Hot desking is a new trend coming out of America and Europe that could provide a solution to Dublin's growing office space shortage. Rising costs of office space and greater mobility of the workforce means the traditional office is evolving with new technology to become more flexible and cost efficient. Architects believe that implementing a hot desk environment could make two or three times the office space available to organisations.

Hot desking is a catch-all phrase for a collection of technologies and policies designed to support mobile workers through using generic desktops, telecoms and laptop computers. Within large or middle-sized organisations, the hot desking system works by keeping a certain proportion of desks free that are designated to be used by workers coming in and out throughout the day or week.

The desks can be booked through reception for periods of time, employees program the phone, connect the laptop computer and get to work. When leaving the office they deprogram the phone, disconnect from the network and take all their personal belongings and files so the space becomes available for the next mobile worker. Storage space is allocated for files and other personal material, and there are designated meeting rooms, group spaces and private telephone booths for personal calls.

"Operating a hot desk policy means that two or three times more floor space becomes available to companies. For a mobile staff of 100, you would have 60 desks, and the desks are smaller because less storage space is required as there are designated areas for files and paperwork. With growing demands on space, this could bring costing benefits to organisations," says Fiona McCarron of Douglas Wallace architects, who has been involved in the design of hot desk environments for the past two years.

In recent years, hot desking and teleworking have become attractive in the business world because of the rise in the cost of office space. and the problems involved with commuting.

Hot desking is a relatively simple system once the backup policies and technology are in place to support requirements. Computer company Hewlett Packard (HP) in Blackrock, Co Dublin, is a convert.

"When the organisation here started to experience rapid growth about four years ago, we originally looked at the idea of teleworking and remote working. Suddenly space became a big issue and the management team were considering an office move. However, a large proportion of our people are customer-facing, in either an account management, sales or support capacity; here we were looking for extra space, when large parts of the office were empty every day. It didn't make sense," says Martin Murphy, general manager of HP Ireland (Sales).

Although there are 120 employees working from the HP Blackrock offices, there may only be 70 present on an average day. There are eight allocated work stations at base to be used by employees. As is common throughout the technology sector, many of HP's employees are mobile workers, carrying out their work from locations throughout Ireland, only visiting base operations one to two days a week. This is also the case with many of the IFSC based companies engaged in international consultancy or technology.

Office space in the capital is tight and with little increase in supply due, this could remain the situation for some time. According to DTZ Sherry FitzGerald, over 1.6 million sq ft of office space were completed in Dublin last year, a high proportion of which was prelet; this represents an increase of 10 per cent on the previous years, but has not met current demand in the city centre and financial areas.

The concept of hot desking is gaining popularity because it makes more efficient use of floor space when a sizeable percentage of the workforce is not office bound. Employees are usually provided with laptop computers and mobile phones and in many instances, require no further equipment when they arrive in the office.

Information technology is the principal agent of change in office work and office design according to Dr Francis Duffy, author of The New Office (Conran Octopus). "Not many observers in the early 1980s foresaw the rapid way in which many organisations would exploit the possibilities inherent in information technology to allow staff to enjoy a new freedom in relating home, work and leisure, while at the same time being able to cut occupancy costs through time-sharing offices - with obvious additional space-planning advantages in breaking the tyranny of the one-to-one ratio between fixed telephones or power points and fixed workstations."

Hot desking can apply to just about any sector where a high percentage of employees are mobile. International accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has 1,600 staff between its two Dublin offices, and the nature of its business is that a high proportion of staff work on audits in clients' offices. Mary Cullen, director at PwC, estimates that there is a ratio of 2.5 to 3 employees to desks in certain departments. The firm has a "clean desk" policy and comprehensive back-up facilities are provided by the organisation.

Technology and management policy are the two main factors required to make a hot desking project work successfully, according to Fiona McCarron, who is currently designing a hot-desking model for Mars Masterfoods Ireland in Sandyford.

"Offices operate along the lines of a hotel, with reception and check in areas. Teas, coffees and refreshments can all be ordered, along with files, stationery and any other facilities that may be required. Employee interaction needs to be accounted for in the design and `street areas' are also becoming a feature of modern office space," she says.

She points out that for this to be successful, a number of backup facilities need to be in place: staff lockers and personal storage space, along with lounge areas, meeting zones, and quiet zones. Resident employees - those who are fully office-based - are not affected by this policy and have permanent desks and storage space.

Recent projects completed by Douglas Wallace include one for Dynamo, a graphic design firm on the Dublin quays, along with a large south Dublin advertising agency and an IFSC based management consultancy firm.

"It's important to incorporate some elements of fun into the environment through design. The big advertising agencies in London have all embraced this concept, along with a lot of European businesses.

"The verdict seems to be that hot desking improves employee effectiveness. This makes sense as there are few distractions and it is easier to calculate billable hours via telephone systems, which is good for the bottom line," said Fiona McCarron, who has travelled to Stockholm, Amsterdam, Paris and London to view other projects at work.