5 Ways To Make Hot Desking Work For You

Hot desking, the phenomenon once only found in coworking spaces, is currently finding favour among corporate companies looking for ways to cut costs without cutting performance. Benefits of adopting a ‘no assigned seating for anyone’ approach include increased inter-team collaboration and a sense of belonging among employees. However, not everybody is a fan – especially if you find yourself sitting next to Jim from accounts and his lunchbox of sardine sandwiches.

So, how can you make hot desking work for you on a day-to-day basis? If you’re a fan of routine, like to personalise your workspace or are a stickler for hygiene – which, by the way, in the current climate, should be all of us – here are five rules to make hot desking work for you.

1.    Be considerate

Don’t have loud meetings next to a colleague who’s clearly concentrating on a project, don’t shoot the breeze beside a group trying to brainstorm and don’t take personal calls on the office floor. Although, that one doesn’t just apply to hot desking scenarios.

2.    Ditch the desktop

The pandemic changed where we work, but did it change how we work? Hot desking only works if you embrace cloud computing and save personal and team files to a centralised drive easily accessible by everyone who needs them. 

3.    Leverage the advantage

The beauty of hot desking is that it gets workers out of their cliques and openly collaborating with people from other teams they might not have interacted with in the past. Use the office musical chairs to your advantage by networking with your desk buddy.

Use work breaks to chat over the water cooler or grab a coffee with them to get to know what makes them tick and understand the work challenges they’re currently facing. What can you learn from them? Forging stronger personal connections can help greatly when you need help to get a project over the line. If you want to impress the boss, then pick a desk next to theirs, learn everything you can, and then show them what you’re made of.

4.    Leave no trace

It’s not sexy, but lack of hygiene and messy desks is one of the main reasons employees can’t get behind hot desks. When hot desking, think like a Boy Scout and leave no trace – clean the desk surface and monitors, spray your chair and don’t leave any personal items lying around.

5.    Communicate

Like all relationships in your life, clear and concise communication can save a lot of heartache. If you have an issue with how your company is embracing hot desking or have a suggestion on how it can be improved, for example by the adoption of Activity Based Workspace (dedicated hubs, to you and me). Bringing them to your boss early in the process will not only improve your work day but also your relationship and signal you’re a team player looking out for the company’s best interests.

And remember, if you don’t like your current working situation – change it! Those who switch companies across all sectors are currently demanding pay increases of up to 30% compared to those who remain with the same employer. Explore your options by checking out the City PM Job Board which contains thousands of available roles, like the three below.

Senior Product Data Analyst, Bumble

The Role: The Senior Product Data Analyst will work with the wider team to answer the questions most relevant to the Bumble consumer.

The Responsibilities: You will be responsible for manipulating complex datasets, optimising the way Bumble allocate multi-million marketing budgets across more than 100 markets, and helping to create products that improve the end product.

The Requirements: You will have the required skills, such as familiarity with SQL, Python, and predictive modelling, as well as the right attitude and a desire to work at a progressive company.

Find out more about the Senior Product Data Analyst job, or check out more roles at Bumble.

VP – Product and Marketing Creative, Sony Pictures

The Role: The VP for Product and Marketing Creative will be responsible for the management of all licensed product design, assets, and licensing style guides for Silvergate Media’s portfolio of world-class kids’ brands.

The Responsibilities: You will work with the wider team to deliver compelling creative materials and assets for Silvergate show launches and marketing campaigns. New York travel will be required, especially in the first year.

The Requirements: At least five years’ experience in an entertainment company, licensing agency, or toy company in a creative role.

Apply for the VP for Product and Marketing Creative role, or explore other opportunities at Sony Pictures.

CRM Manager, Monzo

The Role: The CRM Manager will work with the engagement team to push Monzo’s new business verticals to engaged customers, most notably Monzo Flex, its buy now pay later offering.

The Responsibilities: You will be responsible for managing customer communication across key engagement channels, specifically email, in-app user engagement and push notifications as well as defining customer segments to create custom optimisation plans. 

The Requirements: You will have worked previously in customer relationship marketing and have experience working at scale to drive engagement, retention and usage across an ecosystem of products.

Apply for the CRM Manager role or browse other opportunities at Monzo.

Explore thousands of other brand new career opportunities on the City PM Job Board