According to a new study, the top 10 industries most likely to use virtual offices are financial, legal, consulting, technology, real estate/brokers, healthcare, marketing and advertising, entertainment, retail, and construction. But it’s also not uncommon for small business owners of all industry sectors to invest in virtual offices for company efficiency. If you run your own business from home and have invested in virtual office rentals, it’s essential to set them up properly for professional business conduct. With that in mind, here are just a few ways to make your home business virtual office as professional as possible.
Consider hiring a virtual secretary.
One major sign of a professional business is having a human being available to pick up the phone during business hours instead of a robotic redirect system. And now, virtual secretaries have made it easier than ever to provide customers with the interactive satisfaction of being able to talk to a live human being when they call your business’s phone number. It makes customers feel valued. AllBusiness explains it best:
“A virtual secretary is someone — or a team of someones — who work off-site but who are hooked into your phone system, giving the impression that they are answering calls on-site. Virtual secretaries can answer phones, set up appointments, and take messages around the clock, if necessary,” writes AllBusiness.
Hire Carefully
About 67% of professionals agree that working remotely is productive. That being said, the hiring process for a remote team should be a bit different than it would be in a traditional office environment. It takes an incredibly dedicated employee to be able to handle working from home successfully, and it’s not always easy to tell with one phone or video call. If possible, arrange a meet up in person before making the hire official. It’s essential for your employees to be able to convey a sense of professionalism regardless of where they’re working from, and hiring carefully can help avoid any potential unprofessionalism.
Overall, nearly six out of 10 employers identify cost savings as a significant benefit to telecommuting, but it’s essential to stay professional when conducting a home business. For more information about fully furnished office rentals, contact Stat International.
