable VoIP phone services, including hot desking. Get this feature by subscribing to Ooma’s Office Pro Plus plan. In addition to hot desking, other Ooma mobility features include call forwarding, call flip, and multi-ring on a user’s assigned devices. Ooma’s Office Essentials plan starts at $19.95 per user, paid monthly.
Learn more about Ooma, its plans, features, and best use cases by reading our in-depth Ooma review.
Zoom Phone
Zoom Phone is a cloud-based system offering various call management features, such as voicemail transcription, hot desking, and holiday and business hours routing. Its hot desking feature allows users to log into a Zoom phone desk set and temporarily make and receive calls from the device. Like RingCentral and Ooma, users enter their extension number and pin to sign into a provisioned desk phone. Zoom Phone plans start at $10 per user, monthly.
Check out our comprehensive Zoom Phone review and use it as a guide to decide whether or not the solution meets your unique business needs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, it supports employee well-being by enabling businesses to adopt a hybrid working arrangement. A hybrid arrangement reduces time and energy spent on travel, giving employees more energy to work and reducing burnout. Hot desking helps detach professionals from their workspace and reinforces the separation of professional and personal life, contributing to a healthier work-life balance.
These policies outline a company’s general guidelines for implementing hot desking. It should include sections on hygiene, scheduling, personal items, security, equipment use, and technical support. When developing your policy, it’s best to consult with your team so their insights and needs are included.
Essential supplies for a hot desk include a computer set or laptop docking station, a desk phone (if not using softphones), and power outlets for devices. The technology and equipment available in shared desks must handle varied workloads and support different types of work.
Bottom Line
Hot desking is the best option for businesses looking to reduce overhead costs, maximize equipment, and improve employee interactions. It supports hybrid working, increases team socialization, encourages a tidy desk policy, and maximizes communications equipment. You need the right communications provider to support your system to make this strategy work.
Now that you know the answer to questions like what is hot desking and how it benefits businesses, consider RingCentral. It’s a popular cloud-based communication service offering video, messaging, and voice solutions. Start your 14-day free trial and determine if this service platform is right for your business.