Perhaps you never thought you would be in the position to hire a real receptionist or assistant, let alone a virtual one. Having your very own virtual receptionist will certainly make you feel like a real business professional – just try not to get a big head about it!
If you don’t see the worth of having a virtual receptionist you obviously haven’t thought about it for long. There are tons of perks to investing in this service, almost too many to count. Check out 5 of the most obvious benefits to hiring a virtual receptionist to help further your professional career.
A virtual receptionist is more affordable
A receptionist that sits behind a desk within your office and comes to work every day will set your company back about $28,000 per year. This is the average cost of having an in-office receptionist but the average cost of a virtual one is much less.
One of the reasons for this is because a virtual employee can work from anywhere and doesn’t have to spend the time and money on gas to come to the office every single day. You won’t have to pay additional benefits or allow for paid-time off when you hire a virtual employee.
The don’t have to work set hours
Maybe you see this as a drawback but hiring an assistant without set working hours has its pros. A virtual receptionist has more availability and you can even opt for a 24/7 service. This means your VR will be available any time of day or night to answer customer questions, respond to concerns, and schedule appointments.
Investing in a 24/7 service has been proven to improve the overall customer experience. This means your customer retention rates will remain high and they’ll keep a positive perception of your company.
Foreign clients might be able to speak in their native tongue
Maybe you don’t have to worry about this within your business but if you deal with foreign customers or clients having a virtual receptionist could change your life. You can easily find a VR that is bilingual or trilingual; this is much easier than finding a full-time in-house receptionist that speaks 2 or more languages.
There is no training period required
Virtual receptionists go through an extensive training period – usually a 12 week program – to prepare them for any type of job. Training an in-house receptionist requires time, money and resources and who knows if they’ll even want to continue on after the training period.
You don’t even have to go to great measures to find your virtual measures like you would be required to do for a normal receptionist. Once you contact an agency you’ll be paired up with a VR that fits your requirements and has the appropriate qualifications. All the work in finding and training your receptionist is done for you.
You won’t have any overhead costs
Since your VR will work off site you don’t have to worry about providing an office space, desk, comfy chair, or other essential office supplies.