WHAT IF...???

Potential Problems & 
Possible Solutions

What is going to happen to employee cohesion?

Many people are concerned that implementing a hoteling system will detract from a sense of corporate community since employees do not come to the office every day. However, many studies have shown that employee cohesion has remained the same or even improved. For instance, when 2,000 employees working in a non-territorial office were asked how they felt communication was affected, 75% reported that it was the same or even better!⁴ This is due in part to the fact that advanced technology facilitates improved communication, and also due to the fact that employees valued the time they were in the office togeher more than before.
Take for example, Digital Equipment Corporation in England. When it removed its traditional office setting workers developed a new appreciation for face-to-face contact. Although they did not spend as much time together, they spent more time socializing when they were together.¹⁰

One way to maintain a sense of employee cohesion is by increasing formal socialization offered by the organization.

How will managers give rewards and compensation if they cannot always monitor their employees working?

Since managers cannot watch day-to-day activities of their employees, compensation and rewards must be awarded by different means.

Productivity can be assessed (and rewards awarded) by: 
meeting deadlines
respecting team members
taking an active role in the corporate culture

What about compensation?
Ricardo Semler, CEO of Semco, a South American based company with 1,300 employees, lets his employees choose the way they are paid. By allowing employees to control the way they are paid, they are internally encouraged to innovate and take risks. Choosing which compensation package they receive allows them to maximize both their own pay and the company's returns.

Here are Semco's "Eleven Ways to Pay":
fixed salary
bonuses
profit sharing
commission
royalties on sales
royalties on profits
commission on gross margin
stock or stock options
IPO/sale warrants
self-set annual review/compensation
commission on actual and 3-year value of company¹⁵

What do you do if people feel like they are being robbed of an office that symbolizes achievement and success?

Although not everyone will say it outloud, many people feel threatened by removing status symbols from the workplace- especially those in high positions. This makes it critical to include transition planning which will eliminate these negative feelings. The goal is to encourage input from employees in order to create feelings of involvement, rather than inconvenience and antagonism. Hoteling will only be successful if all employees embrace it, and those at the top of the office hierarchy need to lead the wave of change!