Unwired: Fewer desks than people?

In his debut column on how emerging technologies affect the workplace, Richard Leyland from Unwired Ventures explains why taking away workers' desks can make good sense.

Hotdesking is a very ugly term indeed. The notion of having fewer desks than people has developed a bad reputation since it was first introduced in the late 1980s, and several high-profile hotdesking failures mean the term now provokes a sinking heart amongst many office workers.

Now a new incarnation of hotdesking is about to be born, and this time it has both technology and broader changes in work styles firmly in its favour.

The idea behind hotdesking seems sound. Most offices have unused space and desks, the result of sickness, holidays, a move towards more teamwork and sundry other factors. This under-utilised space is a real-estate cost. Allowing workers to shift the space they're using each day can reduce this cost.

So why did hotdesking fail? Firstly, the enabling technology was far behind the concept. While hotdesking freed workers from a single fixed desk, the technology - both the phone and internet connection - was still tethered to the desk.

The second reason for the failure is much more intangible. People lost something - having their own desk - and didn't see any compensation or gain. They may have lost their sense of status within the company ('I have a big desk because I'm important') or it could be they lost their home comforts ('I personalise my space with family pictures and cuddly toys').

But things have moved on. Enter the newish offices of any leading blue-chip organisation, and two things are guaranteed. The first is that a multinational coffee shop brand will be plying their lattes somewhere on the ground floor, and the second is that there will be fewer desks than employees.

A new flavour of hotdesking, renamed 'hotelling' has taken hold and it points the way to a whole new work paradigm called - let's wheel out a prime piece of jargon - 'task-based work settings'.

So how does this model work? Generally wi-fi enables access to the LAN from anywhere in the office (or outside the office if you can't resist the call of the caffeine on the ground floor). For voice, technologies such as Dect, VoIP and their converged cousin IP Dect mean workers can pick up a handset at reception and be connected to their 'fixed' line - with the same phone number day in, day out - wherever they lay their hat for the day.

Hotelling is usually supported by room and desk-booking systems. Employees should be able to work in the space best suited to their task and these tools help to achieve that. Given that employee satisfaction is vital to successful hotelling, space booking systems are even more important as they allay employees' fear of a scrum for prime workspace.

As we continue our shift to a knowledge-based economy, interaction and collaboration are key. Hotelling strongly supports and encourages that collaboration, by providing a mixture of environments - formal and informal meeting zones, fixed PCs with enhanced functions, open areas with nothing but a desk and wi-fi coverage. This allows employees to choose their space according to whatever they need to get done and which colleagues they need to work alongside.

Hotelling also saves office space, which in turn saves on operating costs. But to take the bean-counting approach is to miss the intangible but vital benefits of the flexible approach.

Originally hotdesking removed something from employees without ever compensating for that loss. But by providing informal, modern work settings, worker autonomy and flexible working, hotelling has found a way to give back.

Areas such as recruitment of the best graduates, staff retention, absenteeism and measures of employee satisfaction have all been found to be significantly improved in hotelling environments.

One of the main worries among blue-chip CEOs today is missing out on the best new entrants into the job market. Effective hotelling provides a vital edge to attract these individuals. Some organisations have gone further and provide a concierge service. The concierge will not only help out with job-related tasks such as booking workspace and tracking down a replacement power cord but also take care of personal errands such as picking up the dry cleaning.

So who is doing this and what have they achieved? The BT Worldwide Headquarters in London was one of the first exponents of hotelling. The building offers 1,500 desks for between 4,000 and 8,000 daily (mainly employee) visitors. This is achieved by creating what Chris Webber, head of BT Workstyle calls "CCC Culture", or 'cappuccino, connectivity and chat'.

Here a BT employee's working location is task specific, with only minimal nods to hierarchy (for instance, BT has replaced the traditional status indicator, the corner office, with new indicators such as high-end laptops and other mobility toys). Each floor offers a different work setting, supported by an onsite concierge and hosts several restaurants which can be used for informal meetings.

The system is underpinned by a global IT platform, including wi-fi and IP telephony, and a proprietary room- and desk-booking system. The result is a vibrant, collaborative workspace which fizzes with energy, while the accountants haven't failed to notice that the annual cost per desk is now one-fifth of its original level.

Further afield, Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor has created a facility bringing together 6,000 people from 40 different locations into a shared environment ideally suited to collaborative knowledge work. The space is divided into several 'village' zones to suit different activities, from rooms for private work to a variety of spaces for informal or organised meetings.

The building has one of the world's largest wireless networks, while the 'eReady Arena' system allows everyone to access an advanced messaging system from any device - laptop, PDA, mobile phone. The informal environment makes chance, unscheduled meetings a central part of the working day, while the multinational coffee shop players are also happy - six million coffees are consumed here each year.

These implementations point the way and the coming years will see an explosion of hotelling environments. It's also worth remembering that technology isn't standing still: the growth of mobile technology and connectivity means these changes are just the beginning. Put aside the simplistic and dated notions of hotdesking. Instead picture flexibility, collaboration, vibrancy and, above all, happy employees.