Virtual office services were around long before today’s hybrid and homeworking trends. In this article, we take a look at how a telephone answering service or virtual company address can help your company to grow while reducing costs and keeping everyone happy in this new climate of remote working.
It’s estimated that the number of people in the UK working from home increased from 1.3 million in 1998 to over 4 million in 2014. A combination of self-employed people and employees working remotely, it was already an established trend before world events took over in 2020.
It has been a challenging time for everyone but as the crisis eases, it would seem that the desire to return to the office is not as strong as some thought it would be.
Looking forward
One report found that 24% of businesses intend to increase home working on a permanent basis, and 85% of adults working from home in April 2020 were keen to split their time between home and the office going forward.
It’s interesting to note that the main reason why businesses were keen to change to greater home working was to improve staff wellbeing, followed very closely by increasing productivity. Apart from businesses with less than ten employees, where reduced overheads was the number one priority.
What can we learn from this and what does this mean for an ambitious business owner?
Homeworking is here to stay
For those industries able to accommodate people working from home, there are clear human and business benefits:
- Less commuting means people are better rested and less stressed.
- A good work/life balance helps to guard against burnout.
- Being able to offer flexible and hybrid working is appealing both to new candidates and the employees you already have.
The appeal of the virtual office
Naturally, with fewer employees in the building, some companies have decided to downsize their offices or abandon a central location altogether.
If you’ve recently made this kind of change or you’re in the process of doing so, communication is key.
- If you don’t have a receptionist, a telephone answering service will come into its own to maintain customer service and to make sure members of staff can stay in touch.
- With people working at different times or locations, an answerphone will make sure calls from your customers (and team) won’t be missed.
- A good company address will add to your credibility and reputation – with a virtual office you can have this without the overheads of a physical location.
Flexible solutions for your business
You know your business better than anyone but if there’s anything that the last few years have taught us, it’s that we need to review the way we work. To balance the needs of humans and productivity, we must explore new ways to communicate and collaborate.
The virtual office, already a cheap and effective way of doing this, is now hitting its stride.
Established in 1992, we’ve been offering this kind of support for twenty years. That’s why we’re best placed to help you work your way. Call us today.
