Traditionally, businesses have situated their operations within sprawling, office-spaces. If you’ve ever worked in a large office in the early 2000s, then you’ve seen it all! Individual workstations are demarcated into isolated cubicles; it was initially believed that silence, and privacy were the foundations of creativity.

However, what was once considered the hallmarks of office-design, was now seen as “archaic”. Many modern organisations are sharing workspaces with other companies to reduce rent expenditure. Naturally, having less real-estate mitigates its ability to accommodate a higher number of workers at any given time. To circumscribe this problem, hotdesking enables a rotating roster of workers to occupy a workstation at different times. Moreover, the cubicles which separate each worker from the next are seen as barriers to collaboration, cooperation, and team-efficiency. Today, the modern office-space prioritises the community instead of the individual, subverting the norms of yesteryear.

Today, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of hot-desking, and co-working spaces.

1.      Collaboration, and Cooperation

Open-plan office spaces are as ubiquitous as butter-on-toast. Even the world’s wealthiest conglomerates such as Apple are embracing the tenets of the open-plan office. WeWork’s explosive, initial growth is a testament to the co-working space’s rising popularity.

Co-working spaces are essentially open-plan offices, albeit with other companies or freelancers co-inhabiting the same space. Fundamentally, the co-working space serves the same function as a business park on a micro-level. By allowing multiple companies, from different industries to congregate in the same space, an agglomeration economy is born. Picture this: your company is currently situated in a co-working space. Your company specializes in real-estate, and you’re in desperate need of a copywriter. Conveniently, an intermediate copywriter works in the exact same co-working space!

These tangential links reduce search costs, and allows complementary industries to work collaboratively to the benefit of both parties. By co-inhabiting the same space, opportunities for networking, and relationship building are increased tenfold! By fostering an environment for interaction, those “eureka” moments that are borne out of creative discussion would prove to be incredibly beneficial to your brand/ business!  If you’re a solo entrepreneur, the co-working space is a wonderful way to scale your client base of potential customers. Shape your elevator pitch, and be prepared to sell yourself! To put it simply, the co-working space is a tremendous profit producing opportunity for the long-term. With estimates suggesting that the number of co-working spaces globally would reach over 28,000 in 2022, these figures are likely to increase rapidly.

2.      Cost-efficiency and Flexibility

As touched upon earlier, hotdesking is an incredibly cost-efficient use of limited workspace to! For example, the heart of a real-estate business lies in its ability to actively service its clients’ needs and wants. From organising house-visits to meeting engagements in display flats, each salesperson is expected to be physically present. As a result, the majority of their waking time is spent engaging with their clientele, away from the office.  Therefore, having a large workplace is a luxury instead of a necessity. Why opt for a spacious office if it is rarely fully occupied?

However, the extent of your company’s cost efficiency and scalability is dependent on the structure of your roster.

Firstly, urgent tasks should jump the queue, with less important ones placed lower. Precedence should be given to the workers with innumerable, high priority tasks. Doing so allows for the productive use of your limited workspace.

Secondly, many core deliverables can be exclusively achieved in the digital realm. Offering remote-working opportunities affords your company more elbowroom within already-tight hotdesking arrangements. In addition, the flexibility of remote-work opportunities allows workers to save precious time and money on commuting to the office; it’s a win-win situation!

Lastly, co-working spaces are often, fully furnished and equipped with the amenities you would need, reducing unnecessary start-up costs. Any finances saved can be redirected into other profit-driven endeavours. If you’re an entrepreneur who runs solo, co-working spaces as small as a single, computer desk is available for rent; the co-working world is your oyster!

Therefore, hot-desking and co-working spaces provide wonderful profit-producing, and loss-reducing opportunity that allows you to scale your business sustainably.

3.      Caveats

Unfortunately, nothing in life is ever perfect, and this rule applies to co-working spaces.

In 2017, Apple’s employees revolted over having to work in open-plan offices, citing complaints such as a reduced ability to focus. The downside of having an open-plan design is its deleterious effects on worker-focus, especially introverted ones. Having all eyes on you in the midst of a work-task may derail one’s strict focus, exacerbating feelings of anxiety and tension. Unfortunately, co-working has very few walls erected between them. It is crucial that you consider the working style of your employees, and yourself! Moreover, if secrecy surrounding your brand/business operations is imperative, then working in close proximity to rival companies would violate such privacy concerns.  This is a fairly nuanced issue that requires your thoughtful determination!

If all else fails….

Trying to migrate operations from one business to the next is an arduous process. The initial process of moving from a traditional office to a co-working space are costs that company would love to sidestep. If you find hotdesking too much of a hassle to implement, or the size of your office is too limited for it, why not consider a Virtual Assistant (VA)? At its core, a VA is essentially a surrogate employee that works exclusively online!

From video-editing to copywriting, there is a huge pool of talented VAs to tap into! Instead of trying to find overly complex ways to squeeze more staff into a compact office, a VA transcends the limitations of a tight workspace. In addition, moving to a co-working space solely to network with other professionals is an unjustifiably expensive endeavour. Consult us at Hippo Business Services instead, and our prodigious team streamlines the entire search process for you, finding the best-fit VA for your needs and wants.

Spare yourself the logistical obstacles, and contact us today!